The Art of Conveyor Belt Sushi

Eaten by millions of people around the world, sushi has become a popular dining option. It can be found almost anywhere, from grocery stores to high-end restaurants, and can even be recreated at home. While sushi's precise origin is murky, we can follow its journey from historical records to today's dining landscape, where innovative entrepreneurs have blended sushi and modern technology to create revolving sushi bars.

The Evolution of Sushi

Sushi¹ has mysterious origins that seem to stem from an ancient Japanese wives' tale where an elderly woman started hiding pots of rice in osprey nests to prevent thieves from stealing them. After some time, the woman discovered that the rice began to ferment and the osprey's freshly caught fish had mixed with the fermented rice, creating a tasty dish and extending the life of the seafood.

The first written reference to sushi can be found in a fourth century Chinese dictionary that describes the fermentation process using the method of placing salted fish in cooked rice. In the ninth century, the concept of sushi spread throughout Japan due to the rise of Buddhism and Buddhist dietary laws that encouraged abstaining from all meat with an exception for fish and seafood. The fermentation process was streamlined in the 1820s when a sushi merchant in Ryogoku, Japan, added rice vinegar and salt to cooked rice and let it sit for a couple of minutes. The merchant then took small portions of that rice, pressed it into long rectangles, and topped it with a slice of raw, freshly caught fish from the bay. This style of sushi preparation became known as nigiri.

Sushi first appeared in Western culture² in 1966 in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles at a restaurant called Kawafuku. However, many people thought seaweed and raw fish were too daring, so in the 1970s, a sushi chef at a restaurant called Tokyo Kaikan created the California roll we all know and love – a dish that has seaweed inside with rice outside and replaces the raw fish with cooked crab. By the 1980s, sushi became a movement, and today it continues to grow in popularity as a healthy, chic dining option.

Tradition Meets Technology with Conveyor Belt Sushi

Several years earlier in 1947, Osaka restaurateur Yoshiaki Shiraishi was having trouble staffing and running his business efficiently. Inspired by beer bottles moving across the factory on conveyor belts while touring an Asahi brewery, Shiraishi worked with an Osaka machine shop and created a sushi conveyor. In 1958, he opened the first kaiten-sushi³ restaurant – which literally means "rotating sushi" – and patented his conveyor design.

The conveyor belt's timing is something Shiraishi struggled with: If it was too slow, customers complained about the wait, but if it was too fast, the sushi would dry out, and customers wouldn't be able to grab the items they wanted. He finally decided that the belt moving 8 centimeters per second⁴ was the perfect speed. At the 1970 Osaka World Expo, Shiraishi debuted his concept and started franchising locally, but when his permit for the conveyor expired, copycat conveyors entered the market – thus beginning the spread of rotating sushi bars.

The Modern Rotating Sushi Bar Experience

So, what's the conveyor belt sushi experience like? We spoke with Sally Kurosaki, public relations and promotion assistant for Kura Sushi USA Inc. (KSU), who offered a glimpse into the operations of Kura Revolving Sushi Bar. The chain's parent company, Kura Corporation, opened its first restaurant in 1977 and now operates 424 restaurants in Japan, 19 in Taiwan, and 22 in the U.S. as of July 2019. The United States locations can be found in California, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, and Nevada, with more locations planned for the future.

Kura rotating sushi bars offer a wide variety of items, such as classic sushi rolls, nigiri, gunkan sushi; ramen, tempura, udon, sashimi, and other side dishes; and even desserts. Depending on the location, plate prices vary from $2.25 to $2.95, and custom ordering may also be available.

When customers visit their local Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, they can sign in on a waiting list at the restaurant or through the Kura Sushi app, as the restaurant doesn't take reservations. Once a table is available, customers can begin their conveyor belt sushi experience. Over 140 menu items revolve around the restaurant on a winding conveyor belt, and an order panel lets customers request specific items, which "shoot" out of the kitchen on a separate "express" lane conveyor and come straight to the table. A plate disposal slot is available so that customers can put away their plates once they are finished eating. For every 5 plates inserted, a fun animation plays on the screen; for every 15 plates inserted, customers can receive "Bikkura Pon" prizes, which could be lanyards, keychains, notepads, and other small rewards.

Kura's basic concept is delivering "safe, tasty, and inexpensive" food. To ensure customer safety, sushi is assembled on plates that each have an integrated circuit (or IC) chip embedded. This chip tracks which items are on the belt, when certain dishes need to be restocked, and how long each dish has been on the conveyor belt. To further guarantee freshness, the plates of sushi are topped with Mr. Fresh™ ventilated lids. Instead of touching the lids, customers are encouraged to grab the plate at the opening and lift up.

Kura Corporation prides itself in providing "safe, reliable, and delicious food" that is made without additives, preservatives, and artificial colorings and flavorings. Hajime Uba, president of KSU, says that Kura Revolving Sushi Bars "[are] based on the principles of timely service, no MSG, and the unique Japanese culture of 'taking great care in each step of the process, including the unseen.'"

Visiting a rotating sushi bar for the first time can seem overwhelming, but using the conveyor belt sushi system at Kura Sushi can be a fun experience for all ages since it is designed to make sushi an approachable and interactive experience for those who might be nervous about trying it for the first time.

"We do get customers who are new to the system, and our servers would gladly inform them on how everything works," Kurosaki says. "We always receive positive comments on our dishes and system. Everyone, especially kids, get excited when interacting with the conveyor belt [and] express lane, and when getting Bikkura Pon prizes."

Whether you're in it for the food, the prizes, or the simple satisfaction of trying something new, this modern take on sushi has a little something for everyone.

Resources

1. Discover the History of Sushi. PBS. Accessed July 2021.
2. The History of Sushi in America. Michelin Guide. Accessed July 2021.
3. How Conveyor Belt Sushi Took Over the World. Saveur. Accessed July 2021.
4. Food on the Move: The History of Conveyor Belt Sushi. Seattle Fish Company. Accessed July 2021.