No wonder why not only it looks special, but also is being served in different that typical conditions. Opposite to the most of the restaurants all around the world, those which serve sushi are equipped more unusually. During my stay in Japan I've visited 3 kaiten-zushi restaurants, which are places where sushi goes around the restaurant on a special moving belt (a smaller version of the belt from which you pick up your luggage at the airport). The one that I liked the most was located in the Nagoya's neighbourhood of Makinohara and I went there with Daniel on bikes. Here I start the story about how different it was from all the other restaurants I knew before...
It doesn't matter if you come to kaiten-zushi alone or with a group of people. There is a place for everybody. The room full of tables includes both kinds of places.
Normally the second step would be ordering but actually the food passes next to you even without being ordered. I was a bit shocked when I didn't even sit down yet and Daniel already picked few plates with sushi!
Every table has its own computer, which is used for ordering things that you'd like to eat but you can't wait for them any longer to appear on the belt. Thanks to the picture menu you don't really need to read Japanese.
The difference between ordered and not-ordered sushi is simple. Few seconds before the requested sushi arrives, the computer makes a funny sound and soon after that you see your dish arriving on the red bowl. Red bowl means that if you didn't order the particular plate, you shouldn't take it. The rest of plates that was not ordered is simply going round until somebody picks it or until it's not fresh anymore and automatically thrown away.
Important part of having a good meal is also having something to drink. Each table has its own box filled with green tea and what's even more, a tap with hot water. The cup can be refilled as many times as needed. And by the way! One wise man told me once that the way a person holds chopsticks means a lot. The biggest difference is between samurais, who used to hold chopsticks at the end and poor people who grabbed them close to the food. On the day when I've learned it I was a samurai but in the picture below I'm probably representing the middle class.
As soon as the bellies are full, the next step is to officially count the number of plates by throwing them into the special hole in the table.
The surprise comes when the number of plates is registered in the computer. Each 5 plates counts as a one chance to win a toy. The toys are located above the computer and the whole thing about the competition is simply a very strange computer game. I keep on saying that the game is unfair... because I've lost! Anyway, Daniel has more luck in this kind of things, so I hope he will keep on winning toys for me.
Would you like some saromon nigiri? (There is no letter L in Japanese.)
One plate costs only 100Yen! (~1$)
(This is one of over 30 posts, which I accidentally deleted one day in January. Luckily, I was able to recover them thanks to the backup done by DanielSan! It's a pity that the comments are gone but someting is better than nothing.)
My latest discovery concerning kaiten sushi explains why in some places sushi is served on 2 different colors of plates. The reason for that is content of wasabi in some pieces of sushi.
Not only, wasabi changes the taste of the dish but also, has great antibacterial abilities and so it may prevent food poisoning. Unfortunately, Japanese cuisinse that includes raw fish is a potential source of bacteria.
It doesn't matter if you come to kaiten-zushi alone or with a group of people. There is a place for everybody. The room full of tables includes both kinds of places.
Normally the second step would be ordering but actually the food passes next to you even without being ordered. I was a bit shocked when I didn't even sit down yet and Daniel already picked few plates with sushi!
Every table has its own computer, which is used for ordering things that you'd like to eat but you can't wait for them any longer to appear on the belt. Thanks to the picture menu you don't really need to read Japanese.
The difference between ordered and not-ordered sushi is simple. Few seconds before the requested sushi arrives, the computer makes a funny sound and soon after that you see your dish arriving on the red bowl. Red bowl means that if you didn't order the particular plate, you shouldn't take it. The rest of plates that was not ordered is simply going round until somebody picks it or until it's not fresh anymore and automatically thrown away.
Important part of having a good meal is also having something to drink. Each table has its own box filled with green tea and what's even more, a tap with hot water. The cup can be refilled as many times as needed. And by the way! One wise man told me once that the way a person holds chopsticks means a lot. The biggest difference is between samurais, who used to hold chopsticks at the end and poor people who grabbed them close to the food. On the day when I've learned it I was a samurai but in the picture below I'm probably representing the middle class.
As soon as the bellies are full, the next step is to officially count the number of plates by throwing them into the special hole in the table.
The surprise comes when the number of plates is registered in the computer. Each 5 plates counts as a one chance to win a toy. The toys are located above the computer and the whole thing about the competition is simply a very strange computer game. I keep on saying that the game is unfair... because I've lost! Anyway, Daniel has more luck in this kind of things, so I hope he will keep on winning toys for me.
Would you like some saromon nigiri? (There is no letter L in Japanese.)One plate costs only 100Yen! (~1$)
(This is one of over 30 posts, which I accidentally deleted one day in January. Luckily, I was able to recover them thanks to the backup done by DanielSan! It's a pity that the comments are gone but someting is better than nothing.) 
My latest discovery concerning kaiten sushi explains why in some places sushi is served on 2 different colors of plates. The reason for that is content of wasabi in some pieces of sushi.Not only, wasabi changes the taste of the dish but also, has great antibacterial abilities and so it may prevent food poisoning. Unfortunately, Japanese cuisinse that includes raw fish is a potential source of bacteria.
(update from the 23rd of April, 2010)
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