Arashiyama, one of Kyoto's premier tourist destinations, is an area that is visited by many people from overseas. Yoshiya Arashiyama Kyoto, which has been in business in this area for over 80 years, is also actively committed to providing halal and vegan meals for Muslim customers. We spoke with some of the staff from the restaurant, which has also been selected as a “Member of Sustainable Tourism in Kyoto” under the Kyoto Guidelines for Sustainable Tourism actively promoted by Kyoto City, about their contribution to the local community and their services that respond to diversity, such as acting as a bridge between international and local junior high school students.  

The Togetsukyo Bridge in Arashiyama is constantly buzzing with tourists throughout the year. Opened shortly after the war, at the approach of the bridge, Yoshiya Arashiyama Kyoto offers a wide range of traditional Japanese cuisine and vegetarian dishes, as well as casual dining, roadside shops, and gift shops. At the popular Japanese restaurant Arashino Tei, visitors can enjoy the sights and sounds of the open kitchen as they watch chefs prepare Japanese beef teppanyaki and tempura, and at Oku No Niwa, which serves Kyoto Saga-style dishes made with tofu and yuba, visitors can choose from a variety of seating options, including modern Japanese-style table seating, terrace seating, detached tatami rooms, and even a large banquet hall, to meet a variety of sightseeing and dining needs. 

As the number of tourists from overseas increases, they are responding to a variety of requests, such as halal food, vegan food, and allergen-free food, while maintaining the base of traditional Japanese food, and these extensive services are gaining popularity. As they were one of the first to accept school groups from overseas, Sachiyo Tsukuda, the company's vice president, noticed that their itineraries often included opportunities to learn about Japanese culture and environmental issues. Thanks to the proactive efforts of the teachers, 2018 saw the launch of exchanges between schools introducing each other's traditional cultures and playing sports together. The company also continues to help deepen the understanding of religion through food by providing halal croquettes and other items. 

The hiring of foreign staff is another factor that reassures tourists visiting the restaurant from overseas. Hasna Ausafina Nabilla (pictured below), who oversees service operations, acted as an interpreter at the exchange events for junior high school students, and there are also other staff members who said they were inspired to work here after taking part in an exchange event hosted by the company when they were visiting Kyoto as international students. The company has also decided to hire two more international students from this spring. In addition, the restaurant manager, Turgut Ekinci (pictured above), who is originally from Turkey, is an expert in customer service, having worked in the restaurant's Tokyo branch (now closed) and Kyoto branch for over 20 years. 

The decision to start offering halal food at the restaurant was prompted by the fact that one of Tsukuda's close friends was a Muslim. Out of a desire to invite her friend to her restaurant, she persuaded the head chef, Shinji Yamaguchi, to learn about halal food and to come up with dishes to serve. This made her friend very happy, who told Tsukuda that she knew many other like-minded people were searching for a place where they could enjoy Japanese cuisine with peace of mind, and that she would introduce them to her restaurant. 

However, there were many hurdles to overcome in order to properly understand halal food and create a suitable menu, and Yamaguchi says, “Although I was able to draw on my many years of experience with vegetarian cuisine, with halal food, you need to pay close attention to things like the dashi broth, ingredients, as well as the serving dishes, cooking utensils, storage, refrigerator, and delivery location.” Initially, this led to a significant amount of food being wasted, and for a while, the leftover food was used to provide meals for the staff, but after the contents of the dishes were clearly displayed in the restaurant, customers began to feel more at ease about eating there, and the restaurant's popularity began to spread by word of mouth. “The most difficult part is not the cooking itself, but rather understanding the importance of putting in the time and effort, and making sure that the staff all share a common understanding of diversity,” adds Yamaguchi. 

Through their efforts to provide a diverse range of food options, including halal, vegetarian, and allergy-friendly dishes, they were informed by a staff member at Ukyo Ward Office about the halal certification system and proceeded to acquire this certification. Furthermore, a prayer room was established on the premises, which surprisingly was set up with Japanese-style furnishings. “I was watching TV and came across a tatami mat that was waterproof, and immediately thought, 'This is it!' I want to make the prayer room a space that is unique to Arashiyama, because people are coming all the way to visit us,” explains Tsukuda, whose spirit of service is reflected in every corner of the restaurant. 

Since restaurants often serve as a base for tourists' activities, the company has been creating and distributing its own walking maps since the 1970s. The maps, which clearly and concisely illustrate some of the most commonly asked questions and areas where people tend to get lost, have been playing a role in promoting local tourism for many years. In recent years, Etsuko Katsura, the section chief of the sales department, has been instrumental in providing digital maps that utilize QR codes. Not only does this initiative meet the needs of the times, but it is also being undertaken as a measure to address the issue of litter in tourist areas.

Although the company has been blessed with excellent personnel and has grown its business through services that make the most of the individuality of each staff member, it has also faced several crises in recent years. During the flooding of the Katsura River in 2013, the entire Arashiyama area was severely damaged, and the company's restaurants and shops suffered from flooding. “As we were piling up sandbags in complete darkness before dawn to try to keep out the water, current and former staff members came one by one to help. I'll never forget that night when we all worked together to protect the restaurant,” Tsukuda recalls. Following the flood, they realized the need to form a community group, and so they established the “Toran-kai” and encouraged local residents to join. These days, they all work together to clean up the areas around the river. 

During the pandemic, which dealt a heavy blow to the food and beverage industry, the company allocated staff to clean and maintain its stores and add more plants during the period when they were closed, so that they could continue to provide employment. After reopening, the company focused on thorough infection control measures and sales, and also launched a take-out-only store and began selling bento box lunches online. “I feel deeply grateful that so many tourists returned to our area after the pandemic, and I think that all of our staff felt a renewed sense of gratitude as we worked to serve each and every one of our guests. Although there are some issues with overtourism, I think it is important to carefully examine each problem and respond to it in turn, rather than seeing it all as a bad thing,” says Tsukuda.

When receiving so many tourists on a daily basis, there is a tendency to become overwhelmed with how to accommodate them, but the staff have made an effort to provide services that allow them to see each customer as an individual, and have repeatedly tried to improve their services, such as asking customers who don't finish their meals whether there was something wrong with the food and making improvements accordingly. Many of the dishes on the menu were created based on customer feedback, and with the aim of helping tourists from other countries enjoy Japan, they sometimes use spices in Japanese dishes to make them more palatable to people from different countries and cultures. They say they are constantly asking themselves what it means to provide attentive and diverse services.

Although they quickly incorporate staff suggestions into their services, they do not have any specific workshops or other such meetings. “If anything, I think most of our ideas are born from casual conversation. Of course we take cues from what our customers say and do, but we also often talk about things that aren't work-related, like what we've seen or heard on TV or around town or during our travels,” says Tsukuda, smiling. One could say that the open atmosphere and relationship of trust that has been created in this way has led to the provision of heartfelt service that is attentive to the needs of customers.

■Related links

[Kyoto Guidelines] Collection of Good Practices

Yoshiya Arashiyama Kyoto Official Website