Why Restaurant Ratings Differ Across Japan, Google, and Overseas Platforms: A Data and Cultural Deep Dive

Same Five Stars, Completely Different Meaning

I was grabbing ramen with a friend from the States in Shinjuku the other day. He pulled out his phone, checked the ratings, and said "This place only has 3.4 stars. Let's find somewhere better." I couldn't help but laugh. That shop has a line out the door most nights—locals love it.

This kind of confusion happens all the time. After living in Japan for a while, you forget how weird the rating system looks to outsiders. On Tabelog—Japan's main restaurant review site—a 3.5 is actually really good. Try explaining that to someone who's used to Google Reviews, where anything under 4.0 seems sketchy.

On Tabelog, 3.5 Stars Is a Big Deal

Tabelog launched in 2005 and has become the go-to site for finding restaurants in Japan. Over 800,000 places are listed, and it's where most Japanese people start when deciding where to eat.

Here's where it gets interesting: about 97% of restaurants on Tabelog score 3.5 or lower. Places that crack 4.0? That's roughly 0.05% of all listings—maybe 400 to 500 restaurants in the entire country. So when you see a 3.5, you're looking at a genuinely excellent restaurant. Even 3.2 means "this is a solid place."

If you're coming from Google Reviews, this probably sounds insane. On Google, 4.0+ ratings are everywhere, and 3.5 makes you think twice. Different planet, basically.

Why Japanese Reviewers Don't Give Five Stars

So why the huge gap? It comes down to how Japanese people approach ratings.

In Japan, there's a strong tendency to stick to the middle of any scale unless something is truly exceptional—or truly terrible. Call it modesty, call it cultural restraint, but five stars are reserved for "absolutely perfect, life-changing meal" territory. It's not given out casually.

In the US or Europe, "the food was good and the service was nice" easily earns five stars. Same number, completely different bar. From what I've seen, Japanese reviewers treat five stars like a sacred trust. You really have to earn it.

Tabelog Gives Extra Weight to Long-time Reviewers

There's another wrinkle worth knowing: Tabelog doesn't just average all the ratings equally. Reviews from users who've been posting consistently for years carry more weight than first-time reviewers.

This means a tourist who visits once and drops a five-star review doesn't move the needle much compared to a local who's been reviewing restaurants for a decade. It's actually a pretty fair system—it keeps the "rating inflation" you see elsewhere in check.

The Strange Rating Gap in Tourist Areas

Something interesting happens in places like Shibuya or Asakusa. You'll find restaurants with 4.5 on Google but only 3.2 on Tabelog. And hidden gems in residential neighborhoods might have 3.6 on Tabelog but barely any Google reviews at all.

The reason is simple: different people use different platforms. Google gets reviews from tourists worldwide, and they rate based on their home country's standards. There's data showing that as English reviews increase, overall ratings tend to go up too.

This isn't good or bad—it's just different measuring sticks. That's exactly why checking both platforms is worth your time.

How to Actually Read These Ratings

Here's my personal cheat sheet:

For Tabelog: 3.0-3.2 means "reliably good," 3.3-3.5 is "very good," above 3.5 is "excellent," and 4.0+ puts you in elite territory nationwide.

For Google Reviews in Japan: Keep in mind that tourist areas tend to have inflated ratings. Check the review count and actually read some of them. Looking at both Japanese and English reviews gives you a fuller picture.

My rule of thumb: if a place scores well on both platforms, you've found somewhere that satisfies both Japanese locals and international visitors. That's usually a safe bet.

What the Numbers Can't Tell You

Here's the thing though—ratings only go so far. They don't tell you about the atmosphere, whether you can comfortably eat alone, if it's good for a date, or if the staff speaks any English. If you can't read Japanese, even the detailed reviews aren't much help.

That's actually one of the reasons we built LocalWays. Instead of just sorting by score, we wanted to help people find restaurants based on what they actually care about. The cultural gap in rating systems shouldn't keep you from finding the right place.