Restaurant Industry Innovation Week Tokyo

Restaurant Industry Innovation Week Tokyo is a business-meeting trade show for solving the labor shortages, customer acquisition and store operation challenges faced by restaurants, cafes and restaurant chains with technology and services. A distinctive feature is being able to see everything in one visit, from on-site automation such as cooking and serving robots and mobile ordering to back-office management such as ordering, attendance, recruiting and promotion. It is organized by RX Japan Ltd. This article covers the dates, venue, component shows and how to register as a visitor, as well as novelties that restaurant and cafe owners can use to drive visits and takeout, and how to approach prototyping that leads to original in-store merchandise.

Restaurant Industry Innovation Week Tokyo: Basic Information

This show has been built around the Smart Restaurant EXPO, covering automation and DX for restaurants, and the Restaurant Management EXPO, covering management and store administration. The December 2025 show was held at Makuhari Messe, and it is the most recent edition under the name Restaurant Industry Innovation Week Tokyo. From 2026 onward, it is being reorganized into Hospitality Tech EXPO by merging with a DX show for tourism and accommodation, with the food service field continuing as the Smart Restaurant EXPO and Restaurant Management EXPO. Because the name and venue have changed, please confirm the latest information for the dates below on the official website.

Item	2026 show	2027 show
Dates	December 2 (Wed) – 4 (Fri), 2026	December 1 (Wed) – 3 (Fri), 2027
Venue	Ariake GYM-EX (Ariake, Tokyo)	Pacifico Yokohama
Admission	Free (advance visitor registration required)	Free (advance visitor registration required)
Organizer	RX Japan LLC	RX Japan LLC

Opening hours are roughly from 10:00 until around 17:00, and talks on restaurant and food service operations and case studies run during the show. Because it is worth visiting for everyone from front-line restaurant staff to head office and management, coming as a group with divided roles lets you cover both business meetings and seminars efficiently in limited time.

What companies and products does it attract?

Products and services eligible for exhibiting

Exhibits are products and services that support restaurant operations and management. Alongside on-site automation tools such as kitchen cooking robots, serving robots, tablet ordering, mobile ordering, self-checkout and cashless payment, a wide range of areas related to store operations is covered, including POS registers, inventory and ordering systems, attendance and shift management, recruiting support, web and social media marketing, and review management and security measures.

Restaurant problems tend to come down to not enough staff, not enough profit and not enough new customers, and this show lets you compare tools addressing each in one place. There are also exhibits related to efforts to raise average spend and visit frequency, such as expanding takeout and delivery, in-store merchandise and original product development.

The Restaurant and Food Service Professionals Who Attend

Visitors are mainly owners and managers of restaurants, cafes, izakaya and bakeries, head office staff at restaurant chains, food and beverage departments of hotels and accommodation facilities, and institutional meal and ready-made meal businesses. Owners preparing to open and executives considering multi-store expansion also attend. With store managers looking for on-site improvements and executives who make investment decisions in the same venue, exhibitors get a business environment where the distance from proposal to decision is short.

For visiting restaurants, it is also a place to hear directly what tools other restaurants with the same problems have adopted. Exchanging information not only with booth staff but with fellow operators you pass in the aisles can sometimes lead to unexpected solutions.

Component Shows: Smart Restaurant EXPO and Restaurant Management EXPO

The core of the food service field is two component shows. Smart Restaurant EXPO is an automation and DX show for restaurants, gathering products and services that address labor shortages and operational efficiency, such as cooking and serving robots, AI, POS, mobile ordering and customer acquisition support. Restaurant Management EXPO is a show for restaurant management and store administration, featuring services that support management and store operations, such as ordering systems, attendance management, recruiting and employment support, web and social media marketing, and online backlash and security measures.

After the reorganization into Hospitality Tech EXPO, shows covering tourism and accommodation DX will also be in the same venue. Food service and accommodation share challenges such as labor shortages and serving inbound visitors, so an advantage of visiting the combined venue is getting ideas from solutions in neighboring fields.

Highlights for visitors and exhibitors

Try the Real Thing Before Adopting It

Serving robots, self-checkout machines and ordering terminals are equipment whose fit with your restaurant is hard to judge from a catalog alone. At the venue you can handle the actual machines and check how they work and feel before entering negotiations. Being able to ask on the spot about implementation costs, monthly fees and compatibility with your existing POS, and to compare several companies side by side, is more efficient than contacting each one individually.

Gather Ideas for Attracting Customers and Raising Average Spend

Web and social media marketing to attract new customers, promotions that encourage repeat visits and expanding takeout and in-store merchandise are challenges common to many restaurants. Because companies offering these measures gather at the venue, you can choose solutions that match your restaurant's weak points. You can also get ideas for measures that are memorable while keeping costs down, such as freebies that encourage visits and promotional items added to takeout orders.

Learn from Case Studies at Practical Seminars

During the show, many talks are held on restaurant DX, labor shortage measures and management improvement case studies. Because you can learn from both successes and failures in a short time, they provide material for owners about to consider equipment investment or new business formats. Popular talks can fill up, so booking topics of interest in advance is recommended.

For Restaurant and Related Companies Considering Exhibiting

Exhibitors include companies providing tools and services for restaurants, as well as manufacturers that want to propose ingredients and food products to restaurants and cafes, and businesses that want to pitch original store products or merchandise plans. Booth specifications and exhibition fees can be confirmed by contacting the organizer, RX Japan Ltd., or the contact on the official website. Visitors come with on-site problems, so meetings move forward if you prepare a one-page document showing which problem you can solve, at what cost and over what period.

If you are proposing ingredients or food products, samples that let visitors taste your product on the spot are a strong asset. If they are easy to carry home and keep well, people will remember your company during internal discussions after closing time or the next day. Rather than ending with a card exchange, recording each visitor's store format and challenges keeps your later proposals on target.

Visitor registration and how to participate

Visitors must register in advance on the official website, and entry information is sent once registration is complete. This lets you avoid reception crowds on the day and decide which booths to visit by reviewing the exhibitor list before the show. The venue varies by year: Ariake GYM-EX (Ariake, Tokyo) is scheduled for 2026 and Pacifico Yokohama for 2027. Both are convenient by public transport, but the nearest station and route differ by venue, so check the access information on the official website beforehand. The surrounding area gets crowded during the show, so if you are coming from afar for several days, booking accommodation early is recommended.

Tips for Restaurant and Cafe Owners

Tools for operational efficiency are the stars of this show, but to grow restaurant profits you also need ideas on the sales side, such as getting people to come in and getting them to buy one more item. Freebies that give people a reason to visit and small items added to takeout orders are measures that stay memorable while keeping costs down. Agriture produces dried vegetables and vegetable powders that make use of off-spec vegetables, dried vegetable soups, tea bags and dried pear made from Nijisseiki pears grown in Kyotango, and can discuss food novelties that fit the style of your restaurant or cafe starting from small lots.

What you learn at the venue about other restaurants' initiatives and tools can also be applied to developing your own products. You can take a step-by-step approach, such as starting with a freebie for regulars, watching the response, and if it goes over well, developing it into merchandise sold in your store. By testing small first and commercializing only what shows promise, you can build a new source of revenue while keeping inventory risk low.

Food Novelties Added to Takeout Orders That Bring Customers Back

Many restaurants and cafes that come to this show are looking to solve labor shortages and customer acquisition with technology. But the other path to growing profits, getting customers to come back and to buy one more item, cannot be fully covered by automation tools alone. A small food item added to a takeout bag or placed by the register is a measure separate from DX that encourages repeat visits while keeping costs down.

A piece of dried fruit served with a drink, a tea bag tucked into a takeout bag, a dried vegetable soup placed by the register. Customers already know the restaurant's food, so a food freebie is something they are glad to receive. Individual wrapping makes hygiene easy to manage, and when customers open the bag at home, it becomes a reminder of the restaurant.

Shape Freebies for Takeout Bags and the Register

If they are meant to be taken home, freebies work best as food items that are compact, keep well and can be individually wrapped. Tea bags, dried vegetable soups and bite-size dried pear add no bulk when slipped into a takeout bag and are easy to hand over at the register with a "please take one." If you match the packaging colors and the short message on it to the restaurant's atmosphere, the freebie itself becomes a way for customers to take the impression of your restaurant home.

Develop Popular Freebies into Merchandise Sold in Store

If a food item handed out as a freebie gets responses like "Can I buy this?", you can develop it straight into merchandise sold in your store. By first handing out small quantities as freebies, watching the response and then remaking the item for in-store sale in small lots (from 50 bags), you can test a new source of revenue without being stuck with inventory. We cannot make tablets or capsules, but we can join discussions from the raw material selection stage on turning tea, dried vegetables and dried fruit into original store products or PB items.

We have materials available to help you understand vegetable-based novelties

FAQ: Restaurant Industry Innovation Week Tokyo

Is there an admission fee?

Admission is free if you register as a visitor in advance. Entry without registration may be charged, so once you decide to attend, complete registration on the official website.

I heard the name and venue changed. Is it the same show?

From 2026, Restaurant Industry Innovation Week merged with a DX show for tourism and accommodation and was reorganized as Hospitality Tech EXPO. The food service field continues as the Smart Restaurant EXPO and Restaurant Management EXPO. Check the official website for the latest name, dates and venue.

Is it worth attending for a small independent restaurant?

Yes. Problems such as labor shortages, customer acquisition and strengthening takeout are common regardless of restaurant size, and there are also exhibits of tools and services that small-staff restaurants can easily adopt. Because you can try and compare actual equipment, it provides material for investment decisions.

Can food and ingredient manufacturers also exhibit?

Exhibitors are expected to include manufacturers that want to propose ingredients, food products or original store products to restaurants and cafes. Exhibition conditions can be confirmed with the organizer, RX Japan Ltd., or through the inquiry contact on the official website.

Can food novelties for takeout freebies be made in small lots?

Tea, dried vegetables, dried fruit and more can be prepared in small lots (from 50 bags), suitable for in-store giveaways or adding to takeout orders. If they are popular, they can also be developed directly into prototypes for original in-store merchandise.

Summary: Solving Restaurant Challenges at Restaurant Industry Innovation Week Tokyo

Restaurant Industry Innovation Week Tokyo is a trade show built around the Smart Restaurant EXPO and Restaurant Management EXPO, where you can compare solutions to restaurant and cafe challenges such as labor shortages, customer acquisition and store operations all in one place. From 2026 it has been reorganized as Hospitality Tech EXPO, held at Ariake GYM-EX from December 2 (Wed) to 4 (Fri), 2026, and at Pacifico Yokohama from December 1 (Wed) to 3 (Fri), 2027. Beyond comparing on-site automation tools, taking home sales-side ideas such as takeout freebies and in-store merchandise makes it easier to get your money's worth from attending.

Official information: Hospitality Tech EXPO (formerly Restaurant Industry Innovation Week Tokyo) official website

Recommended reading

Commercial dried vegetables / Original vegetable novelties / FOOD STYLE Tokyo / FOOD STYLE Fukuoka

Last updated: August 12, 2026