Omotenashi can be a difficult term to define, but it’s a concept that anyone who has visited Japan will be innately familiar with nonetheless. Translated as “wholehearted hospitality” or “selfless service,” the concept of Omotenashi is at the heart of Japanese culture and can be found in all areas of Japanese life.
In Japan, for example, anyone who enters a retail shop or restaurant is greeted with a cheerful “Irasshaimase!” which translates to, “Welcome!” In addition to serving as a greeting, its purpose is to immediately establish that you are an honoured guest and that your host will do everything they can to make your visit as pleasant as possible.
Omotenashi is one of the things that draws travellers from around the world to Japan and gives Japanese experiences like attending a traditional tea ceremony or riding on a spotless Shinkansen bullet train their unique appeal. You don’t, however, have to travel to Japan to experience a consummate example of Omotenashi. INFINITI’s luxury vehicles, including the new QX80 SUV, are all created with the principles of Japanese hospitality in mind, and intended to make any driver or passenger feel like an honoured guest at every stage of the journey.
In the new INFINITI QX80, every aspect of the vehicle has been thoughtfully designed to create a feeling of consummate hospitality from the moment you approach the vehicle with your key fob, and the flush door handles automatically extend to welcome you. When you unlock the vehicle at night you’ll be treated to a coordinated light show of glowing white LEDs, beginning with the INFINITI badge on the grille and culminating with the INFINITI Light Path, a projection of wing-like geometric shapes on the ground beside the driver’s door.
Once inside, INFINITI’s hospitality shines in every detail of the cabin, from the dot-quilted seats to the open pore ash wood trim to the laser-cut aluminum accents that become wider toward the front of the cabin, creating an enhanced sense of space. This incredible attention to detail will be familiar to anyone who’s enjoyed a kaiseki meal in a high-end Japanese restaurant, and INFINITI has likewise taken every opportunity to create a relaxing and lounge-like atmosphere in the QX80. For example, soft-touch materials have been added over any hard surfaces, particularly where arms and elbows might rest. Like a stay at a luxurious ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, everything is oriented towards the guest’s utmost comfort, from individual USB C ports for every passenger to a cooler integrated into the centre console that keeps passengers’ soft drinks within easy reach.
Much like a soak in an onsen, a traditional Japanese spa, the QX80 offers a range of features to make the journey as relaxing as possible, including available heated seats for all passengers, massaging seats in the first and second rows, and 64 colours of personalized ambient LED lighting that allow you to precisely adjust the mood of the interior to your liking. Small details like these might not seem like much on their own, but together they add up to a hospitality experience that makes any experience more special, whether it’s a Michelin-starred meal in Tokyo or your daily commute.
