Conveyor belt sushi, not bad.

Today I went to "Kura-sushi", a Conveyor belt sushi nearby my home. The store was reformed recently and is always crowded.

http://www.kura-corpo.co.jp/eng/
(The website of Kura corporation)

Sushi is a soul food for Japanese. I like sushi the best of Japanese cuisine.
Traditionally, sushi is communication itself between the guests and the chef. “Itamae”, sushi specialized chef cooks sushi with his own hands in front of the guests, making conversation with guests. Traditional Japanese loved sushi so much that making sushi was a kind of art and also compared to dead-or-alive battle.

Traditional sushi is very expensive. Famous sushi restaurants even do not display the price of sushi set. The guest has to pay any amount of money that the chef presented. The system requires good partnership between the guests and the chef. Famous chef did not work for strangers, historically.

However the era has changed.

About 50 years ago, Conveyor belt sushi born in Japan. In such kind of stores, you will sit by the counter, which equips a belt conveyor. You need not ask for your order. you only take the dishes streaming in front of you. There are a lot of sushi-rolls upon the dishes streaming one after another. The choice is yours.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conveyor_belt_sushi
(Wikipedia: Conveyor belt sushi)

This style of sushi is innovative for some reasons.
You eat anything very quickly. Indeed, the sushi has been made already! You do not need to hesitate to order one. Chefs can concentrate to make sushi, without talking to guests. So visiting time of guests is to be very shorter than traditional style. Above all, Conveyor belt sushi also rotate the guests quickly. And rotate rate is very important for administration of restaurant.
They make great effort to offer cheap and fresh meal. The cost you should pay is about one-tenth of the traditional sushi restaurant. Besides, the taste is not so bad.
There are a lot of choices in Conveyor belt sushi. You will eat 7 to 10 dishes when you are hungry. Variation of menu is one of advantages.

Recently, stores of Conveyor belt sushi invent many original sushi-rolls. Traditional sushi is made from rice and fish or shellfish. But newly sushi includes even beef, pork, chicken, avocado or other vegetables. Hamburg sushi is popular for children. Besides sushi, we can eat other light meals such as chinese noodles, chicken bowl, or some sweets. Modern Conveyor belt sushi is likely to theme park of the meal. Perhaps they aim to get more family customers.

I have visited some time at Conveyor belt sushi also in foreign countries, such as London, Hong Kong or Munich. They also offer variable menu. Good job!

But I do not recommend buying a sushi set at a convenience store. It is no good either in Japan or in foreign countries. Freshness is the first priority of sushi, I think.