The tourism and restaurant industries have been hit the hardest due to the spread of COVID-19. In response, the Japanese government launched the 'Go To Campaign' to reignite the demand for these industries.

One of these is the 'Go To Eat Campaign', launched on October 1st. It supports the restaurants, hard at work providing service while also maintaining proper disease-prevention protocols, as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, which supplies their ingredients.

There are two parts of this campaign:
1. Meal discount vouchers that can be used at specified restaurants, and
2. Points you can earn by making online reservations for specified restaurants.

The aim is to encourage people to start eating at restaurants again.

The Go To Eat campaign will run from October 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021 (meal vouchers and points expire on March 31, 2021).

This campaign is open to anyone living in Japan, including foreign residents. For more information on how to obtain and use vouchers, please visit the official website of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Go To Eat Campaign: https://gotoeat.maff.go.jp/. And continue reading below!

Each prefecture issues their own discount meal vouchers that can be used at local restaurants. 25% of the sale amount is borne by the government. (Meaning, the value of your voucher is worth 25% more than what you pay).

For example, you can spend 10,000 yen on a voucher booklet, but it's total value will be 12,500 yen. That's the equivalent of a 2,500 yen discount off your meals - a pretty great deal!

How to Use

Purchase meal vouchers at designated sales counters in your region.
1. Bring a meal voucher to the restaurant and pay for a meal with the voucher.
2. Payments can be made in combination with cash.

However, be aware that you cannot receive change back from any unused portion of your voucher. Be careful not to purchase a voucher that exceeds the price of the meal you want to eat.

Meal voucher quantity, cost, and premium rate may vary by municipality or region. Place and method of purchase may also vary.

For details, please see the 'List of Participating Businesses' on the Go To Eat Official Website.

Meal vouchers are on sale until January 31, 2021, and are valid until March 31, 2021.

Q. If I purchase a meal voucher of a higher value than the actual meal cost, will I get change back?
A. You cannot get change back for the unused portion of a meal voucher. However, if your meal price exceeds the value of the voucher, you can pay the remainder in cash.

Q. Is there a limit to the number of meal vouchers I can buy?
A. Meal vouchers with a premium can be purchased up to 20,000 yen at a time. Depending on location, they may be sold in units of 8,000 yen with a purchase limit of up to 16,000 yen.

Q. Can I use my meal voucher when traveling outside the prefecture?
A. Meal tickets can only be used at specific restaurants within the prefecture where you purchased them. You may be able to purchase a voucher outside of your prefecture for use in that area, however, be aware that issuers may limit sales of meal vouchers to prefectural citizens only.

Q. I bought a meal voucher, but none of the specified restaurants are nearby! Can I return my voucher?
A. Meal vouchers cannot be returned. Please be sure to check participating locations as specified on each voucher issuer before purchasing.

During the campaign period, you can also accumulate points by making online reservations through participating restaurant websites (listed below).

Regardless of meal price, points are awarded in the amounts of 500 yen for lunch, and 1,000 yen for dinner (from 3:00PM) per reservation. You can earn points per person for up to 10 people per reservation. So if you make a reservation for 10 at dinner time, that's 10,000 points! The point collection period is until January 31, 2021, and points are valid until March 31, 2021.

There are 13 participating online services you can use to book your reservations, including Gurunavi, Tabelog, Yahoo! Loco Food and Beverage Reservation, Ikyu.com Restaurant, and HOT PEPPER Gourmet.

How to Use

1. Make a reservation and visit participating restaurants via the online restaurant reservation site.

2. Points will be awarded upon confirmation of the visit.

3. Follow the same steps to make reservations and visit participating restaurants from the next time onward.

4. You will receive discounts towards your next visit depending on how many points you have accumulated. You will also continue to earn points on your next visits.

Q. Is there a limit to the number of people I can add to my reservation at one time?
A. You may reserve up to 10 people per reservation (limit of 5,000 points for lunch, 10,000 points for dinner).

Q. Can I reserve offline?
A. Because the campaign requires use of one of the specified online reservation sites, you will need access to a phone or computer. Please register as a user and make a reservation through the website.

Q. I'm traveling and want to make reservations at a restaurant at my destination! Can I make reservations outside the prefecture?
A. You can make reservations at participating restaurants nationwide (some websites may limit use to certain areas). Please feel free to make reservations at your travel destination as available.


At this point, some of you may be thinking: "This is a very good deal, and I would love to go to a restaurant! But... what about coronavirus?"

Rest assured that all participating restaurants are implementing and adhering to strict countermeasures against infectious diseases, and are making every effort to ensure the safety of their visitors! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any of the participating restaurants directly.

In addition to the points you accumulate from the Go To Eat campaign, online reservation site Gurunavi will also reward you points for your visit! (25 points per person for lunch, 100 points per person for dinner.)

For example, if you book a one-person lunch online with Gurunavi, not only will you will receive your 500 campaign points, you also get 25 bonus points for a total of 525 points!

And of you book a family dinner for five people, you will earn 100 extra points per person, plus the 1,000 campaign points per person. That's a total of 5,500 points! If you use these reservation sites wisely, you can collect a great number of points at a great price!

On the Gurunavi website, you can search for and make reservations at participating restaurants in the Go To Eat Campaign. However, the site is available only on the Japanese site, so please follow the reservation instructions below.

STEP 1: Register as a Gurunavi member on their Japanese site (https://www.gnavi.co.jp/), then log in through the 'Go To Eat Campaign Target Store' tab. Make your reservations, and visit the shop.

STEP 2: Campaign points will be awarded together with regular visit points as 'limited-time points' eight days after your visit. You can check your points balance from 'my Gurunavi'.

STEP 3: Use your points to reserve and eat at even more participating 'Go To Eat Campaign' shops!

Q. When will I get my campaign points, and when can I use them?
A. Points earned from Go To Eat Campaign reservations are awarded 8 days after your visit. Points expire 60 days from the date of the grant.

Q. How many times can I make reservations to get points?
A. Reservations for Go To Eat Campaign Points are limited to 2 times a day, 10 times a month.

Q. If I make an online reservation at for 2 people, but change the reservation to 3 people later on, can I still receive Go To Eat campaign points for 3 people?
A. As long as the shop confirms the updated number of guests in the system at least one day before your visit, you will receive points for 3 people.

Q. What happens to my points if I make an online reservation but change the reservation date later on?
A. Points will be awarded as long as the newly scheduled visit date is within the Go To Eat campaign period.

The Go To Eat campaign has just begun! And we will continue to provide updates from time to time, so please stay tuned.

At Live Japan, we have lists of restaurants and facilities that take proper precautions against coronavirus. Soon, we will add a list of participating restaurants for the Go To Eat campaign. Please check back for updates!

When visiting any restaurant, always be careful about spreading infection. Enjoy your meal!