1.
difficult to book, hard to get a reservation
Describes a restaurant, hotel, service, or event that is extremely popular and therefore very difficult to secure a reservation for. A common descriptor in restaurant reviews and travel writing.
あの店は予約困難で有名だ。
That restaurant is famous for being hard to book.
予約困難な人気店にやっと入れた。
I finally got into a popular restaurant that's notoriously hard to book.
ミシュラン三つ星の寿司屋は予約困難で、半年待ちのこともある。
The three-Michelin-star sushi restaurant is so hard to book that there can be a six-month wait.
A compound of 予約 (reservation, booking) + 困難 (difficult). Used as both a noun and a na-adjective. Extremely common in food and restaurant culture writing, especially in descriptions of exclusive or highly popular restaurants.
Often used as a compound modifier before 店/店 (restaurant/shop): 予約困難店 (a hard-to-book restaurant).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 予約困難店: hard-to-book restaurant
- 予約困難で有名: famous for being hard to book
- 予約困難な宿: hard-to-book inn
SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS:
- 予約が取れない: can't get a reservation — more conversational
- 予約必須: reservation required — means a reservation is needed, not necessarily that it's hard to get one
- 人気店: popular restaurant — describes popularity without specifically noting booking difficulty