Introduction example: Over 80% of bookings are now made online. “We’ve been able to cut down on the time and effort spent on customer management, which has given us more time to focus on serving our customers.” (124.KAGURAZAKA)

Opening my business without missing the timing and the ‘chance encounter’ that came my way

— Could you tell me about your shop?

Owner-chef Kimura has been involved in the food and beverage industry for many years and had aimed to go independent since his twenties. After working in various types of restaurants, starting with French cuisine, he ultimately envisioned running a yakitori restaurant. With that clear goal in mind, he trained at a renowned yakitori restaurant in Nakameguro, and on September 1, 2023, he opened “124.KAGURAZAKA.” The restaurant has only counter seating, with a maximum of 13 seats. To ensure guests can relax and enjoy a special time, the main offering is a chef’s choice course menu, and the restaurant operates by reservation only.

— The shop’s name is “124.KAGURAZAKA”; that’s a unique name.

Besides the owner-chef, we have one more chef and myself, so the three of us run this place. All three of our birthdays fall in December and April. On top of that, the address of this restaurant is “Wakamiya-cho 12-4,” so we decided on the name “124.KAGURAZAKA.” Yakitori restaurants often have names like “Tori○○,” so we wanted something that would clearly set us apart from other places—an original name that doesn’t sound like a typical yakitori joint. That’s when we came across this location, and everything clicked. I used to work with the owner at the same restaurant, and when he decided to go independent, he reached out to me, so I’ve been involved with the business from the very beginning.

— It sounds like a place where all kinds of connections come together. Was there a particular reason you chose Kagurazaka, an area lined with so many restaurants and bars?

At first I was looking for a place in other areas like Nakameguro and Ebisu, but nowhere really clicked for me. Seniors who had already gone independent told me, “Don’t rush it. If you take your time looking, the right property will come along,” and that turned out to be exactly right. After about two years of searching, this property came on the market. When I actually went to see it, I felt an immediate spark. It also helped a lot that the owner had worked in Kagurazaka more than 10 years ago, so he already knew the atmosphere of the neighborhood and the flow of people here.

— What kind of dishes do you serve?

We offer course meals consisting of 15 to 17 dishes, including yakitori made with Date chicken, a renowned brand chicken from Fukushima, vegetable skewers that bring out the natural flavor of the ingredients, and seasonal à la carte specialties. In addition to sake and shochu, we also have a wide selection of wines and craft beers that pair well with yakitori. You can also enjoy adding a finishing ramen, rice with raw egg, or dessert separately from the course.

Our customers range widely in age, from their 20s to their 60s, and visit for many occasions: dates, family meals out for those who live nearby, girls’ nights out, and more. Some guests love yakitori so much that they even make reservations for just one person. Our skewers, carefully grilled by the owner over binchotan charcoal, are very well received. Watching from across the counter, we can really feel how much everyone enjoys eating, drinking, and having a good time. It’s been about three months since we opened, and we’re feeling more confident with each passing day.

With rising prices driving up fixed costs, the biggest attraction is the relatively low pricing.

— Please tell us why you decided to introduce the Respo reservation ledger.

I think the most attractive point of AutoReserve’s service is that there are no referral commission fees. When starting a new restaurant business, especially with today’s rising prices, we expect many expenses such as daily purchasing costs, utilities, and rent. In that situation, being able to keep costs down for managing the reservation ledger is a major advantage and was a key reason it was easy to adopt. At the restaurant where the owner trained in his previous job, they used another company’s service, so he was already very familiar with how such systems work. However, he felt that AutoReserve’s service was even more appealing than that, which led to the decision to introduce it.

Secure over 80% of reservations online and deliver more focused, efficient customer service

How many of your customers make reservations online?

If we include online reservations from AutoReserve and bookings made via Instagram DMs, online reservations account for 80–90% of the total. We do sometimes take reservations by phone directly at the restaurant, but AutoReserve makes up the largest share.

— What do you think is the main strength of online reservations?

I think the main benefit is that collecting reservations online saves time and effort. When customers make reservations through AutoReserve, the booking is completed without creating extra work for the restaurant, which is really helpful.

To be honest, since our entire operating staff consists of only three people, we want to focus as much as possible on serving customers during business hours. When the phone rings while we’re open, it disrupts the flow of what we’re doing—such as attending to the customers in front of us and keeping track of each table’s dining pace. Also, there are times when we simply can’t answer the phone right away, which means we may end up missing out on reservations that people kindly try to make.

To drive online reservations, we also list our restaurant information in parallel on other restaurant search sites, but we encourage customers to make reservations through AutoReserve by including guidance to that effect, and we also try to be creative by adding links to the reservation page on Instagram as well.

The simplified operation makes it easy to implement even for small shops and beginners.

―――What kind of impression do you have of the usability of the Respo reservation ledger?

I felt that many parts can be managed with a single touch and that the operations are streamlined. Registering entries in the reservation ledger is simple and not difficult, and you can also view the registered information in a list. I think the system is easy to adopt even for people who are not used to entering data into a reservation ledger.

Stores that are operating on a larger scale might feel that it would be better to have more detailed settings and additional features, but for small shops or individually run businesses, I think they will likely find the cost and ease of use to be advantageous.

— And how is the support system?

My impression is that the customer support staff are always extremely courteous in their dealings with us, and we really appreciate that. The system is frequently updated, so whenever there’s something we don’t understand, we contact support each time as we use it. We also share any feedback we have about usability, and I feel they respond very carefully each time, resolving things as much as they can.

— Finally, could you tell us about your goals going forward?

We currently have one location, but the owner is considering expanding in Kagurazaka with additional restaurants in the yakitori style. There isn’t much concrete information yet, but we are in the process of moving forward with plans to open a second location. In Kagurazaka, with its rich sense of history and culture, we hope to create a restaurant where guests can enjoy delicious seasonal dishes and leave fully satisfied.

Store Information

124. KAGURAZAKA

Address: 3rd Floor, Fill Park Kagurazaka Wakamiya, 12-4 Wakamiya-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Phone number: 03-4400-2124
Store details:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/ALWCBNJg8eexPHfGCCYQ