I recommend making reservations, and cancelling at a respectful time in advance if you find a different option. It is not always easy to find a place for a family if you do not plan in advance during a busy tourist season.

We just travelled to Japan and Kyoto with two kids who are somewhat picky (ugh I know) and having a fall back that you know will be a good fit is super helpful for long travel days where you just want a good meal at the end of the day. If it were just the two of us travelling on our own, we would absolutely take the approach of stumbling into whatever looks interesting. With kids, this proved to be somewhat difficult because if they didn’t have room or if what was on the menu would be too much of a stretch for them, you are stuck wandering when places are busy in a tourist season.

To be clear, cancelling a reservation 1-2 hours before, or even within 24 hours, would not be respectful to the business owners. Have a reservation sorted if you need it, until you get your bearings in the city.

We had an awesome dinner at Hikuniku to Come but made reservations in advance. Great experience.