Sushi is the most famous food in Japan. When I was living in Europe (England and France), many people asked me if I eat Sushi everyday. It’s like asking a French person if she/he eats foie gras everyday.
Basically, sushi is not an everyday meal for Japanese. This is not because it is luxurious. As I already wrote in another article, there are several grades for the quality of sushi and the types of places you can eat one, so you can buy a supermarket sushi package for $5 or so.
However, Sushi is still somewhat special for Japanese people. According to the statistics, only 5.6 % of Japanese people eat sushi once or more than once a week. The majority has sushi once or a few times a month.
If you are a traveler and you want to try fresh and authentic sushi in this “sushi country”, you might worry about the cost. Of course you don’t want to miss the good opportunity to have very delicious food by being too economical while traveling, but you also have a budget.
Many of you cannot afford to pay $500 for one dinner (per person!). So Kaiten-zushi (sushi is sometimes pronounced as Zushi in certain combined words) , literally means “rotation sushi” should be your option.
What is a Kaiten-zushi? (conveyor belt sushi)
Kaiten-zuhi is a type of sushi bar where you can get a dish of sushi from a belt conveyor at your counter. (But you can also order your favorite to the chefs inside the counter. Personally I’d rather do that instead of taking a dish from the conveyor).
Kaiten-zushi is not just a budget place anymore.
When I was a kid, perhaps back in the 80’s or early 90’s, Kaiten-zushi was really just a budget place. So no one expected the good quality sushi there. Kaiten-zushi was not a place for the taste pursuit, but it’s a very convenient place for families especially with small children.
However, The long term deflation started in the 90’s, so gradually people stopped paying so much for everything. That’s why Japan has been struggling from the economic slowdown for the past 25 years! But for you, tourists, this is a good news. You don’t have to pay too much to have nice quality sushi anymore. Thanks to severe competition, new type of Kaiten-zushi chains emerged. They offer very good quality of sushi for the price of kaiten-zushi!
How do you have to pay in the end?
Speaking of the price, it differs depending on the kind of fish of course. You can make sure how much your sushi is by the colour of the plates. A waiter/waitress would scan your plates when you ask for the bill.
In this kaiten-zushi chain, the cheapest one is 110 JPY (app.$1) and the most expensive one is 510 JPY.
There are also some special sets which are more expensive than 510 JPY. In that case, they give you some empty plates that sum up to the price . For example, if you order the premium 4 pieces as you can see below, it costs 720 JPY, then you would get the plates of 210 JPY and 510 JPY.
When you get stuffed and want to end your meal there, then you can ask a waitress/waiter for your bill by showing your plates.
You can have green tea for free, but help yourself
You can order drinks like beer, sake or soft drinks, but if you don’t want to spend extra money for that, you can have free green tea.
Usually, there is a pot of tea powder as well as a tap for hot water at the counter or your table, so help yourself and make your tea.
But please be careful.
PUSH THE BUTTON WITH YOUR CUP INSTEAD OF YOUR FINGER, otherwise your hand could get burnt.
My friend pushed the button like this. I asked her the picture and just then I realized how she did it.
This tap was ok because of the angle, but in other places, the tap is like this.
That could be dangerous if you push the button with your finger.
How to order when you don’t want any plates on the conveyor
It depends on the place, but mainly you can order by using a tablet or writing down on a piece of paper (provided on your seat with a pen). In some places, they offer you both options, or you would have a tablet at a table but you only have the paper option at a counter because you can put it on the counter where the chefs easily notice. In that case, you would also have an English menu with pictures and each menu has a number. So it’s easy.
In this picture, I wrote in Japanese but don’t worry you have no issues if you can read English or Chinese.
2 chains I recommend to those who are seeking for quality in Tokyo
There are so many Kaiten-zushi chains throughout Japan, especially in Tokyo. If you want to eat really good sushi in such a budget place, Hokkaido must be your destination instead of Tokyo. But if you are (if you will be) in Tokyo anyways, I suggest you to go to my favorite Kaiten-zushi chains.
Katsu Midori — Great value for money, 8 branches in Tokyo like Shibuya and Kamata
Since I’m living nearby Haneda Airport, I often go to the Kamata branch, but I have also been to the one in Shibuya.
The best advantage here is the price. I go there once every 2 months by myself, and I eat till I get stuffed with my favorite sushis and I always pay less than 2,000 JPY (18-19 USD). By the way, I eat more than average Japanese women.
Yes, there are even cheaper chains in Tokyo. They are often friendly to families with children— but the tastes and qualities are not very satisfactory to me. So, Katsumidori’s cost performance is extraordinary, in my opinion.
I guess some people stay in Kamata district because it is the closest commercial town to Haneda Airport. If you are looking for a sushi meal for a reasonable price, this should be the right place. (There are some high rated sushi bars in this area, but the cost is 10 times more expensive…).
However, you have to queue for at least 30 minutes. I can say it deserves the wait.
Kamata branch (convenient if you are staying around Haneda airport for transit)
The Katsumidori is located on the 6th floor of Granduo East, which is the building connected to JR Kamata station. Note that there is also Granduo “West” so don’t get lost!
JR Kamata station
The 6th floor of this building is full of restaurants, but Katsumidori is the most popular by far.
Since I went there at 3 p.m. last time there was no one queuing outside the place. But usually, the stools are occupied and you need to move forward as the person in front of you does.
The queue continues inside….be patient.
I usually go there by myself or with one person (my mother or friend), so I always get a counter seat. I think the tablets for ordering are installed at the tables. If you are in a group of 3 or more, you can ask a table, but then you may have to wait longer. By the way, I saw a waitress from the Philippines (her name tag indicated that) so English works. (There were also waitresses/ waiters who speak Chinese)
Its menu is like this. Usually the first page indicates the recommendation for the season.
And the cheapest menu (110 JPY) follows.
Sometimes the plate which are not listed on the menu book come on the lane.
If someone in your group does not want to eat sushi, then there are several options like Tempura or Japanese fried chicken.
my favorites
I usually eat the tuna set (seared tuna, minced tuna and normal tuna) and the seared set.
The seared salmon and flounder edge are especially recommended. In case you are not fond of raw fish, you can feel safe with seared ones.
The set of rather expensive 4 kinds of fish: tuna, prawn, sea urchin and salmon roe.
The seared sardines was also good.
This sweet shrimp was 110 JPY, I think it’s a very good value for money.
many of my favorites are listed on the 210 JPY pages.
Toriton – Kaiten-zushi of Hokkaido!
The next chain, which is originally from Hokkaido, is famous for being a seafood heaven. In a foodie’s TV show, many Hokkaido local people asserted that they do not have to go to a traditional sushi bar for the sushi od good quality, thanks to the Kaiten-zushi chains in Hokkaido.
Toriton is one of them and they have opened 2 branches in Tokyo; Soramachi (The sky tree) and Ikebukuro.
So if you visit the Sky Tree or stay around Ikebukuro, you had better try one. I suppose you would hesitate upon seeing the long queue, but don’t worry, I have never waited for more than 40 minutes.
I went there 5 months ago with 2 of my friends.
We ordered 2 plates of Negitoro (minced tuna), they put 4 pieces on 1 plate and gave us an empty plate.
Negitoro was delicious. It’s highly recommended.
Here, one piece of scallop is provided on a plate, so this is the pic when we ordered “3”.
The flesh was so thick and very fresh.
Squid (calamari) was outstandingly good here.
Needless to say, salmon was also very good.
sweet prawn.
This was the special on that day. a kind of shell.
Salmon roe. We call it “Ikura” which comes from a Russian word.
Seared flounder edges are strongly recommended here too.
Tamago (means egg, so sushi of Japanese omelet) was so thick.
The prices at Toriton is higher than the average kaiten-zushi prices, but I can assert that it is a great value for money.
Kaiten-zushi might be the best dining place in Japan for budget travelers!
