The Unbeaten Path · Connections
The table at the restaurant that doesn’t take reservations.
A monthly retainer that puts fifteen years of Tokyo relationships at your disposal — so that when your trip comes, the access is already there.
There is a certain kind of restaurant in Japan that does not appear on any app. It has no Instagram account. It does not respond to emails from foreign addresses. The reservation list is closed to strangers, opened only by introduction. You have heard about it. You cannot get in.
Connections exists for exactly that problem.
Over fifteen years of living in Tokyo, working in Japan travel, and writing about the places most visitors never find, I have built relationships with the people who run some of the finest restaurants, ryokan, and hotels in the country. Not marketing relationships. Personal ones. The kind where a call is returned, where a table appears, where the special omakase course that was fully booked somehow has a seat.
Connections membership gives you access to that network. It is a rolling monthly retainer — $99 a month — which means the access is live from the day you join. When your trip is three months away and you need the reservation that no one else can get, you are already a member. You do not start from scratch.
Over a year, the membership costs $1,188. That is roughly what a good Tokyo fixer charges for a single evening of access. With Connections, it covers every trip you take, every year you are a member. One right booking — a counter seat at a restaurant that means something, a room at a ryokan that is otherwise fully closed — more than pays for itself.
What Connections gives you
- Restaurant reservations — including places that do not take direct foreign bookings. Counter seats at the restaurants that matter. Specific courses, specific chefs, specific evenings.
- Hotel and ryokan bookings — access to the properties I know personally, including some that are closed to public booking. Room recommendations, arrival timing, what to ask for at check-in.
- Fully curated itinerary — a bespoke, day-by-day plan built around your trip, your pace, and the specific experiences you want. Not a template. Written for you, from scratch.
- Full concierge service — I make the calls, send the messages, follow up in Japanese. You receive confirmed bookings, not recommendations.
- Access to the network — fifteen years of relationships with chefs, innkeepers, guides, and fixers across Japan. The people who know the people.
- Everything in Premium — the weekly newsletter, bespoke itineraries and restaurant guides on request, and the Japan travel guide PDF.
How it works
- Apply below. Tell me a little about who you are and what you are looking for. Membership is limited to 25 people — I read every application personally.
- If there is a place, I will be in touch. I may have a brief conversation before confirming membership. The goal is to make sure Connections is the right fit for what you need.
- Six months, paid upfront. Membership begins with a six-month commitment paid in advance ($594). This is not a subscription you join the week before a trip and cancel the week after — Connections is for people who travel to Japan regularly and want ongoing access, not a one-time shortcut. After the initial six months, membership continues month-to-month at $99 with 30 days’ written notice to cancel.
- The network is yours. From the first day of membership, contact me any time a trip is approaching and I will handle the bookings end-to-end.
Connections Membership
$99
per month · six months upfront ($594) · then month-to-month
Limited to 25 members
Commitment notice. Connections requires a minimum six-month membership paid in advance. The upfront payment of $594 is non-refundable. This structure exists because the value of the network — relationships built over fifteen years — cannot be accessed, used, and then returned. After the initial six months, membership is month-to-month with 30 days’ written notice required to cancel. Full terms are set out in the Terms & Conditions.
Apply for Connections
Tell me a little about yourself and what you are looking for. I review every application personally. If there is a place available and it feels like the right fit, I will be in touch within a few days.