November 19, 2025 — 5:00am
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One of the greatest pieces of advice someone gave me about travelling in Japan was to never use English when searching for something on Google Maps. Use English and you’ll find English reviews, which means bigger lines of tourists, something which I do my best to avoid when in the country.
The best thing to do is find the translation of what you want online, then copy and paste it using one of Japan’s three (not at all confusing) alphabets into Google Maps, and be rewarded with Japanese reviews that Google is kind enough to translate back into English.
Want ramen?
Try using ラーメン instead.
The local language will reveal local secrets.Illustration: Greg Straight
Want to find a tachinomi?
Then whack 立ち飲み into Google.
In doing so, you’ll discover the local bars, the low-key restaurants, and the neighbourhood izakayas where everyone has a bottle of nihonshu (we’d call it sake) behind the bar with their name on it.
If there is one downside to using this technique, it’s that translating Japanese reviews can be as confusing as watching arthouse cinema. And I’m not just talking about translating them from Japanese into English but between the vast gulf in our online reviewing cultures.
Let’s start with an example, a review of one of my favourite bars in Nagoya.
A casual standing bar with great value snacks. It’s a delicious and fun place!
Based on this review, how many stars would you give this standing bar? Four? Five? Well, according to the local guide, it was only worthy of three stars, something I would vehemently disagree with. There aren’t enough stars in the night sky to adequately express how much I loved this place and yet according to them, having delicious, great-value snacks and being fun wasn’t enough to earn it four stars, let alone five.
Don’t be dissuaded by places with “bad” reviews in Japan … it could be a local hit.Getty Images
This is a particularly mundane example. I’ve read Japanese reviews where, after gushing about how good the food and service was, someone proceeded to only give it one star because a dog was tied up across the street, and it gave them a funny look when they left the restaurant. And while I can’t speak for this man (or the dog), what I can say is that the issue here is a cultural one.
In Japan, three stars is exactly what three stars should be; an experience that meets your expectations. In order to reach the staggering heights of five stars, a place really needs to go above and beyond.
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It’s a stark contrast from Australia where we throw out five stars like they are participation awards at an under-12s football ceremony. Anything less will earn you a passive-aggressive “Thanks for dining with us! Let us know what we can do to do better next time” response from the establishment.
So don’t be dissuaded by places with “bad” reviews in Japan. Some of the best restaurants I’ve been to have ratings that would make me cancel my Uber and catch a bus. To ignore these places is to exclude yourself from some of the most amazing, local, and (dare I say it) authentic parts of the country, as there is more to the dining experience than we will ever be able to fit into five stars.
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Paul Marshall is a Sydney-based travel writer who left his heart on the Banana Pancake Trail. With more than 10 years’ experience in the film, television, and video game industries, he now writes about his former life as a digital nomad and is always plotting his next escape. Whether it’s cycling across Korea or living in a Japanese fishing village, he loves a little-known destination and an offbeat adventure.Connect via email.From our partners
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