Restaurant Search

Restaurant Search

Find Japanese restaurants using the hpp CLI (HotPepper Gourmet API). https://github.com/jackchuka/hpp

Prerequisites

• hpp CLI installed and HOTPEPPER_API_KEY env var set

Workflow

1. Parse the request

Extract from the user's request:

• Location: Station name, area name, or coordinates
• Party size: Number of people (maps to --party-capacity)
• Day/time: Determines which restaurants are open (check open/close fields)
• Genre preference: e.g., izakaya, Chinese, Italian (maps to --genre)
• Budget: Price range (maps to --budget)
• Features: Private rooms (--private-room), non-smoking (--non-smoking), WiFi (--wifi), free drink (--free-drink), etc.
• Keywords: Free text like "ramen", "sushi" (maps to --keyword)

2. Resolve the area code

The API requires area codes, not free-text location names. Resolve the location:

hpp area small --keyword "<location-name>"

This returns small area codes (e.g., X085 for 浜松町) along with parent middle/large area codes.

If no small area matches, try middle area:

hpp area middle --keyword "<location-name>"

If the user provides coordinates (lat/lng), skip area lookup and use --lat, --lng, --range instead.

3. Resolve genre codes (if needed)

If the user requests a specific cuisine type:

hpp genre

Common genre codes:

If unsure, run hpp genre to get the full list.

4. Resolve budget codes (if needed)

If the user specifies a budget:

hpp budget

Common budget codes:

5. Search restaurants

Build the hpp search command with resolved codes and flags:

hpp search --small-area <code> --party-capacity <N> --count 10

Key flags to apply based on user needs:

Range values for coordinate search: 1=300m, 2=500m, 3=1km, 4=2km, 5=3km.

Always use JSON output (default) for parsing, then present results as a table.

6. Present results

Display results as a markdown table with these columns:

After the table, add brief recommendations highlighting the best options for the user's specific needs (e.g., closest to station, best for groups, has private rooms).

7. Refine (if requested)

If the user wants to narrow down, add more flags and re-search. Common refinements:

• "with private rooms" → add --private-room
• "under 4000 yen" → add --budget B001,B002,B003
• "non-smoking" → add --non-smoking
• "show me more" → increase --count or use --start for pagination

Other Useful Commands

• hpp shop --name "<name>" — Look up a specific restaurant by name
• hpp special list — Browse special features/tags
• hpp creditcard — List accepted credit card types

Important Notes

• Always use --count to limit results (default 10, max 100)
• The API returns Japanese text — present it as-is, do not translate unless asked
• Monday = 月, check open/close fields to verify the restaurant is open on the requested day
• When the user specifies a day, check the close field for regular holidays (e.g., 日 = Sunday)
• Coupon links are available in coupon_urls.sp — mention if the user asks about deals