If there’s one bad thing about visiting Japan, it’s this

Nothing feels worse than agonising over where to eat one of your precious meals in Tokyo, only to be turned away at the door. The guy behind the counter will cross his arms and “X” marks the spot where your dinner plans are ruined. You’ll shuffle outside and join the rest of the tourists, illuminated by the glow of their phones as they try to figure out where to go next.

In search of a seat at the table.Credit: Getty Images

Anyone who has been to Japan has no doubt had this experience. It’s now more common than ever, as a weak yen has turned Japan into Bali (with better beer), and it seems everyone you know is going there.

Most people will gush about the trains, the temples, and the fancy toilets. They will tell you how much they loved the food and the people, but if there is ever a black mark against a trip to Japan, it always comes back to the same thing. That one night they were turned away from restaurants again, and again, and again …

It’s not uncommon to be knocked back from restaurants two, three, or even five times in a night and while it can make you think insidious thoughts about the xenophobic nature of the country, the truth is a lot more mundane. Yes, there are stories about signs reading “no foreigners” in English or “if you can read this, you can come in” in Japanese, but these are the exceptions, not the rules.

If you want to save yourself from what might be the worst experience you’ll have in an otherwise fabulous country, here are a few tips to get you through the door.

A long wait may be on the menu.Credit: Getty Images

Reserve ahead

It can take the spontaneity out of an evening but in Japan, it pays to be prepared. The restaurants are small, the space is limited, and the most common reason you’ll be turned away from one is because they’re fully booked.

Making a reservation might sound simple until you try to navigate a Japanese booking system, at which point you’ll realise that their three alphabets are probably two too many. It can be impossible to book anything without a Japanese phone number or a name that can be spelt in hiragana. You’re going to have to make a lot of these bookings when you hit the ground.

Speak to your front desk. If you don’t have a front desk, go to a tachinomi or “standing bar” before dinner. The people at those bars are the friendliest you’ll find, and I can’t tell you how many times they’ve called up (and even walked me to) their favourite restaurant to make sure I get a seat at the table.

Learn the basics

Many Japanese restaurants and bars are tiny.Credit: Getty Images

If you’re already spending all that time, money, and precious leave on a trip to Japan, you might as well spend an hour or two learning the basics of the language. This might sound like homework but trust me, it has one of the highest reward-to-effort ratios of any language you can learn before you travel.

There are no “r”s you have to roll, it’s phonetic, syllabic, and you already know how to speak some Japanese thanks to how pervasive it is in modern culture. You’ve seen samurai fight, you’ve eaten sushi, and you’ve rolled out the futon for friends.

Learning the basics means you can be polite – something which is incredibly important in Japanese culture. I’ve had great success learning the counters for people (hitori, futari, etc) and you’d be amazed at how a few words can uncross the arms of a tourist-weary waiter.

Don’t go to Kyoto

Join the queue… tourists wait to eat in Osaka.Credit: Getty Images

This is nothing against Kyoto. It’s an incredible city that is a victim of its success and is now being pillaged for its architectural and culinary wonders. Naturally, the locals are fed up with our collective bad behaviour and have responded accordingly, raising hotel taxes and denying us entry to their precious establishments.

But Japan is bigger than Kyoto. There are so many incredible parts of the country which get overlooked and underappreciated, where you’ll find locals unscathed by the woes of mass tourism.

Here, people are still happy to see you. More than happy, they’re proud that you’ve chosen their home as the destination for your visit. Some of the least-travelled parts of the country have been the most welcoming, and it’s here you’ll find people who are still excited to share their towns, their food, and their tables with you.

See japan.travel

The writer travelled at his own expense.