conveyor belt sushi
Conveyor belt sushi has spread throughout Japan and even overseas. Small plates of sushi flow along a conveyor belt, and customers can pick up the sushi they like and eat it.
Its casual, semi-self-service style, low prices, and clear accounting make it easy for families and tourists to use, making it extremely popular.
This "conveyor belt sushi" originated in Osaka. One day, the founder of Genroku Sangyo, who ran a small stand-up sushi restaurant in Fuse, Higashi-Osaka, visited a beer factory in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, where he saw bottles flowing on a conveyor belt and beer being poured one after another. The sushi restaurant was so successful that it would not be possible to make sushi after taking an order, so they would pile plates of pre-made shrimp, squid, octopus, and other sushi into a pyramid on the counter, and when an order came in, they would serve it. They were also struggling with a labor shortage, so they thought that using a conveyor belt would allow them to reduce the amount of work in the restaurant.
Fuse's area is home to many small and medium-sized businesses, and one of his regular customers was the manager of a steelworks, so he asked him to help develop the product. The biggest challenge in development was the corners, where the plates would not turn properly and would fall off. After much struggle, he finally completed the product after several years.
The first conveyor belt sushi restaurant, where a conveyor belt called a "rotating dining table" goes around the restaurant, opened in 1958.
It was a big hit with Osakans who love new and unusual things, and the number of stores increased. Its popularity skyrocketed when it was exhibited at the 1970 World Expo. Since then, conveyor belt sushi has become a nationwide fad, and it was instrumental in transforming sushi from a luxury item into an everyday delicacy for the common people.
Even today, the original Genroku Sushi is still in business throughout Osaka.
*Photo provided by Genroku Sushi
Other recommended gourmet foods
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