Japan is opening its doors wide to foreign travelers, with the aim of welcoming 40 million international tourists annually by 2020. Yet many visitors from religiously diverse Southeast Asia can stumble into the shadows of the nation’s widely touted hospitality. It isn’t Godzilla or sushi that the apartment industry should be paying attention to. Japan sells and exports something way more than those things which called “Omotenashi”. What is the state and true meaning of Japanese omotenashi?
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Omotenashi is defined as selfless hospitality to one’s guest. During Tokyo’s winning 2020 Olympic bid, spokesperson Christel Takigawa promised that Tokyo would offer athletes and tourists alike a “unique welcome … One that dates back to our ancestors, yet is ingrained in Japan’s ultra-modern culture. ‘Omotenashi’ explains why Japanese people take care of each other and our guests so well.” |
1. The Welcome
When you walk into a Japanese store or restaurant the first thing you will hear is an audible welcome from the staff. This style of greeting is completely Japanese in it’s nature because it goes far beyond the typical American “eye contact” and quiet greeting” most customers get state-side.
At Amy Japanese culture hub, right when you walk in the door, you can hear that energetic greetings from our staff. It is to show our hospitality and our dedicated hearts to all students and visitors.
2. Make Each Encounter The Best It Can Be
“Ichi-go ichi-e” (“one time, one meeting”) is a Japanese saying that refers to making each and every encounter with a customer be the best it can possibly be. In the world of Japanese business transactions there are no small events, every encounter deserves the business person’s best self present. This includes paying attention to tiny details such as professional dress. cleanliness of the office and property curb appeal.
3. Ambience
When you go into a Japanese business one of the first things you will notice is the pleasant feeling that you get in being there. Ambience is something Japan takes very seriously. Sometimes it may seem as though a professional artist was hired to make the space look accidentally artsy and modern. And, the truth is there probably was an actual artist involved. Sometimes a business succeeds right when the customers enter a place with a right ambience.
4. Make it Count Outside the Office
The maintenance team plays as much importance in Omotenashi as the leasing staff does. In Japan there are staffs or traffic wardens standing outside of all the shops making sure customers make it safely to wherever they want to go, even on the slowest of traffic days. Training customer support and maintenance staff to interact with current clients and potential clients in a friendly and enthusiastic manner is considered vital to all companies.
5. The Goodbye
As with the Japanese verbal greeting, the goodbye is also given much attention. It is not out of place to see a shopkeeper carrying bags out of their place of business for the customer. “Bowing” is also customary after a transaction is made in Japan. “Bowing” is to acknowledge with gratitude the exiting of a potential customers. Make it a positive experience to the very end.
Before coming to Japanese workplace or being a team member of a Japanese company, you might consider adding these training of Japanese culture and business manners, so that you can fully become a part of the culture and enjoy your working life in Japan!
さようなら!!
(Source: Hire Priority)
