Japanese hospitality — and, since 2013, an Olympic bid slogan.

What a Japanese person actually thinks
Since Christel Takigawa's 2013 Olympic bid speech, this word is inseparable from the campaign — it reads as national branding as much as as a value. Also, five kana with no kanji.

Meaning

Literally: (all kana)
Actually: Hospitality that anticipates needs without being asked and expects nothing back. Genuinely central to service culture here.

Scores

Naturalness●●●●●

Real and common. Usually written in kana.

Coolness●●●●●

The concept is admirable; the all-kana writing and the tourism-campaign association both work against it.

Watch out

lowStrongly tied to the 2020 Olympic bid in most people's minds. Slightly official-feeling as a result.
mediumAll-kana. Hard to letter well, and the first thing to blur.

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一期一会 ichigo ichie
every meeting is once in a lifetime

The tea-ceremony principle that omotenashi actually comes from. Four dense kanji, and it's the philosophical root rather than the slogan.

On skin

おもてなし

Orientation: vertical

Brush, kana-capable artist only.