Tag - omotenashi

 
 

OMOTENASHI

Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
May 1, 2023
A new journey: Reviving Japan’s hospitality industry
In the wake of the pandemic, businesses are looking for ways to engage workers once more and welcome new waves of travelers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Feb 18, 2023
Japan’s award-winning travel goods make any trip a breeze
Don"t even think about leaving home without these mindfully produced travel essentials.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 22, 2022
Japan's space agency gives up on landing moon probe in setback for its lunar program
The agency said the Omotenashi lander could not receive transmissions from Earth to correct its trajectory and position.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 30, 2020
Meet the Japanese omotenashi consultant selling what money can't buy
Travel has become about priceless experiences, and Luxurique goes the extra mile to fulfill requests, often involving hidden gems not on local radars.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Jul 19, 2020
Omotenashi Selection 2020: Artisanal items with Japanese flair
The sixth annual Omotenashi Selection recognized 68 products for good design and cultural relevance. Three homeware items caught On: Designu2019s eye.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Feb 7, 2019
University in Osaka aims to hone hotel staff with omotenashi to serve Japan's foreign guests
One of the key factors driving Japan's unprecedented tourism boom is its culture of hospitality — epitomized by the concept of omotenashi, which can be roughly translated as "wholeheartedly looking after guests."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 5, 2018
Faced with worker shortage, Japan reshapes its legendary hospitality
Japan's capital expenditure boom is shifting to the services sector, stirring fears that self-checkout systems and software will take the human touch out of omotenashi, the country's vaunted commitment to hospitality.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 11, 2018
'Omotenashi' underlies Japan's low economic productivity
On a narrow side street in a residential neighborhood in the suburbs of Tokyo, a new apartment building is being built from scratch. Six construction workers are putting up the four-story building using prefabricated parts, while another six workers are manning the different roads leading into the construction site. Holding light wands, the six non-construction workers direct the trucks transporting materials to the site and apologize to each pedestrian who happen to walk by the construction.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 3, 2018
Has Christel Takigawa cursed Japan with her 2020 Olympics omotenashi pitch?
"One thing made clear from (our) survey is that the wholehearted looking after guests is not necessarily appreciated."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 16, 2017
Why do some old men age disgracefully?
It's a universal belief that life is unfair, though there are many ways in which people manifest this belief. Some withdraw from the world, while others engage with it in an attempt to correct imbalances. Sometimes this engagement takes the form of anger.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 1, 2017
What, if anything, makes Japan unique?
In February, American comedian Atsugiri Jason remarked on a Fuji TV talk show that one of the "demerits" of being a foreign TV personality in Japan is that he can't publicly say he thinks those aspects of Japanese culture which Japanese people believe are "uniquely amazing" are not, in fact, uniquely amazing. The example he gave was Japan being the only country with four distinct seasons. If he pointed out on a TV show that in the U.S. there are also four distinct seasons, he's sure the comment would be edited out of the program.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2016
Police told to brush up their hospitality skills amid surge in foreign visitors
Police are joining nationwide efforts to brush up on their omotenashi (hospitality) as the country experiences a surge in overseas visitors and prepares for the 2020 Games.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 10, 2015
'Omotenashi' comes up short on humility
A Japanese friend who used to travel a lot for work told me of a funny thing that once happened to her in a Tokyo hotel. She was checking in when a bellhop came up and, without saying anything, picked up her bag. She resented the presumption and tried to yank it out of his hand. A silent tug of war ensued.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2015
Is hospitality sapping productivity in Japan?
Customers are gods, as a saying goes in Japan, where staffers press buttons for shoppers in department store elevators and hotel porters line up to bow to guests.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2015
Japan firms face hurdles as 'service' culture taken overseas
At Uniqlo stores worldwide, staff greet every customer with "Welcome to Uniqlo!"
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2015
Omotenashi promo video of quick shinkansen cleanup goes viral
A short video depicting the cleaning of Japan's famous bullet trains has become an online hit, garnering more than 2.6 million views on YouTube as of Monday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Feb 28, 2015
Omotenashi — Japanese hospitality?
As the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee's appointed "Cool Tokyo" ambassador, multilingual television journalist Christel Takigawa set media buzzing worldwide with her Sept. 7, 2013, speech to the International Olympic Committee in Buenos Aires in which she made great play of the word "motenashi" by attaching the honorific prefix "o" and enunciating it slowly as "o-mo-te-na-shi."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2014
Now boastful Japan not really in tune with what visitors want, foreign expert warns
Japan's self-professed "omotenashi" (spirit of selfless hospitality) is often misinterpreted to force predetermined services on foreign visitors, says one longtime observer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 4, 2014
Tourists may not warm to Japan's welcome
A former colleague of mine always made it a point to tell people coming to Japan for a visit to bring lots of handkerchiefs because the public restrooms didn't have towel dispensers. I always took a more positive view and emphasized that public restrooms in Japan were everywhere and open to everyone, something I think would be more important to more people, considering how difficult it can be to find one when you need a restroom in other countries.
LIFE / Language / THE BUZZ
Oct 19, 2013
Omotenashi: The spirit of selfless hospitality
おもてなし

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world