NAVER said use of its Japanese restaurant search and booking service, offered through a tie-up with Tabelog, Japan’s largest restaurant information platform, has risen sharply as the number of Korean tourists visiting Japan grows rapidly.
NAVER signed a partnership with Tabelog last year and now provides information on about 750,000 restaurants in major Japanese cities through its Place service. For restaurants that accept reservations, the two services are linked so that users can check details on NAVER and then move to Tabelog to book in real time.
Tabelog is a restaurant search and booking service that offers detailed information on restaurants across Japan, including photos of dining room interiors and dishes actually served, along with about 85 million reviews written by local users.
Use of the “Tabelog reservation” button displayed with Japanese restaurant listings on NAVER Place has also grown sharply. The button links to Tabelog’s booking page, and as of August this year the number of users who clicked it was up about 482% from August last year, when the service was first introduced.
The data also showed demand for finding and booking restaurants in Japan surges during periods of heightened interest in travel there. Booking clicks rose 111% from the previous month in December, the Christmas and winter vacation season, and 50% in May, when Korea has a run of holidays.
In the early stage of the Tabelog link-up, most reservation button clicks came through NAVER’s integrated search, but user behavior is changing. Last month, 76% of all users who clicked the button did so while browsing a NAVER Place detail page. That suggests more users are searching for nearby restaurants while in Japan and then going on to book.
With user interest in searching for and booking restaurants in Japan through the Tabelog link continuing to grow, NAVER said it plans to keep expanding Place listings for local restaurants that can be connected to reservations.
As of September, about 75,000 restaurants in Japan could be booked through the service, up 12.7% from the start of this year.
NAVER is also in talks with a range of local operators, including Gurunavi, another large Japanese restaurant platform, to link additional Japanese restaurants for search and booking.
Naver’s Place screen for a Japanese restaurant. Photo courtesy of Naver
NAVER plans to extend restaurant search and booking in Japan to NAVER Map as well. As with searches for locations in Korea, users will be able to browse Japanese areas on NAVER Map, check restaurant information linked to Tabelog and book at some restaurants, with a beta test planned within this year.
NAVER earlier introduced a world map function through the “Labs” section of its map app, allowing users to look up overseas locations as well as domestic ones on NAVER Map.
Travelers will eventually be able to use the familiar NAVER Map while in Japan to find nearby restaurants, check detailed information and make reservations, making it easier to search for local dining options.
Choi Ji-hoon, who heads NAVER Place search, said, “As demand for travel to Japan grows, the need to search for local travel information in Japan through NAVER is also gradually increasing.” The executive added, “We will continue to upgrade our search and booking functions for local attractions in Japan so that travelers can enjoy a trip to Japan as easily as a domestic one with NAVER alone.”
Dining and Cooking