Making “the next time we meet” more certain — Why the Japanese restaurant Kudani chose Respo

Mr. Nakajima:As a whole, our restaurant is themed around “modern classic.” Rather than emphasizing a stereotypical Japanese restaurant look, we wanted to create a space based on white as the main color.

However, if everything is pure white, the atmosphere inevitably feels too tense. So we incorporated wooden materials and rounded the corners to create a space with a gentle sense of warmth. There’s a slight feeling of tension, but within that, people can relax at ease. That’s the balance we aim for. We’ve also used wood in the lighting so that the overall space doesn’t feel too cold.

The shop’s theme colors are red and white, inspired by the Japanese flag. In the white space, we place red paintings and red trays, and we’ve also incorporated red into the carpet in the private rooms. From the design stage, we shared this concept so that guests can experience a unified atmosphere throughout the entire shop.

Mr. Nakajima:The three things I value most when thinking about a dish are “temperature,” “aroma,” and “how you feel after eating.” Hot dishes should be served while they’re still hot, and cold dishes should be properly chilled. During my training I was taught that “temperature itself is a delicacy,” and I still hold that idea very dear. When the temperature is just right, the aroma is enhanced as well, and even after finishing the course, I want guests to feel light enough to think, “I want to enjoy another good meal tomorrow.” Cooking isn’t about how much you manipulate the ingredients, but about bringing them to the state where they taste their very best. That, to me, is what it means to work as a chef.

Kurosaki:In the past, because we were listed on multiple platforms, we always had to check everything on our end to prevent double bookings when instant reservations overlapped. It’s no exaggeration to say that, except when I was asleep, I was constantly checking my phone. I always had this feeling that reservation management was lingering somewhere in the back of my mind.--- That’s a huge burden... Were there any other issues as well?

Kurosaki:We did. At the very beginning, we were managing everything with handwritten ledgers. Later, we switched over to a system, but at that time we had to manually enter each customer’s information ourselves, one by one, which took a huge amount of time. Looking back now, I still feel that changing the store management system was a much bigger burden than we had imagined.

Kurosaki:The biggest factor was that we could synchronize information with the reservation system we had been using up to now. I felt it would make management much easier, and when we switched systems, the person in charge at Respo handled all of the data migration for us, which was a huge help.

To be honest, when I remembered how burdensome our previous migration work had been, I felt a bit depressed thinking, “We have to go through all that again?” (laughs). But they supported us with everything, including that aspect, so we decided to go ahead with the implementation.

Mr. Kurosaki:Yes. The feature that lets us save images with customer information is really convenient. We save things like the slips from their previous visits and the business cards they give us by simply taking photos and storing them as they are.

Of course, we could keep it as text data, but images are easier to check visually, and since we only need to take a photo, it also reduces the effort required for data entry. In fact, we had been asking the system vendor we used before for this kind of feature for a long time.

For example, customers who like wine sometimes ask, “What did you serve me last time?” We can’t keep every past receipt, and there’s a limit to what we can remember. By being able to store that kind of information for each customer, it’s become much easier to make recommendations when they visit us next time.

With the hope that “the next time we meet, I can offer even better hospitality than last time, even if only a little,” I keep building up my daily records.

Mr. Kurosaki:To be honest, I’ve been so busy with day‑to‑day operations that I just haven’t been able to focus on attracting customers online. I’m not particularly strong when it comes to the internet or digital tools, so up until now the most we’ve managed to do on our own is sign up for a reservation site.

Amid all that, when we signed up for Respo, they suggested, “We can create a website for you free of charge.” They made wonderful use of the photos we had already taken at the shop and created a beautiful website that really feels like Kudani, and I was honestly so happy about that.

▶The newly created Kutan homepage:https://nihonryouri-kutan.com/

Mr. Nakajima:What we really want to do, after all, is to spend more time focusing on our cooking and on the customers right in front of us. We’re truly grateful to have a partner who understands that desire and supports our day‑to‑day restaurant operations beyond just reservation management — they’re an invaluable presence for Kutan.

Mr. Kurosaki:At our stores, multiple staff members generally handle reservation management, so I’m hoping this will help reduce the workload involved in sharing information and contribute to improving our operations.

Mr. Nakajima:Because we’re the ones using it every day, there are things we notice that others might not. I’d like us to have a relationship where we properly convey the voices from the field to Respo and work together to keep making it better.

Address: 1F, Shintomi MS Building, 2-5-5 Shintomi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Phone number: 03-5543-0335

Store information:https://autoreserve.com/ja/restaurants/ym78FzGdefAQDRcsMG2S