Formal to Client
Workplace · Greeting
You
遠いところをお越しいただきまして、ありがとうございます。どうぞおかけください。
とおいところをおこしいただきまして、ありがとうございます。どうぞおかけください。
Thank you so much for coming all this way. Please, take a seat.
Romaji: Tooi tokoro wo o-koshi itadakimashite, arigatou gozaimasu. Douzo o-kake kudasai. / Reply Romaji: Ojamaishimasu. (sits down)
Reply
お邪魔します。（座る）
おじゃまします。（すわる）
Excuse me. (sits down)
Gesture & etiquette
Stand at the meeting room door to greet, then gesture to the guest seats with an open palm (never a single pointing finger). Take the seat closest to the door yourself — the power seat (上座 kamiza) facing away from the door is for the most senior guest.
「遠いところをお越しいただき」acknowledges the travel effort — essential Japanese hospitality even if the distance was small. Seating guests promptly and offering tea (「お茶をお持ちしましょうか？」— Shall I bring you some tea?) within the first minute is the expected standard of corporate hosting.