For foreigners, they will now only allow reservations to be made online, not even from a hotel concierge. There are 2 booking sites: Omakase and Tableall. The booking fee is less with Omakase. Reservations can be made starting 2 months before the month in which you hope to dine.

https://www.omakase-japan.jp/en/stores/10993

Referral does not have to be a regular; anyone who has been to Matsukawa once can be a referral.

Tabiko advised that you need to speak Japanese in order to dine there, is it true?

They have at least one English speaking staff who will assist you during your meal - so it's not necessary to speak Japanese.

This info was accurate at the time this article was written, two years ago. In 2019, I believe booking by new clients for dining at the counter there, unfortunately, would be impossible.

@localtaste, is lunch booking possible for first timers?

@viv I have to let Leo / others correct me if I am wrong. But lunch booking at the counter isn’t even possible for first timer. Personally, I prefer Kimoto and a number of people I know agree. (But some disagree though.)

Matsukawa is introduction only regardless of lunch or dinner. Kimoto is bookable by omakase, though one has to engage in internet warfare.

it's still relatively easy to book kimoto on omakase. definitely not an amamoto situation where everything is gone within seconds.

thanks localtaste! loved kimoto too, it is probably the best kaiseki i've been to so far.

@viv u r always welcome. As u got lots of dining experience at so many top restaurants, I don’t think u would miss as much as u thought without visiting Matsukawa. I know how u feel, especially it’s on the top of the list everybody is talking about. Some of any top of these restaurant lists could be disappointing. They are subject to lots of factors including culinary politics. There are so many great restaurants out there which yet unknown and not too difficult to book.

@localtaste I hear you. I recently been to a top rated french restaurant in Tokyo and felt underwhelmed. The restaurant was so hard to get into but is ordinary at best in my opinion. Sometimes things are just overhyped, especially by SNS. So thank you for sharing your honest opinions of restaurants here. I used to want to go to every highly rated restaurant but now more of going with the flow. 一期一会 it is!

Have you had any luck getting in here?@Leo Saito

Yes, I've been there a few times after being taken by a friend who is a regular. It's the top sushi in Japan. It seems that it's easier to get a reservation in the separate room held by the second-in-command, Shunji-san.

@Leo Saito I read about that room. When somebody takes you to Saito, are you able to make a reservation after your dinner? I suspect that even on the first of the month, they don't even bother picking up the phone. When I do get through, it's usually an answering machine.

Yeah it seems like they don't accept new reservations over the phone anymore. Even if you do manage to get through you only get an answering machine. It's a waste of time and effort...
But if you go there even just once, you should be able to make the next reservation at that time. Apparently there is a waiting list about 6 months to 1 year long though.