Conveyor belt sushi restaurants, or kaiten-zushi as they're known in Japan, have a longer history in their native country -- but not by much. The first was opened in 1958 by Yoshiaki Shiraishi, a sushi restaurateur who struggled with staff shortages, and the genre has experienced both peaks and troughs since its inception all those years ago. Right now, it seems to be doing pretty well, with increasing technological advances being made to ensure the freshness of the sushi and streamline the ordering process.
Genki Sushi is a popular kaiten-zushi chain with multiple outlets across Japan, but also internationally, with restaurants in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, the US, and more. I had originally planned to visit a Genki Sushi -- a kaiten-zushi chain -- on the recommendation of a friend who had loved the ordering system. There's a tablet at each table with multilingual options, and paginated sections for each category of dish: appetisers, sushi rolls, sushi, sides, drinks etc. You touch whichever item you want, add it to your basket (you can choose multiple orders), and once you're done, you press a button to electronically send your order to the kitchen. After a little while, once a dish is ready, it is shot directly to you on a little cart that stops at your table. You take it from the cart and press a button on the tablet to send it back to the kitchen.
As novel as this sounded, it didn't exactly shoot Genki Sushi to the top of my dining itinerary, until my friend showed me a video. The cart that delivered her food... was modified to look like the Shinkansen. It was impossible to resist. It wasn't until the planned day of our visit that I discovered that the central Tokyo branches of Genki Sushi do not have customised carts. Devastating. But, well, we were in Shibuya anyway, and too hungry to bother with searching out other options.
Novel! The cart wasn't dressed up, but it was pretty cute nonetheless. We made several orders as you could only pick a few items at a time. We also had a time limit of 45 minutes, but the process was so prompt that we didn't feel pressured by a deadline. This was clearly a popular restaurant at lunchtime, and we saw plenty of foreigners at tables among the native Japanese. There always seemed to be a queue, but it moved quickly: we had had to wait no more than ten minutes before being seated.
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| Clockwise from the top: salmon, cheeseburger, kanpyomaki (dried gourd shavings) |
Pardon the subpar photos. I'm the only real fish fan of our group of three, so we ordered hardly any real sushi or sashimi, which was a shame considering the extensive offering. But it was heartening to have so many options even for those less inclined towards raw fish. Drinks were also ordered off the tablet, delivered by a member of staff rather than the conveyor, but another brilliant element was the unlimited self-service hot tea. A small tap dispensing hot water sat at the top of each table. On the other end, with the condiments, was a brown canister filled with green powder and a teeny spoon -- matcha! Cups were stacked on a higher level shelf, so you retrieved your own and could fill it as many times as you wanted with hot tea. Genius.
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| Tempura udon, tempura shrimp sushi |
Tempura prawn sushi was perfectly tolerable. The batter wasn't as crisp and light as it should have been, but that wasn't expected, and the prawn was nicely cooked. Udon was pleasant, with a surprisingly strong taste of the sea, the noodles bouncy and the serving substantial. Fried chicken tasted good, though even lousy fried chicken is still pretty good when fresh.
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| Beef rib sushi |
Beef rib sushi was chosen mostly because it was fish-free, and looked desperately unappealing when it arrived -- flabby, fatty, and grey -- but it was a surprise hit, with a fabulous, deep, almost bacon-like flavour. Other dishes were more forgettable: kanpyomaki (dried gourd shavings), inari sushi, hamburger sushi, which had a funny, pate style texture, bland salmon. Still, it was an entertaining experience, even if the sushi itself was lacking. The rice itself was good, too, if not exactly high quality, with a good sticky quality. Individual grains were still separate and distinct, and unlike the fridge-cold rice you get in the UK, it was served just warm.
I don't regret going to Genki Sushi, and I would certainly recommend going at least once for the novelty of it. Even more so if you are near a branch offering decorated delivery carts. It seems to me that if you know what to order, you can easily get yourself a good quality and generous meal without breaking the bank. We didn't leave hungry, and we paid under £35 total for at least 11 small plates, two soft drinks, and one cocktail.
Date of visit: 05/09/2019
Address: 24-8 Udagawacho, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0042, Japan
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