TableCheck in Tokyo: how booking works, and the restaurants on it
The restaurant's own booking page, in English. Each restaurant sets its release rule, its card hold or prepayment and its cancellation fee.
- Restaurant sets every rule
- Card hold or prepayment
- What it is
- A booking system many Tokyo restaurants run on their own site, with an English booking page.
- How dates open
- Set by each restaurant. Sazenka opens up to two months ahead; its Japanese page says 5:00 on the 1st.
- Payment
- Usually a card hold or full prepayment, set by the restaurant. Some pay by link after the meal.
What TableCheck is
TableCheck is a reservation platform run by TableCheck Inc. in Tokyo. Restaurants use it as the booking page on their own site, so you often reach it from the restaurant's Book button. Its booking pages have an English version.
Its payment policy says what you buy is legally a transaction between you and the restaurant, not with TableCheck. That is why the rules differ from one restaurant to the next.
How restaurants release dates
TableCheck sets no release rule of its own. Each restaurant chooses how far ahead to open. Sazenka's English TableCheck page says reservations can be made up to two months in advance.
Its Japanese page is more specific: reservations open at 5:00 on the 1st of each month for up to two months ahead, with one booking a month and an even number of guests. The English page does not state these rules, so read both.
Others roll their calendar forward daily. Joël Robuchon Restaurant publishes no release time; in our monitoring new dates appear about two months ahead. Our release times page marks each time as observed.
Card holds, prepayment and cancellation fees
TableCheck's payment policy describes two main types. A prepayment is billed when the reservation is created and you do not pay for the prepaid items again at the restaurant. An authorization hold reserves an amount on your card, is not charged, and is released within two weeks after you dine.
Debit cards cannot take a hold: they are charged the full amount immediately and refunded some weeks after your visit. The restaurant's cancellation policy, shown before you confirm, decides the fee. Joël Robuchon's own page lists 60% from 7 to 4 days before, 80% from 3 days to the day before and 100% on the day.
Every Tokyo restaurant we watch on TableCheck
Each restaurant with the days a table opened in the last 90, when new dates appear (observed, Tokyo time), how far ahead the calendar reached and how long the typical table lasted. A blank means we have not seen enough to say. The observed column is per restaurant across its platforms, not per platform.
Every restaurant we monitor in full in Tokyo that takes bookings on this platform, with its last 90 days. Restaurants we monitor in full (every party size, every date, every day).
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Sazenka
- Bookable time
- 7.0 days
- Days with a table
- 37
- New dates appear
- at no fixed time
- How far ahead
- 87 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 7 minutes
-
Hatsunezushi
- Bookable time
- 37.9 days
- Days with a table
- 73
- New dates appear
- at no fixed time
- How far ahead
- 100 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 1.3 hours
-
Joël Robuchon Restaurant
- Bookable time
- 58.2 days
- Days with a table
- 90
- New dates appear
- 12:05 AM
- How far ahead
- 62 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 19 minutes
-
Sushi Sho Saito
- Bookable time
- 15.7 days
- Days with a table
- 17
- New dates appear
- at no fixed time
- How far ahead
- 6 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 1.6 hours
-
BenFiddich
- Bookable time
- 8.1 days
- Days with a table
- 50
- New dates appear
- 11:50 PM
- How far ahead
- 40 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 17 minutes
-
Hakkoku
- Bookable time
- 90.0 days
- Days with a table
- 90
- New dates appear
- at no fixed time
- How far ahead
- 57 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 15 minutes
-
BAR CENTIFOLIA
- Bookable time
- 67.3 days
- Days with a table
- 75
- New dates appear
- 12:05 AM
- How far ahead
- 16 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 1.6 hours
-
Hatano Yoshiki
- Bookable time
- 90.0 days
- Days with a table
- 65
- New dates appear
- 10:05 AM
- How far ahead
- 86 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 3 days
-
Sushi Zai
- Bookable time
- 90.0 days
- Days with a table
- 90
- New dates appear
- at no fixed time
- How far ahead
- 114 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 10 minutes
-
Azabu Juban Sushi Fujinaga
- Bookable time
- 89.7 days
- Days with a table
- 65
- New dates appear
- at no fixed time
- How far ahead
- 48 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 22 hours
-
Shinbashi Shimidu
- Bookable time
- 90.0 days
- Days with a table
- 78
- New dates appear
- 12:00 PM
- How far ahead
- 31 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 7 days
-
Uwotoku
- Bookable time
- 90.0 days
- Days with a table
- 64
- New dates appear
- 10:00 AM
- How far ahead
- 61 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 4 days
-
Tomidokoro
- Bookable time
- 90.0 days
- Days with a table
- 90
- New dates appear
- 10:05 AM
- How far ahead
- 31 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 2 days
-
Sushi Tokami
- Bookable time
- 90.0 days
- Days with a table
- 72
- New dates appear
- 10:00 AM
- How far ahead
- 57 days
- Typical table lasts
- about 21 days
Proprietary data: Table Alert checks each restaurant's public booking calendar around the clock; these figures cover the last 90 days, vouched restaurants only, and are refreshed every night.
Booking tips
- Check the party size rules: Sazenka's Japanese page asks for an even number of guests.
- Use a credit card, not a debit card, if the restaurant takes a hold.
- Read the cancellation policy on the page before you confirm: it is the one that will be charged.
- Many restaurants also list on OMAKASE or Pocket Concierge, with different rules. The restaurant's guide says where each one books.
Where Table Alert fits
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FAQ
TableCheck in Tokyo: how booking works, and the restaurants on it: questions people ask
A restaurant reservation platform from TableCheck Inc. in Tokyo. Restaurants put its booking page on their own site, and guests book there. Its policy states that the sale is between you and the restaurant, so each restaurant sets its rules.
It depends on the restaurant. Some take full prepayment at booking. Others place an authorization hold on your card, which is not a charge and is released within two weeks after your visit, per TableCheck's payment policy.
Each restaurant decides. Sazenka's Japanese page says 5:00 on the 1st for up to two months ahead, and others roll forward daily. Our release times page shows what we observed.
It is the restaurant's own, shown before you confirm. Joël Robuchon's own page lists 60%, 80% or 100% of the course depending on how many days before. TableCheck's policy says a fee is charged under the stated cancellation policy.
Debit cards cannot take an authorization hold, so the full amount is charged immediately and refunded several weeks after your visit, according to TableCheck's payment policy. A credit card avoids that.
Yes, the booking pages have an English version, such as Sazenka's. A restaurant's notes can differ between languages: Sazenka's English message omits the monthly rules its Japanese page states.
No. Table Alert watches TableCheck calendars and alerts you the moment a table opens, with a link. You book it yourself. We never book, hold or resell tables.
No alert within your first 30 days? Cancel and send us an email. We'll refund you in full — no questions asked.
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Sources and how this page is made
Written by Jacob, founder of Table Alert. Facts checked against the sources below on November 12, 2026 and re-checked every night, last on . The monitoring numbers are Table Alert's own, refreshed every night. Out of date? Tell us.
- TableCheck: payment policy
- TableCheck: Sazenka booking page, English (up to two months in advance)
- TableCheck: Sazenka booking page, Japanese (5:00 on the 1st, one booking a month, even number of guests)
- Joël Robuchon Restaurant: official page (cancellation tiers, Japanese)
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