“Set different booking requirements for domestic and international guests”—the value that Hitsuji SUNRISE in Azabu-Juban and Kagurazaka found in Respo
Hitsuji SUNRISE is a renowned restaurant specializing in lamb and mutton, with two locations in Tokyo’s Azabu-Juban and Kagurazaka neighborhoods. Over the decade since its founding, it has won the hearts of food lovers from all walks of life, from local Tokyo residents and travelers from across Japan to the rapidly growing number of international visitors in recent years.
As international guest numbers grew, however, reservation management challenges began to emerge, including handling no-shows and managing customer information scattered across different systems. In 2026, Hitsuji SUNRISE began using Respo. Recognizing the value of Respo’s distinctive ability to set different booking requirements for domestic and international guests, the restaurant group adopted it as the standard reservation platform across both locations.
We spoke with Tatsuya Ishikawa, head of Hitsuji SUNRISE, about the reasons behind adopting Respo and his expectations for the future.
Creation date: 2026年11月2日
Update date: 2026年11月2日
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Hitsuji SUNRISE, with two locations in Azabu-Juban and Kagurazaka
—Tell us about your customers.
Our customers span a wide range of ages. Many live in Tokyo, but quite a few also visit while traveling from farther afield. Since lamb isn’t something people typically eat every day, one of the distinctive things about our restaurant is that many customers come specifically for it, telling us, “This is what we came for.”
Our Azabu-Juban location is right next to Roppongi, with embassies nearby. We initially expected a lot of international visitors, but until recently, they actually made up a relatively small share of our customers. Over the past year or so, however, things have changed significantly, and that share has grown considerably.
Worsening No-Shows and Fragmented Customer Information
ーーーBefore introducing Respo, what challenges did you face in managing your store?
There are two main points.
The first issue is the rise in no-shows as the number of international visitors increases. Customers from overseas can register without a Japanese phone number, so in many cases, when we tried to contact them, we had no way to reach them.
Originally, we had no policy of charging cancellation fees, so whenever someone failed to show up, we simply lost all the revenue from those seats. Given the nature of our business, we get almost no walk-ins and fill our seats almost entirely through reservations, so the impact is really significant. With only about 20 seats in total, even a single cancellation makes a big difference. In some months, we had as many as seven last-minute cancellations, making this a serious issue we simply couldn’t ignore. The impact on the restaurant was even greater when these cancellations involved groups of four or so.
The second issue was that customer information was scattered across different channels. We had been using a booking management system since we first opened, but our approach was to hand customers our business cards and connect with them directly on LINE. As a result, we were taking bookings both through LINE and over the phone.
We receive a lot of bookings through LINE, but it was often difficult to ask customers we were already connected with on LINE for their phone numbers afterward. Since many people share the same full name, duplicate customer records were inevitable without a way to link them by phone number. Even when customers entered the name of the person who referred them in LINE’s notes field, no system had a feature that could use that information to automatically merge customer records.
The deciding factor was the ability to set separate booking conditions
ーーー数あるサービスの中で、Respoを選ばれた決め手を教えてください。
The biggest deciding factor was the ability to set different booking conditions for domestic and international guests.
To collect cancellation fees, customers need to register a credit card or another payment method in advance. While this is an accepted practice overseas, the reality is that many Japanese customers find it enough of a hassle to think, “In that case, I won’t bother.” Respo’s unique strength was its ability to accommodate different booking requirements: accepting reservations from domestic customers with just a phone number, while requiring international visitors to register a credit card in advance and book a set menu.
It’s exactly the feature we wanted—so much so that we’d say it’s worth it for that alone.
For advance reservations, we also limit guests visiting from overseas to the ¥11,000 course. Lamb is an ingredient whose true appeal comes through when experienced as part of a complete meal. Differences in cultural backgrounds have sometimes led to orders that did not align with the dining style at Hitsuji SUNRISE. By explaining the course menu and price at the time of booking, we ensure that guests arrive knowing what to expect and feeling comfortable with their choice, while allowing us to be fully prepared to welcome them.
Respo’s flexible booking settings help us ensure that every guest enjoys the same high-quality experience at Hitsuji SUNRISE, regardless of language or cultural differences.
In addition, Respo lets you manage not just reservations but also your POS system and payment terminals in one place as an all-in-one solution. Having a single point of contact when problems arise greatly reduces the burden on frontline staff and often makes accounting tasks easier, too. I also saw a major benefit in being able to move away from a patchwork of disconnected systems.
—How was the support you received from the evaluation stage through the initial implementation?
Compared with other software providers, I feel that Respo offers exceptionally attentive support after implementation. With other providers, they were very proactive with their proposals right up until implementation, but once the system was in place, it felt like they gradually faded away.
With Respo, perhaps because we’re still in the early stages of implementation, they respond quickly and offer advice based on a thorough understanding of what’s happening at our stores. In our conversations, we also share feedback on usability details and requests for features we’d like to see. If those things gradually improve, I think it will give us a sense that we’re moving forward together.
Unify settings across both stores to standardize operations throughout the group
—Could you tell us about your approach to running the two stores?
We generally keep the system settings consistent across our Azabu-Juban and Kagurazaka locations. Different settings would make administration more complicated and put a burden on staff who move between locations to help out, as they would have to relearn the settings each time.
Being able to use the same system with the same settings at every location makes operations much easier and gives our staff peace of mind. We plan to continue this standardized approach across the Hitsuji SUNRISE Group.
“Let the system handle reservations so your sales team can focus on the customers in front of them.”
—Finally, how do you plan to continue working with Respo, and what message would you like to share with others in the restaurant industry?
Personally, I’m of the opinion that making a reservation shouldn’t require a conversation. That’s because I believe a restaurant’s real opportunity to shine begins when the guest walks through the door.
During business hours, I want to devote all my attention and skills to satisfying the customers right in front of me. But phone calls come in whenever it suits the caller, and we have to stop what we’re doing to answer them. For example, if the phone rings while I’m making a customer’s drink, I have no choice but to prioritize the call. Even though the customer in front of me ordered their drink first, the phone call takes precedence. I felt that this wasn’t how a restaurant should operate.
Since we introduced Respo, its AI phone assistant has been handling incoming calls automatically during business hours. With AI taking care of reservations and basic inquiries, our on-site staff can stay focused on the customers in front of them without being interrupted by phone calls. “Let the system handle reservations so staff can focus on serving customers”—the division of responsibilities we envisioned is now becoming a reality thanks to Respo’s AI phone assistant.
As labor shortages worsen and inbound tourism continues to grow, we believe that being able to entrust tasks to systems like Respo will become increasingly important for the food service industry.
There are still some aspects we’d like to improve as we use it, including the finer details of day-to-day usability on site. But we hope to build a relationship where we can share those requests and work together to make it better—that’s how we see our partnership with Respo going forward.
Store Information
Hitsuji SUNRISE Azabu-Juban
Address: 3F, PIA Azabu-Juban II, 2-19-10 Azabu-Juban, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0045, Japan
Phone number: 050-3823-6491
Restaurant information:https://autoreserve.com/ja/restaurants/cFhfviEdTe9gEce7n55X
Hitsuji SUNRISE Kagurazaka
住所：〒162-0828 東京都新宿区袋町2 杵屋ビル201
Phone number: 050-3823-6523
Restaurant information:https://autoreserve.com/ja/restaurants/158izJWSp7RijhthVNYm