The Japanese restaurant industry appears to be in a robust recovery based on the number of restaurant reservations recorded via TableCheck in 7,000 restaurants nationwide. Reservation figures for December 2022, the peak visitor month, indicate that reservations skyrocketed to 279.6% compared to December 2019, marking a threefold increase.

However, an additional comparison of the number of domestic reservations versus inbound customers reveals intriguing trends. In October 2023, reservations from Japanese nationals and residents accounted for 69.8% while reservations made by inbound customers soared to 229.4% compared to October 2019 figures. This shows international visitors are significantly contributing to the growth and recovery of the sector.

Inbound tourism surges: Top visitors to Japan are from Asian countries

Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States consistently hold the top three spots for the top visitors to Japan with South Korea following closely behind. In October 2023 alone, restaurant reservations from South Korean visitors dramatically increased to 9.5 times compared to the same month in 2019, demonstrating that Japan is a popular destination among South Koreans.

Meanwhile, in the same month, restaurant reservation numbers from Chinese visitors also exceeded pre-COVID levels, reaching 117.6%, two months after the resumption of Chinese group travel in August of this year. With the number of Chinese tourist arrivals expected to increase in the future, the inbound dining market is expected to remain robust.

Tokyo and Kyoto: Top two cities with high visitation frequency from inbound tourists

Tokyo and Kyoto top the list in terms of visitation frequency, while Osaka ranks at the bottom, according to a TableCheck survey conducted between October 27-30 this year with 1,022 restaurant workers in Japan. The percentage of restaurants visited almost every day by inbound tourists has also doubled since pre-COVID to 54.1%. Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kanagawa ranked in the top three for high-frequency visits from tourists at least once a week or even daily.

In contrast, Osaka had the lowest percentage of high-frequency visits. Despite being the second most visited prefecture for inbound tourists* due to attractions like theme parks and the upcoming Osaka Expo in 2025, the percentage of international tourists dining in restaurants is relatively low. There's a possibility that interest from inbound tourists might be flowing to surrounding areas like Kyoto. Restaurants with low reservations may also still be relying on phone bookings instead of implementing a multilingual online reservation system that has language support capabilities to help foreigners seamlessly book restaurants without needing to know the Japanese language.

*Japan National Tourism Organization: Tourism Statistics in Japan: Prefecture Ranking by Visits

Digitizing restaurant reservations

Although the online reservation market for restaurants is growing, 70% of Japanese restaurants have yet to adopt an effective booking system to help them boost their reservation numbers, particularly from international visitors.

"Customer service," "inquiry response," and "multilingual support for online reservations” are the top language-related challenges that Japanese hospitality operators face in their day-to-day operations. Restaurants also struggle to implement "cancellation measures," in hosting inbound tourists. Data indicates that the cancellation rate for inbound tourists is over 10 points higher than that for domestic customers. When it comes to the preparation of menus and providing customer service in a foreign language, most restaurants have yet to adopt a cashless payment system, which is a highly sought-after feature for tourists. Meanwhile, having Wi-FI at the restaurant can also help guests' smartphone connectivity and contribute to a smoother response in both language and payment.

To stay competitive in the growing market, restaurants must leverage IT solutions like TableCheck, which can help them address fundamental issues such as labor shortages and language barrier challenges.

About TableCheck

TableCheck is a restaurant tech company that was founded in Japan in 2011. Today it operates in 35 countries and has flagship offices in Australia, China South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with offices in Tokyo (HQ) and Osaka in Japan. TableCheck has seated 1 billion diners and has over 10,000+ clients worldwide, including top Hotel F&B clients and award-winning Michelin restaurants.

TableCheck is a platform that connects restaurants worldwide with their customers. Through its mission called "Dining Connected", the company offers primary services such as reservation and customer management systems for restaurants, a restaurant search and reservation portal site for users, and a marketing platform through our EDM software. TableCheck supports 18 languages and provides real-time availability information 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for restaurants and users.

TableCheck also provides a service called TableCheck Channels to attract visitors to Japan by partnering with reputable companies both domestically and internationally. With TableCheck Channels and TableCheck's seamless reservation platform, restaurants can attract more customers from different countries.

For PR inquiries

E-mail: tc-pr@tablecheck.com
Contact: Mikako Mochizuki (PR Manager)