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For the past month, the topic dominating discussion of the restaurant industry in Japan has been viral videos in which pranksters go to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, handle the utensils or food in a disgustingly unsanitary manner, then leave them for other customers to unwittingly use. The behavior has been dubbed “sushi terrorism,” and the loss of confidence in the cleanliness of Japan’s revolving sushi restaurants poses a threat to a unique part of modern Japanese food culture.
One of the kaiten sushi (as Japan calls revolving sushi) restaurants to be victimized by sushi terrorism is Choshimaru, an east Japan chain with branches in Tokyo and the neighboring prefecture of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama. In early February, a video was posted of a prankster placing a cigarette butt inside a container of pickled ginger left on the table between parties which customers to serve themselves from. Choshimaru has since changed its operating policies so that fresh condiments and utensils are brought by staff to the table every time a new group is seated, and has now announced that all 63 restaurants in the chain will be switching to a “full-order system,” meaning that going forward no sushi will be moving down the conveyor belt for any interested diner to claim.
▼ A Choshimaru branch
The move to a full-order system, in which customers place their order either verbally or via touch screen and then have their sushi delivered to them, is actually meant to accomplish two things. First, doing away with plates of slow-moving up-for-grabs sushi will make it harder for a prankster to touch, lick, or otherwise handle food that someone else is going to eat, since direct-delivery lanes at kaiten sushi restaurants move too quickly to tamper with the sushi as it zips by.
Secondly, making a stock of up-for-grabs plates of sushi to send down the line in hopes that someone will eat them can result in a lot of food loss, since after a set amount of time unclaimed sushi is removed from circulation an thrown away. Switching to a full-order system in a win-win in terms of cleanliness and profitability, and when you add in that many customers prefer the fresher quality of made-to-order sushi, getting rid of the revolving up-for-grabs plates is a win-win-win.
▼ A Choshimaru touch screen
However, abolishing the revolving sushi system has some drawbacks too. For one thing, you’re no longer able to see the specific sushi piece before you decide to eat it, so if you’re a broad-palleted sushi lover who saunters in with the idea of grabbing whatever happens to look tasty that day as it comes down the line, you’re out of luck. Made-to-order sushi also takes more time than just grabbing something from the lane, and there’s definitely a drop in fun factor too, as the sight of the colorful parade of up-for-grabs plates and the instant gratification of taking one always makes kaiten sushi meals feel extra special.
Choshimaru says that all of its branches will be order-only by April 26, with some locations making the changeover as early as this week. Putting a stop to its sushi revolving follows a similar decision by national kaiten sushi chain Sushiro last month, and there may be more dominos falling soon, though as least one chain plans to keep its sushi revolving with the help of AI cameras.
Source: Choshimaru via Yorozu via Otakomu
Photos ©SoraNews24
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© SoraNews24
24 Comments
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Elvis is here
That's a shame. The point of going to such places was getting your plate on a rotating belt.
It's a shame a few scum balls have to make it difficult and spoil it for the rest of society. But that seems to be the way it is now.
Mark
Smart Move.
Lindsay
On a positive note, it means the unpopular sushi won’t be circling the restaurant for hours drying out on the conveyor.
it a shame that petty vandalism has become common in Japan.
John-San
Hama and Sushiro have in place the ordering system mentioned in the above article. You order via touch screen wait a few minutes at most. Music alerts you to your order that it is only second away. Your order stop at your station directly in front of you when your are eating at your counter station. I have yet to experience eating at a booth at either restaurant chains. The chances is low for a sushi terrorist to intercept your order. I am not saying that they can’t achieve their terrorist goals because if there is the will etc. When seating check upsteam from your station and scan the clientele for possible sushi terrorist traits. If you are not alerted and feel good about situation, then take your seat at your designated station. If you have a bad feeling about what you scanned upstream alert the staff of a possible sushi terrorist and ask to be seated upstream or at another conveyor station.
Yubaru
My opinion, great! Better to have freshly made-to-order sushi than some plate that has been spinning around on a belt!
Kaiten sushi was created to make it easier for workers and to lower costs, but now thanks to some idiots that we know of, and from what it seems, one's we dont know about but suspect exist, costs could go up due to increased labor costs.
I totally believe that this is not just due to one or two cases reported in the media, and there is probably a grunt load of evidence, not publicly known, that forced this to happen.
cenobite
I was at Choshimaru last week and it was mainly tables. But there was still one delivery belt that sent the order right to your spot at the counter if you were sat at that counter. Otherwise waiters delivered you the dishes to your tables. It was very good, but the way. My one complaint is sushi prices have shot up since I last dined there, and i mean, things like salmon and maguro have doubled or tripled since a decade ago. To be expected. I like the blue fishes too and they haven’t gone up much, so that’s good, at least
Samit Basu
This is not a problem at my local rovolving sushi joint since sushis are being delivered with a plastic cover that lifts up if tempered(You can't just lift it up and then put it down), and utensils are provided at the time of seating.
Aly Rustom
My family and I are Hamazushi fans. Like John-san said, your order swishes right to you. I like it.
藤原
For kaiten zushi I the one I like the most is Mori Mori zushi which has only a few restaurants in Ishikawa ken. There is a combination of both Sushi that is brought to you and conveyor belt. The conveyor belt is usually only used in orders you make. For chains my family like Hamazushi and we usually go there when on holidays to Kyoto or Aomori.
This is the first time I have ever heard of Choshimaru zushi, it would be interesting to try it.
shogun36
It was all a gimmick anyway.
It was just another way to NOT pay workers to do a job.
They might as well just have the sushi chef call orders and the customer can pick it up at the window. Eliminate all of the conveyor belts and seat more people at once.
bass4funk
In Japan overreactions bring quite often massive and questionable measures. While I thing they should debate and come up with better and reasonable changes, they want to just completely overhaul an entire system and culture that has been around for decades.
Often these decisions to serious problems leads to worse solutions that are not well-thought out.
finally rich
If its not Kurazushi with its covered plates I wouldnt dare to get the freshest piece of maguro after it spent 30 seconds revolving around the whole restaurant with people laughing, sneezing, coughing, etc.
Hercolobus
The justice system should force the culprits to apologize on national television, fine them, do Community work at the least, restitute loses to the chain, and agree to have their pictures displayed at sushi chains, with a “Do not do it” statement.
Newgirlintown
“it a shame that petty vandalism has become common in Japan.” I think we just get to hear about it more often now because of social media.
Mocheake
You know that this means the sushi is going to taste much different, right? Without proper revolving the correct aeration will not be achieved rendering the food unpalatable. How are we supposed to adjust to such things? It may have to be sent to some Third World country or get disposed of by a hazmat team. What is the sushi world coming to?
Rodney
Shame. Can’t go to onsen anymore, can’t eat sushi anymore. Can’t but food from combini freezer anymore.
I guess Japan will be invaded by McDoalds, Taco Bell and Burger King.
publicing these fads like taking selfies in freezers, licking sushi plates etc, just makes them cool.
Ricky Kaminski13
Sushi terrorism! Love it. Bring on the maguro memes!
Shivaji
Why not give the customers a choice of whether they want a conveyor belt or the food delivered to their tables?
finally rich
I was Sushiro/Kurazushi all the way until I went to Hamazushi one day and tried their delicious "steak" sushi options, not meat but the average sushi with steak flavor. Good lord it makes you hungry just by thinking about it.
tora
Can’t go to onsen anymore
cleo
There was video of a filthy plonker licking his fingers and then wiping them over the sushi on the conveyor belt.
tora
I see what you did there ;)