Chris Higgins
Video from the Sushi’s Perspective
by Chris Higgins - March 5, 2009 - 1:04 PM

I’m a big fan of kaiten-zushi, a form of sushi restaurant in which patrons sit at a bar around a conveyer belt. On the conveyer belt, endless small plates of sushi proceed past the diners — which tends to put the diners in a sort of zoned-out mode, just staring as infinite food arrives. When a diner sees something he likes, he grabs the plate. At the end of the meal, his plates are counted and a total cost tabulated (plates are typically color-coded by price, ranging from $1 – $3 or more). My local kaiten-zushi place also has a competitive eating competition called “Plate Champion,” in which diners win prizes for consuming huge quantities of sushi, and stacking up the plates. Proud photos of guys with their plate-stacks adorn the walls. (I, sadly, am not a Plate Champion.)

Several videos on YouTube show the keiten-zushi process from the sushi’s perspective. It’s a simple idea — just put your camera on a plate, put it back on the conveyer belt, and watch as it takes its trip around the belt, through the kitchen, and back to you. Here’s one such video making the rounds (from Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan):

Watch as people stare at the camera, make the Peace sign, smile or frown at it, ignore it, and so on. My favorite part is when the camera enters the kitchen and is temporarily removed from the conveyer belt as kitchen staff discuss what to do with it. One commenter on Boing Boing translated the kitchen portion of the video. Check out the link for the full translation; here are my favorite bits:

Kitchen staffer #1(glasses)- “Huh? What’s this? There’s a camera going round.” Other lady off camera- “what’s wrong?” 3rd lady, laughing- “hey- it’s ok on a blue plate! (as if she’s saying cameras are a blue plate special item, lol)”

Walking with plate- “Coffee jelly for #30!” RINGS BELL: “We’re in trouble.” Sushi chefs come. Lady: “This was going around and taking video…” Sushi chef- “Ah, this, it’s probably a customer’s. Umm, it’s a foreigner.” Lady- “they put it out (on here)?” Chef- “Yeah, they tried putting it out, to take (a video). Of the, er, of the scenery.”

More keiten-zushi videos are on YouTube.

(Via Waxy.org, via Boing Boing.)

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Comments (10)

  1. im surprised nobody picked up the plate thinking, “hey I’ll pay $3 for this”….or you know, just take it and run.

    posted by Jon on 3-5-2009 at 1:33 pm

  2. That is awesome. I want to eat sushi like that.

    posted by Ftssoad on 3-5-2009 at 2:00 pm

  3. Ooh, my one and only experience with kaiten-zushi was on a trip to Japan. It was wonderful. Thanks for the memory!

    posted by Southern Buddhist on 3-5-2009 at 2:10 pm

  4. I didn’t know that those types of places actually existed. The only time I’d ever seen one is in the Pokemon Stadium video game for N64, in some lickitung challenge.

    posted by kt on 3-5-2009 at 3:34 pm

  5. Hi, there–how ru getting along?
    For some weird reason, I found the video utterly fascinating– a little slice of life….Say hi to your mom & dad for me!

    posted by Mrs. Riggs on 3-5-2009 at 5:18 pm

  6. Sadly, Ohio’s only kaiten-zushi closed last year. I think it might have had something to do with the “Eww…how do they know when and what to take off the belt?!” attitude. The decor consisting of GIANT (8 ft plus) popsicles probably had something to do with it.

    The only issue I ever had was with their green tea ice-cream. It was pale green and served in a small round dish…as was the wasabi. You sort of had to take your chances…

    R.I.P. Zen Sushi.

    posted by Mandragora on 3-5-2009 at 6:43 pm

  7. This was like the Sushi-Go-Round I ate at in Sydney. Kind of fun actually.

    posted by RJ on 3-6-2009 at 7:43 am

  8. daring, stupid, and fun all at the same time. Coolness.

    posted by tony on 3-6-2009 at 11:30 pm

  9. We have one of these here in Dubai called Yo Sushi. Its very addicting.

    posted by Valerie on 3-10-2009 at 3:09 pm

  10. Just returned from Tokyo where this is a very popular sushi type restaurant. Re the comment about someone taking the camera…it’s Japan, you can leave your stuff out and 9.9 times out of 10, no one will touch it!

    posted by Peggy on 4-22-2009 at 12:58 am

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