Nihonryori Kutan opened in 2018 with a name that carries the wish "may this cuisine, prepared with heartfelt sincerity (丹, tan), be forever (久, kyū) loved." The restaurant earned a Michelin one-star just one year after opening, and has been awarded two Michelin stars for six consecutive years from 2021 through 2026, continuing to be beloved by food connoisseurs. While the restaurant is centered around a small counter and cherishes "attentively facing each guest, one by one," the team had been facing persistent on-site challenges: the 24-hour burden of monitoring reservations to prevent double bookings across multiple reservation platforms, and the inability to fully leverage the guest information they had accumulated over the years. In July 2026, Kutan began using Respo — achieving a smooth handover of existing guest information, photo-based guest records, and even complimentary website production support, in what has become "an all-encompassing partnership that goes beyond reservation management."
Challenges Before Adopting Respo
Nihonryori Kutan had been facing the following on-site challenges.
■The 24-hour pressure of reservation management
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The restaurant used multiple reservation platforms in parallel, requiring constant on-hand monitoring of reservations to prevent double bookings when instant reservations overlapped
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The state of "checking the phone frequently every waking moment" had become chronic, with reservation management always lingering somewhere in the back of the mind
■The burden of past system migrations and underutilized guest information
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When migrating from a handwritten reservation book to a system, staff had to manually enter each guest's information one by one, which turned out to be a far greater burden than expected
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It was difficult to keep past receipts and business cards linked to each guest, making it hard to recall "what was served last time" when responding to repeat guests
■Limited capacity for online promotion and information dissemination
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Fully occupied with day-to-day operations, the team had been unable to devote attention to online promotion
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Not being particularly strong in digital or online tools, the most they could manage on their own was signing up for reservation sites
Key Features of Respo
"Respo" is an all-in-one platform for restaurants provided by Hello Inc., with its core functions available free of charge in Japan. It brings reservation book, channel manager, POS, payment terminals, and mobile ordering together on a single platform, and can be flexibly combined to match each restaurant's scale and business format.
■What Respo Offers
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Reservation book: Integrates with multiple reservation platforms, eliminating manual transcription from each platform
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Channel manager: Centrally manages inventory across the restaurant's own site and other reservation platforms
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POS / Payment terminals: Complete checkout and payment in a single device, streamlining store operations
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Mobile ordering: Enables guests to order from their smartphone or tablet, reducing wait times
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Guest information management: Accumulates visit history, preferences, allergy information, and more, supporting tailored service for returning guests
Outcomes After Adopting Respo
■Outcome 1: Complete handover of existing guest information, with zero migration burden
For Kutan, migrating data during a system switch had been a significant psychological hurdle — as the team had previously experienced entering every guest record by hand and admitted, "honestly, we felt heavy at the thought of doing that again." With this Respo implementation, the Respo team took care of all the synchronization and migration of guest information accumulated in the previous reservation system. With zero operational burden on the restaurant's side, the years of guest information they had built up were carried over intact into the new environment — allowing operations to begin smoothly.
■Outcome 2: Photo-based guest records that elevate the experience for returning guests
Respo's guest information management allows receipts from previous visits and business cards received from guests to be stored as photos. Details that cannot be captured through text alone can now be accumulated visually, with no input burden — simply by taking a picture. When a wine-loving guest asks, "What did we have last time?", staff can immediately reference past records. For Kutan, where counter-centered hospitality treasures each individual guest, this has become a system that firmly supports the daily philosophy of "offering hospitality just a little better than last time, whenever we meet again."
■Outcome 3: A partnership that extends beyond reservation management, including complimentary website production
Alongside the Respo adoption, a new official website conveying Kutan's appeal was also produced free of charge. Using photos already taken at the restaurant, a website that reflects the store's world view has been newly launched. For Kutan — where staff had been so busy with daily operations that online communication was out of reach — this has established a partnership that supports the restaurant's entire operations, going beyond reservation management.
**▶Kutan's newly launched website: **https://nihonryouri-kutan.com/
Comments from Nihonryori Kutan
We received the following comments from chef-owner Kotaro Nakajima and floor manager Mrs. Kurosaki.
"We used to check our phones constantly whenever we were awake, making sure double bookings didn't occur across multiple reservation platforms. Reservation management was always lingering somewhere in the back of our minds. With Respo, all of our existing guest information was carried over, and we now have a system to build up guest records through photos. We feel we can raise the quality of our hospitality even further from here." ── Floor Manager, Mrs. Kurosaki
"What we truly want to do is increase the time we spend facing our cuisine and the guests in front of us. To have a partner who understands that intention and supports our daily operations — going beyond reservation management — is truly invaluable for Kutan." ── Chef-Owner, Kotaro Nakajima
Comment from Yuki Hariguchi, Representative Director, Hello Inc.
"Nihonryori Kutan is one of the restaurants we hold in the deepest respect — a place that has cherished hospitality for each individual guest since its opening. In the daily stance conveyed by chef-owner Nakajima — 'when we meet again, offer hospitality just a little better than last time' — we felt strongly the 'weight of time' Kutan has accumulated. Reservation management products are often seen as tools for efficiency. But we believe Respo should be a foundation that supports the time restaurants truly cherish — 'the time to face their cuisine and the guests in front of them' — across their entire operations. From reservation management to guest information activation to website production, we will continue evolving as a partner that walks alongside Kutan's daily operations, learning from voices on the ground."
About the Case Study Article
The full story has been published on the official Respo website as an interview with chef-owner Nakajima and floor manager Mrs. Kurosaki. We invite you to read it.
▶Case Study Article: "'When We Meet Again,' Made More Certain — Why Nihonryori Kutan Chose Respo" URL: https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp/cases/kutan
