Restaurants open on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day 2024-2025

Don’t let the looks of this casual izakaya-style eatery fool you – Gyoza Stand Oolong serves up some of the fanciest pub grub in the city. Go for the speciality Oolong Ale craft beer and, of course, the gyoza dumplings, created by a Michelin-starred chef and Chinese Dim Sum Master. The dumplings here use minced Spanish Iberico pork and shoulder loin, giving them an extra rich kick. Don’t skip the condiments like green onion sauce, sansho peppers, sesame seeds and powdered chili oil with yuzu peel – they’ll really level up your dumplings.

Opening hours during New Year holidays: December 28-30 10am-10pm, December 31 10am-9pm, January 1-3 10am-9pm, January 4 10am-10.30pm

A restaurant specialising in Osaka-style okonomiyaki and Tokyo's own monjayaki, Sakura Tei is found in the Jingumae-Sanchome area near Cat Street, on the grounds of the Design Festa Gallery. This artsy influence is visible throughout the place, from the mural by the entrance all the way to the many vivid pieces on the walls. It's a strange but fascinating space that's sure to provide quite a few Instagram-worth photo ops.

In addition to the aforementioned specialities, the menu lists appetisers and desserts throughout the day, but lunch is when Sakuratei really shines. This is when you can pay ¥2,200 for all-you-can-eat okonomiyaki and monja (one soft drink included), available in a whopping 21 varieties. The reasonable prices add to the attraction, as do the interesting wild grass toppings and various international specials. The clientele is quite diverse – even more so than usual in Harajuku.

Opening hours during New Year holidays: December 31-January 3 11am-5pm 

No prizes for guessing what this Chinese restaurant specialises in. Located on a dinky alleyway in Kabukicho – you basically have to walk through the outdoor kitchen to enter – Shanghai Xiaochi serves up a wide variety of delectable Shanghainese dishes, as well as some more unorthodox offerings. Fried spiders, anyone? If you're not keen on trying one of these critters, go for the clams in vinegar, served with fried bread. Come with a small group, order a bunch of dishes to share plus a few cold ones, and you're good to go. You might even forget you're in Kabukicho and think you've been transplanted to a hole-in-the-wall in the city above the sea.

Opening hours during New Year holidays: December 31 5pm-2am, January 1 5pm-12midnight, January 2-4 5pm-5am

With seafood delivered straight from the restaurant’s Hokkaido headquarters, it’s clear why people are willing to stand in long lines for a spot at this affordable kaitenzushi joint. Toriton is a seafood lover’s paradise, with menu items including buttery kanimiso (crab innards), gleaming ikura (squid) nigiri wrapped in salmon, and an icy fresh Hokkaido shrimp nigiri. Plates start at ¥143, and unlike many other sushi-go-round spots where it’s advisable to order directly from the chef, here you can happily pluck plates straight from the conveyor belt.

If you do want to order instead, you’ll need to write down which dishes you’d like and how many plates on a small order slip. Yes, there are cheaper kaitenzushi places out there, but Toriton’s generous portions combined with the freshness of the fish make it an unforgettable stop that’ll leave you dreaming of your meal long after you’ve left.

Opening hours during New Year holidays: December 29-30 regular hours, December 31 11am-9pm, January 1-4 regular hours

Tucked snugly into a corner by Shiba Park in Minato ward sits one of the most highly regarded pizzerias in Tokyo. Pizza Studio Tamaki, or PST as it’s called by fans, is led by Tsubasa Tamaki, who trained under lauded pizzaiolo Sussum Kakinuma of Seireinkan and Savoy. 

The bases are light and chewy, sporting the characteristic puffy crust and thin centre of Naples-style pizza. They’re cooked in a wood-fired oven at a searingly hot temperature, meaning they touch the insides for a matter of moments before being delivered to your table with just the right amount of char. You notice the bases have a salty slant, thanks to the pinch of salt thrown into the oven before the pizza goes in. 

Our favourites here are the namesake PST and the diavolo. The PST is a smoky spin on margherita, with smoked mozzarella, pecorino romano cheese, fresh basil and dotted with cherry tomatoes. The diavolo delivers a satisfying kick, with spicy pork mince, tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, olives, oregano and basil. There’s also a monthly special featuring seasonal ingredients like Hiroshima oysters, lotus root and yuzu paste.

There’s a ¥300 table charge, which gets you a little shot glass of extremely tasty mushroom soup, and each person is required to order at least one drink. Pizzas start at ¥1,700, but that’s not out of the ordinary for pizza in Tokyo, and you won’t regret the spend once you’ve tasted the pizza on offer here.

Opening hours during New Year holidays: December 31-January 5 5pm-10pm, closed January 6

The Mumbai group of restaurants have been serving up authentic, halal-friendly north Indian cuisine in Japan since 2005. Their 17th outlet, located inside the Aqua City Odaiba shopping centre, offers a range of aromatic biryanis, succulent tandoori fare and luscious curries, paired with plentiful wines and lassis. Don’t miss their acclaimed Seekh Kebab, served piping hot off the skewer at your table, all while immersing yourself in spectacular views of Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Bay.

Opening hours during New Year holidays: December 28- December 30 11am-11pm, December 31 11am-9pm, January 1- January 5 11am-11pm

Japanese sushi chain Kura Sushi has opened up this new outlet in Harajuku, just across from Laforet shopping mall. But you’ll quickly notice this outlet is a little different from all the rest.For starters, the staff are dressed in pink outfits and the interior is decked out with paper lantern walls and ukiyo-e art to match Harajuku’s eclectic style. Plus, along with the usual line up of sushi, this shop also offers Western-style rolls like the red dragon, golden crunch and tiger shrimp rolls (¥264) for a limited time.

That’s not all, though. You’ll find a separate section inside Kura Sushi Harajuku serving up the brand’s first-ever crêpes. The bright pink crêpes come in standard dessert flavours like maple syrup butter (¥280), chocolate and nuts (¥280) or strawberry double cream (¥380). Or you can go for something savoury with one of the frankly bizarre ‘sushi crêpes’.  The sushi crêpes come in tuna mayo or iberico pork flavour, both of which have fried sushi rice wrapped inside. 

If you’re not in the mood for a crêpe, there’s also soft serve ice cream and parfaits available too. You can take your food to-go, or eat out on the balcony with a clear view over the city.

Opening hours during New Year holidays: December 31 10.20am-9pm, January 1 11am-10pm, January 2-3 10.20am-11pm

Sarutahiko is reinvented by the Suppose Design Office with a spacious café tucked on the second floor of the new Harajuku Station building, which opened in 2020. There’s no shortage of seating inside this roomy café which looks over one of Tokyo’s busiest neighbourhoods and is fitted with cosy couches, communal tables and counter seating.

Although a predominately modern space, there are traditional Japanese touches too, from the wooden shoji panels dividing seating areas to the bonsai tree near the entrance. Perhaps the most stunning interior piece in the coffee shop is the massive central wooden table, seemingly cut from just one tree. The table also features handy outlets for those looking to get a bit of work done.

Opening hours during New Year holidays: December 30 8am-7pm, December 31 8am-7pm, 9pm-4am, January 1 5am-7pm, January 2 - January 3 8am-7pm, January 4 - January 5 8am-8pm

One day, all kaiten-zushi restaurants might be like this high-tech Shibuya sushi shop. You won't even find any conveyor belts in Uobei: once customers place their orders via multi-language touch screen, the dishes are delivered by high-speed chute, with nary a hint of there being any humans involved in the process. (Sure, the sushi itself is prepared by humans rather than sophisticated humanoids – but it's nice to imagine otherwise.) The flavours aren't quite as dazzling as the futuristic presentation, but when you're paying a rock-bottom ¥110 for each item on the menu, it's hard to complain.

Opening hours during New Year holidays: December 31 10.30am-7pm, January 1-2 10.30am-9pm, January 3 10.30am-11pm

At this convenient Roppongi eatery you’ll find one of the best pork tonkatsu in central Tokyo. The lunch deal, available daily until 4.30pm, is exceptional – you get a perfectly fried piece of pork loin, coated with crisp, golden panko, and served with bottomless rice and shredded cabbage, plus miso soup and pickles, for just ¥1,100.

If you want to splurge, premium pork options costing close to ¥3,000 are available. But the standard pork is no slouch: depending on the day, you could get an Okinawan meat raised on herbs or a breed from Chiba that feeds on sweet potatoes.

Opening hours during New Year holidays: December 31-January 3 11am-9pm