Kura Sushi is a popular conveyor belt sushi restaurant chain that can be found all over Japan, with numerous outlets located within major cities. It offers a wide range and variety of sushi at cheap and affordable prices. In fact, a large proportion of their menu features sushi priced at 100 Yen! And that's not all! The dining experience also allows you to play their gachapon machines (vending machines that dispenses toy capsules), where you can walk away with small toy capsules. Keep on reading for more information on the whole experience of dining at Kura Sushi!
THE EXPERIENCE
WHEN YOU ARRIVE
If you're arriving during lunch or dinner time, definitely expect a queue! Kura Sushi is not only popular among tourists, but also among locals. Also, it can be quite confusing when you first arrive as there is little to no English translation in the beginning.
First, remember to take a queue number from the machine. You will have to state how many diners you have and your seating preference, that is booth seats or bar seats. (We opted for bar seats.) Once that is done, you'll receive a queue ticket. From there, you can proceed to the waiting area and wait for your number to be called.
Do note that they will call the number in Japanese so if you don't know any Japanese, make sure you use Google translate to figure out the phonetics or check out the easy guide below in the tips section.
SEATING
Once they call your number, you'll be given a quick run-through on how to take food from the general conveyor belt. This is part of their hygiene protocol to ensure that no germs come into contact with the food. They will also hand you a small black board with your seat number on it. After which, they will direct you to your seat.
GENERAL MENU
As mentioned earlier, they offer a wide variety of sushi, with most priced at 100 Yen. All the sushi on the conveyor belt cost 100 Yen but you can also order sushi from their menu, in which their price ranges from 100 Yen to about 200 Yen (I don't think that there was any sushi priced above 200 Yen). Beyond that, they also offer ramen, donburi, udons, fried food as well as dessert! So even if one of your friends isn't a sushi fan, they can still enjoy a nice meal at Kura Sushi.
HOW TO ORDER
There are two ways in which you can order food.
#1 You can simply take food from the lower conveyor belt and enjoy your sushi right away.
#2 You can order sushi from the tablet provided at your seat and wait for your food to come on the top conveyor belt. The tablet has an English translation, so fret not, as you'll be able to read the menu and order easily.
GETTING YOUR ORDER
When you order sushi from the tablet provided, they will notify you through the tablet when the food is arriving. The timing depends on the food you order but it's usually no more than 5 minutes.
Remember to take out your phone or camera when the tablet notification is shown, so that you can take a nice Instagram video of your food arriving in style. The food will actually travel along the top conveyor belt, stopping exactly at your seat.
THE FOOD
The quality of their sushi is slightly above average (Japan's standard, that is.). And at their price point, you are definitely getting your money's worth. It's also a good opportunity to try some interesting sushi that you might otherwise not try, given the small price!
Furthermore, their other side dishes, such as the donburi were all decent and at comparable prices to other affordable places.
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR EMPTY PLATES
Once you are done eating, you might be wondering what to do with the empty plates. And this is the fun part. They actually have a spot for you to deposit those empty plates.
Once you have deposited 5 plates, the tablet will start playing a video. If you are sucessful, a prize will come out from the gachapon machines located on the top of your table!
If I'm not mistaken, we only managed to get one prize from about 4-5 tries. Initially, we thought that we didn't win anything since we couldn't understand the video and nothing came out after the video was played. Luckily, a lady informed us that we had actually won and there was a prize in the machine after all! So make sure you double check if you really want the toy. The toys are nothing spectacular, but it's definitely a fun way to cap off the whole dinner experience!
PAYMENT
Once you are truly done, you just have to take the small black board with your seat number and bring it to the cashier to make payment. Since we were sitting at bar seats, my friends and I each had our own black board and we were able to make payment separately. They did offer us the option of paying together as well. Unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure how it works for the booth seats (whether you get one black board or individuals ones).
GENERAL TIPS
#1 Quick, Informal Guide to Japanese Numbers
so if you don't know any Japanese, here's a quick guide on Japanese numbers that we used to hear when our number is being called. Do note that this guide is not official and I just used words that sound the most similar to the Japanese number.
1 - Itchy
2 - Knee
3 - Sun
4 - Yawn
5 - Go
6 - Rock
7 - Hitch
8 - Hatch
9 - Queue
10 - Jew
11 - Jew Itch (10 + 1)
20 - Knee Jew (2 + 10)
#2 Ask the locals next to you or staff for help if you ever get confused!
Don't be shy! If you're ever lost on what to do, more often than not, the locals sitting next to you are generally wiling to help you out. One kind lady sitting next to me even gave me her gachapon toy when she noticed that we were tourists. If not, you can also ask the staff for directions.
I would definitely be heading back to Kura Sushi when I'm in Japan! With great value and quality sushi combined with a fun and cosy experience, it's definitely hard to not love Kura Sushi!
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