{"id":171,"date":"2025-06-19T03:05:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T18:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/?post_type=case_study&p=171"},"modified":"2025-06-19T04:28:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T19:28:44","slug":"case-study-hana-izumi","status":"publish","type":"case_study","link":"\/blog\/case-studies\/case-study-hana-izumi\/","title":{"rendered":"Hana Izumi Enhances Guest Experience Using Voice AI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Client Background<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u200bHana Izumi \u2014 meaning “Flower and Spring Fountain” \u2014 is a family-owned Japanese Kaiseki restaurant founded by Chef Koji Murakami. The name symbolizes the harmony of natural elements, reflecting the restaurant’s focus on seasonal beauty and balance. Kaiseki is a traditional Japanese multi-course dining experience that tells a story through seasonal themes and locally sourced ingredients \u2014 delivering an “Ichigo Ichie” (one-time, one-meeting) moment. Rooted in Omotenashi, the Japanese spirit of hospitality, each meal is crafted with deep care, mindfulness, and attention to detail to ensure guests feel truly welcomed and valued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Challenge \/ Problem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a family-owned business, Hana Izumi faced the challenge of operating with limited resources while striving to deliver the highest level of Omotenashi \u2014 the deeply rooted Japanese philosophy of thoughtful, heartfelt hospitality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While guests experienced this care during their visit, the team wanted to extend that same feeling from the very first moment \u2014 starting on their website. They envisioned an elevated experience before and after the meal, one that reflected their in-person service online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a lean team, Hana Izumi looked to AI not only to enhance the digital expression of Omotenashi, but also to increase reservation conversions by offering warm, intelligent assistance through an AI agent that could embody their values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By implementing Omakase.ai Chat, Hana Izumi introduced Hana-chan, their custom AI agent designed to embody the spirit of Omotenashi online. Hana-chan warmly guides visitors through the Kaiseki menu, answers dietary questions with care, and smoothly assists in making reservations \u2014 all while preserving the thoughtful hospitality that defines the in-person experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, guests now arrive with a deeper understanding of Kaiseki, allowing them to appreciate each course more fully. This enhanced pre-visit engagement complements the in-person hospitality led by the Okami, creating a seamless and elevated dining journey from website to table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Results \/ Impact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Within the first month of implementation, Hana-chan helped save over 4.5 hours of staff time by smoothly guiding guests through the reservation process, while also responding to more than 130 inquiries about reservations, dietary needs, the Kaiseki menu, and the story behind Hana Izumi \u2014 all with consistent, thoughtful support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These interactions contributed to a 15% increase in bookings over the month, demonstrating the powerful impact of blending AI with Omotenashi-driven hospitality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takeaways \/ Why It Matters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Omakase.ai Voice offered Hana Izumi a seamless way to enhance both hospitality and operational efficiency, helping boost reservations and engagement through an authentic, AI-powered experience. With minimal training required, the platform was easy to implement and now provides valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Hana Izumi, this successful integration has become a proof of concept \u2014 showing how thoughtfully designed AI can extend Omotenashi beyond the dining room and inspire confidence in adopting more digital solutions in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Client Background \u200bHana Izumi \u2014 meaning “Flower and Spring Fountain” \u2014 is a family-owned Japanese Kaiseki restaurant founded by Chef…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":264294630,"featured_media":179,"template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-171","case_study","type-case_study","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"reading_time":3,"author_info":{"name":"Meri Tokumasu","title":"","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4c12b6160caf230f5a3e70a83201378bc847295241def601b5483387bbd18753?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"\/blog\/author\/meribed3c896fb8\/"},"featured_image_url":"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/32-1-600x338.png","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case-studies\/171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case-studies"}],"about":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case_study"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/264294630"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case-studies\/171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case-studies\/171\/revisions\/178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}