--- title: Robot Receptionists at Japanese Hotel description: There is a dinosaur robot receptionist at the hotel in Sasebo atHuis Ten Bosch amusement park. canonical: https://time.com/3960847/dinosaur-robot-receptionist-japan/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-16T15:59:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:43.177Z og:title: Dinosaurs Have Come Back from Extinction as Hotel Receptionists In Japan og:description: It's reportedly a cost-cutting measure og:url: https://time.com/3960847/dinosaur-robot-receptionist-japan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd878199aa4e3a92a/69885b29e53aba72aa4dea2b/dinosaur-robot.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: dinosaur-robot og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Dinosaurs Have Come Back from Extinction as Hotel Receptionists In Japan twitter:description: It's reportedly a cost-cutting measure twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd878199aa4e3a92a/69885b29e53aba72aa4dea2b/dinosaur-robot.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Dinosaurs Have Come Back from Extinction as Hotel Receptionists In Japan ## Video: The Evolution of ASIMO the Robot [Watch (HLS stream): The Evolution of ASIMO the Robot](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/23zx64qn.m3u8) (2:41)  _Published 2014-04-18. Honda has been researching robotics since 1986, and now they have just released the newest version of their ASIMO robot_  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jul 16, 2015 3:59 PM UTC  A receptionist dinosaur robot performs at the new robot hotel, aptly called Henn na Hotel or Weird Hotel, in Sasebo, southwestern Japan, July 15, 2015. A receptionist dinosaur robot performs at the new robot hotel, aptly called Henn na Hotel or Weird Hotel, in Sasebo, southwestern Japan, July 15, 2015.Shizuo Kambayashi—AP  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jul 16, 2015 3:59 PM UTC A new Japanese hotel in Nagasaki seems more like Jurassic Park than home away from home. At [Henn-na Hotel](http://www.h-n-h.jp/en/), a dinosaur robot points guests to the touch screen where they can check themselves in at the hotel in southwestern Japan, which is part of the Huis Ten Bosch amusement park. In hotel rooms, a “lamp-size robot” can tell guests the time, the weather, and turn off the lights for them. Others are supposed to be able to deliver room service. And a robotic arm can hand guests a box for storing their valuables and then put the box into the wall. The hotel is using the robots “to save labor costs,” the Associated Press [reports](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/e2c702efc3134652bffa1518c90d9de6/robots-do-check-and-check-out-cost-cutting-japan-hotel). But robots can’t do everything. Humans are watching the security cameras and, as hotel runner Hideo Sawada told the AP, “They still can’t make beds.”  A receptionist dinosaur robot greets a hotel employee demonstrating how to check in for the media at the new hotel, aptly called Henn na Hotel or Weird Hotel, in Sasebo, southwestern Japan, July 15, 2015. Shizuo Kambayashi—AP  Two receptionist robots, left, greet a hotel employee demonstrating how to check in the new hotel, called Henn na Hotel, in Sasebo, southwestern Japan, July 15, 2015. Shizuo Kambayashi—AP  A receptionist robot, top center, accompanied by two other robots, greets a hotel employee demonstrating how to check in the new hotel, aptly called Henn na Hotel or Weird Hotel, in Sasebo, southwestern Japan, July 15, 2015 Shizuo Kambayashi—AP  A receptionist robot performs during a demonstration for the media at the new hotel, aptly called Henn na Hotel or Weird Hotel, in Sasebo, southwestern Japan, Wednesday, July 15, 2015 Shizuo Kambayashi—AP ### These Robots Have Their Own World Cup  Humanoid robots are seen at the Institute for Computer Science at the University of Bonn in Bonn July 3, 2014. Ina Fassbender—Reuters  Research associates Larry Vadakedathu and Qin He work with one of their RoboCup entries, a 5-foot-tall metal humanoid named THOR (Tactical Hazardous Operations Robot), in the adult-size league at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on July 7, 2014. Matt Rourke—AP  Robocup Junior teams in RoboCup Robot Soccer Championship on July 21, 2014. Lorena Travassos—Fotoarena/Corbis  Members of the Rhoban project's team check functions of a humanoid robot at the LaBRI workshop in Talence, France on July 7, 2014. Regis Devignau—Reuters  People work on the software of humanoid robots during a photo opportunity at the Institute for Computer Science at the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany on July 3, 2014. Ina Fassbender—Reuters  Students at the University of Pennsylvania work with one of their RoboCup entries known as Nao in Philadelphia on July 7, 2014. Matt Rourke—AP  The first day of the RoboCup Robot Soccer Championship in João Pessoa, Brazil on July 21, 2014. Lorena Travassos—Fotoarena/Corbis  A participant from the Netherlands prepares his humanoid robot for a soccer match in the international robotics competition in Tehran, Iran on April 10, 2014. Vahid Salemi—AP  Humanoid robots play during a soccer match while visitors follow the competition in the international robotics competition, RoboCup Iran Open 2014, in Tehran, Iran on April 10, 2014. Vahid Salemi—AP  Trophies won by humanoid robots at competitions are seen during a photo opportunity at the Institute for Computer Science at the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany on July 3, 2014. 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