The Era of Inbound Tourists! Full-Scale Launch of the 'First Inbound Group Reservation Service' to Capture Inbound Demand

Horii Food Service Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture; President: Akihisa Fujita; hereinafter 'the Company') has fully commenced attracting foreign tourists visiting Japan, including inbound groups, by adopting the service provided by Table Cross Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Kaoru Joho; hereinafter 'Table Cross'), which operates the gourmet platform 'byFood' for international visitors.

This initiative marks the Company's first effort in attracting inbound groups and is being launched jointly by both companies.

The Company will be responsible for the reception system at its restaurants as the service adopter, while Table Cross will provide the customer attraction and reservation platform for foreign tourists. By clearly dividing roles, a system will be established to reliably connect inbound demand to store visits.

Table Cross, the operator of byFood, has accumulated know-how in attracting and referring inbound tourists through collaboration with businesses in the tourism, media, and travel distribution sectors.

The Company will utilize this platform infrastructure, which has strong capabilities in inbound customer attraction, to accelerate the creation of opportunities for foreign tourists to visit its stores.

With Japan's inbound market operating at record-high levels and an expected 40 million+ foreign visitors in 2025, 'how to be chosen by foreign tourists and convert that into actual visits' has become a critical theme dictating future growth in the food and beverage industry.

By introducing this service, the Company will develop an environment where foreign tourists—both groups and individuals—can 'easily book and visit' to experience Japanese dining, thereby accelerating the capture of inbound demand.

Furthermore, while utilizing mechanisms like advance payment and reservation management functions as added value to ensure customer attraction leads to actual visits, the Company will promote customer referrals leveraging broad and continuous inbound attraction power through overseas media, OTAs, and the video media 'Japan by Food.'

Through this initiative, the aim is to connect inbound demand to sustainable store visits and sales growth, rather than letting it end as a temporary tailwind.

[Representative Comments]

**Akihisa Fujita, President of Horii Food Service Co., Ltd.:**

'Our company has continued to refine our core values of "safety, security, and deliciousness." By incorporating byFood's strengths of multi-language support and advance payment, we will achieve highly reliable customer referrals while reducing the burden on frontline staff, advancing highly profitable inbound strategies. We will start from the Kanto region, with an eye on a gradual nationwide rollout.'

**Kaoru Joho, CEO of Table Cross Inc.:**

'The operational quality and restaurant network of Horii Food Service are major strengths in stably providing "Japanese dining experiences" to foreign tourists. Backed by our funding base, we will co-create gastronomy tourism that also contributes to regional revitalization through multi-lingual operations and high-certainty customer attraction.'

## ■ Company Overview of Table Cross Inc.

Company Name: Table Cross Inc.

Location: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Representative: Kaoru Joho, CEO

Business Description: Operation of 'byFood', a gourmet and food experience platform for foreign tourists visiting Japan

Table Cross operates 'byFood', a platform that provides Japanese food culture experiences to foreign tourists.