Introduction example: 京都やま岸

“Personalized Hospitality for Every Guest” — Where a Multi-Concept Group Stands Today

First, could you tell us about Tominokoji Yamagishi and the Yamagishi Group?

Tominokoji Yamagishi is a Japanese restaurant that opened in October 2015 in a renovated 130-year-old traditional townhouse on Tominokoji Street in Kyoto. We welcome guests at counter seating only and offer a single set-course menu. We were awarded one star in the 2017 Michelin Guide Kyoto Osaka and, thanks to your support, have retained it every year since.

“Providing hospitality tailored to each and every guest” is a philosophy shared across our entire group. We carefully build a record of guest information, including birthdays and anniversaries, allergies, previous visits, and even beverage preferences.

What kinds of stores does your group operate?

We currently operate a total of eight restaurants in Kyoto and Tokyo. In addition to our flagship restaurant, Tominokoji Yamagishi, our Kyoto locations include Nomikoji Yamagishi, Nijo Yamagishi, Gion Yamagishi, Yakiniku Yamachan, and Kyoen. In Tokyo, we have Ginza Nomikoji Yamagishi, which opened in November 2023, and Tominokoji Yamagishi Azabudai Hills, which opened in January 2024.

Our restaurants span a truly diverse range of styles, from Japanese cuisine and hot pot kaiseki to izakaya dining and yakiniku. At heart, however, they are all guided by the same desire: to offer every guest, at each and every location, an experience that feels uniquely Yam岸.

Records were siloed by location. As the business expanded to more stores, the burden on frontline staff only grew.

—Before implementing Respo, how did you manage reservations?

We previously used another company's reservation management service. We received bookings through multiple platforms, but at the time, those platforms were not integrated with the reservation ledger, so our staff had to manually enter each booking into the ledger.

Manually entering and transcribing all of that sounds like quite a workload...

That's right. With so many fields to fill in—date and time, number of guests, name, seating preference, course selection, and special requests—input errors were bound to happen. We often heard that on especially busy days or when new staff members were handling reservations, the constant need to double-check everything was extremely stressful.

To be honest, before I could focus on cooking as a chef, I spent a lot of time distracted by data entry.

—Were there any other challenges?

Another major challenge was that we were unable to share customer information across the group's restaurants. For example, even if a regular customer of “Tominokoji Yamagishi” made a reservation at “Ginza Nomikoji Yamagishi,” we sometimes would not realize they were the same customer until the day of their visit.

From the customer’s perspective, we are all part of the same Yamagishi Group, so ideally, the way we welcome and serve them should be consistent across the group. However, because each location maintained its own separate customer records, we had long felt that we were not making full use of the relationships and history built up across the group as a whole. When we had only two or three locations, our frontline staff were able to make it work through their own efforts. But as we expanded into Tokyo and grew the number and variety of our establishments, we began to reach the limits of that approach.

We can now operate multiple locations and business formats without confusion.

What were the first changes you noticed after implementing Respo?

The most obvious benefit is that we no longer need to log in to each booking platform separately. Respo integrates the booking platforms with the reservation ledger, so almost everything can be handled within Respo without having to open each platform’s admin dashboard one by one.

We also heard that it proved useful in situations where help was needed.

Yes, this is a change that has been especially well received by our frontline staff. Within the group, staff often provide support at other locations. Previously, they had to obtain separate login credentials for the platform used by the location they were helping and then log in again, which was a cumbersome process.

Since we introduced Respo, staff can simply log in with their own accounts and, from the moment they arrive to help at another location, view and manage that location’s reservations just as easily as they would at their own. Eliminating the feeling that “the days I help out are the most stressful” has made a bigger difference than we ever imagined.

I also understand that each store uses Respo differently.

That's right. The Yamagishi Group combines and implements Respo products to suit each restaurant's format. A notable example is Nomikoji Yamagishi, which uses the full suite: in addition to a reservation ledger and site controller, it also uses a POS system, payment terminals, and mobile ordering.

—Why did you choose the full set at Nomikoji Yamagishi?

At Nomikoji Yamagishi, guests first enjoy our standard omakase course, then add any dishes or drinks they like à la carte, depending on their mood and appetite that day. We wanted to minimize the unavoidable downtime—the time it takes for staff to come and take each additional order, and the time guests spend waiting to settle their bill—by introducing mobile ordering and payment terminals.

Since implementing Respo, our staff are no longer overwhelmed by taking orders and processing payments, allowing them to focus more on what truly matters: creating an enjoyable dining experience and engaging with our guests. It feels as though Respo is working behind the scenes to give us more time to provide the personalized hospitality that the Yamagishi Group has always valued—attentively adapting to each guest’s pace and preferences.

—I understand there have also been changes on the ground that are difficult to capture in numbers.

Yes, staff across our locations consistently point to two key benefits: fewer human errors and greater peace of mind. Since reservations no longer need to be transcribed manually, mistakes such as incorrect party sizes or dates and times have become extremely rare. Customer information is also shared across the group, so staff are far less likely to find themselves wondering, “Is this the customer’s first visit?”

The time and energy once consumed by double-checking and worrying about whether something might be wrong can now be devoted to the food and our guests. Although this change happens behind the scenes, I believe it directly improves the overall quality of our service.

A system that ensures “Yamagishi quality” remains consistent across locations

Could you tell us how the Yamagishi Group uses Respo in its own unique way?

We have refined how we use Respo’s standard features to suit our own operations. Here are two representative examples.

The first is “color-coded management” of birthday and allergy information. We use colors to manage particularly important items in Respo’s customer information. Customers with birthdays or anniversaries, customers with allergies or foods they dislike, and customers requiring VIP treatment are each assigned a color, with the same color-coding rules shared across all locations in the group.

The colors are more than just visual markers; each one is tied to an operational rule, such as “Whenever you see this color, be sure to notify the kitchen” or “The manager should personally greet guests marked with this color.” Because every location uses the same color-coded rules in the same Respo system, the quality of the Yamagishi experience remains consistent across all locations—a significant benefit.

—What is the second one?

We tailor the Respo product configuration to each location. At kaiseki restaurants such as Tominokoji Yamagishi, the focus is on the reservation ledger and customer management. Since they offer a single set-course menu, the staff handle ordering through attentive, personalized service. At izakaya-style restaurants such as Nomikoji Yamagishi, as I mentioned earlier, we use the full suite: a site controller, POS system, payment terminals, and mobile ordering. For locations that primarily operate across multiple booking platforms, our top priority is centralizing inventory across those platforms using the site controller.

Our experience has shown that not insisting on the same operating model across every location in the group ultimately leads to a better customer experience while also minimizing the burden on frontline staff. Just as in cooking, where it is important to choose the right amount of preparation for each ingredient, we believe the same principle applies to systems.

I hope you will continue to be a partner who conveys the voices of those on the front lines.

What does Respo mean to the Yamagishi Group?

For us, Respo is a tool that we actively use, rather than one that dictates how we work. We hope it will continue to be our partner in building a better service by listening to feedback from those on the front lines.

Lastly, do you have a message for restaurant owners who are considering adopting Respo?

I think Respo’s design—letting you see the entire group in a single ledger while allowing each location to choose the products it needs—is especially well suited to businesses operating multiple locations and concepts. On the other hand, even for businesses starting with just one location, simply integrating booking platforms with the ledger should significantly reduce errors and stress for on-site staff.

Technology is not something that undermines the traditions of Kyoto cuisine or the unique vision of each restaurant; rather, it serves as a foundation that supports them behind the scenes. I hope Respo will continue to provide that support going forward.

Store Information

Tominokoji Yamagishi

Address: 560 Honeya-cho, Tominokoji-dori Rokkaku-sagaru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture
Phone number: 075-708-7865
Restaurant details:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/mfUkcgEHqCc42cJU46KM

Nomikoji Yamagishi

Address: 293-3 Shimohakusancho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture
Phone number: 075-366-4882
Restaurant details:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/h3eVK5Ygeg6hAhCxMoVv

Nijo Yamagishi

Address: 8-1 Nishinokyo Shokushicho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture
Phone number: 075-801-7900
Restaurant details:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/rqdSe8PyhZ9zffgrdwZ9

Gion Yamagishi

Address: 570-154 Gionmachi Minamigawa, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture
Phone number: 075-551-0701
Restaurant details:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/BRKi8o3fd2gf3dmcy55Y

Yakiniku Yamachan

Address: 157-11 Takoyacho, Takoyakushi-dori Fuyacho Higashi-iru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture
Phone number: 075-366-4829
Restaurant details:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/Am4yvAki4px488auSrVA

Feast

Address: 354 Kiyomotocho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture
Phone number: 075-532-0428
Restaurant details:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/N5StD14yFQagz8b7GWEq

Ginza Nomikoji Yamagishi

Address: Ginza Takagi Building 10F, 7-3-6 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Phone number: 03-5537-3510
Restaurant details:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/azgfpJ54GicPsieWTvCA

Tominokoji Yamagishi Azabudai Hills

Address: Azabudai Hills Garden Plaza B, 5-9-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-6452-8088
Restaurant details:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/SDfR2SjTseXo6J8wsU5Z