# Japanese Restaurant-Rating Platforms 'Tabelog' is Lauded as the Most Reliable Dining App in Japan By Joey Haar | Published 2017-10-30 | Lifestyle Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tabelog References: [eater](https://www.eater.com/2017/2/21/14686118/tokyo-tabelog-restaurant-ratings) & [tabelog](https://tabelog.com/) In North America, diners tend to rely on the biggest restaurant-rating apps — like [Yelp](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/yelp-3) — despite questioning their reliability, but the Japanese market seems to have found a workable solution with the nationwide 'Tabelog' platform. With a catalog of hundreds of thousands of restaurants throughout Japan (there are 131,000 listings in just Tokyo, for example), the app has managed to maintain reliability thanks to a stringent rating system. On Yelp, as well as on most North American apps and platforms that employ rating systems, users tend to be relatively laissez-faire with their apportionment of stars. Most people give four or five stars to a restaurant unless it was notably bad, leaving thousands and thousands of restaurants of broad-spanning quality levels with the same 4.9 star rating. Tabelog is far stricter: on the 5-star rating system, 3.5 stars would be considered extremely good, while [Michelin](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/icons-programs)-starred fine dining establishments earn slightly over four, and no restaurant on the entire service has ever earned a 5-star rating. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 0.6/10 - Popularity: 5% | Activity: 5% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Lifestyle](https://www.trendhunter.com/lifestyle) > [Food](https://www.trendhunter.com/food) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **Stricter Rating Systems:** Implementing stricter rating systems that differentiate between levels of quality can provide more reliable information for consumers. - **Localized Restaurant-rating Platforms:** Creating localized restaurant-rating platforms can offer more accurate and relevant information for specific regions. - **Innovation in Dining App Design:** Exploring innovative designs for dining apps can enhance user experience and improve reliability. ### Sectors Adopting This - **Restaurant Technology:** Developing new technologies for the restaurant industry, such as advanced rating systems, can bring disruptive innovation opportunities. - **Travel and Tourism:** Incorporating reliable restaurant-rating platforms into travel and tourism industry services can enhance the overall experience for travelers. - **App Development:** Investing in app development with a focus on improving restaurant-rating systems can tap into a market demand for more accurate information. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Japanese Gourmet-Focused Websites](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/go-tokyo-gourmet.md) - [Menu Recommendation Tools](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/dishfinder.md) - [Foodie Networking Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/yourtable.md) - [Highly Sought-After Restaurant Features](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/icons-programs.md) - [Cultural Dining Discovery](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/authfoodmaps.md) - [Social Restaurant Review Platforms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/crubster.md) - [Food Discovery Platforms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/jaifaim.md) - [Dining Organizer Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/yumbox.md) - [Premium Seating Platforms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tablz.md)