How to Eat at a Sushi Bar in Japan

Of all the Japanese foods, sushi is the most well-known across the world. In the U.S., going out for proper sushi can put a dent in your wallet, but eating in sushi in Japan is a quick and cheap experience. Kaiten-zushi, in particular, also known as conveyor belt sushi, or sushi go-rounds, are not to be missed.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Take a seat at a table. Next to these tables will be a conveyor belt, on which plates of sushi will continually rush by. There is no menu, and there are no servers: you serve yourself without ever standing up.

2. Grab anything you might like from the conveyor belt. These types of sushi restaurants are popular, but very cheap. Each plate usually costs little more than one hundred yen, or about one dollar each.

3. Make special orders--cakes, deserts, and particular sushis--on the screen provided at your table. You can simply press the picture associated with the dish you want, and the food will arrive directly to your table, most likely on a secondary belt above the one providing sushi.

4. Eat to your heart`s content. These sushi restaurants are best at their most packed, as the sushi is consumed at its freshest, and replaced as it is eaten. Some restaurants even mark the plates, to ensure that they are removed after a relatively short time, if not eaten.

5. Finish your meal and press the final button to call over for the check. An employee will arrive to simply count up your plates. Ten plates of sushi will translate to about ten dollars. Pay your tab up front.

Tips & Warnings

• Stick with your choices. If you choose one plate but decide not to eat it, it`s bad manners to return the plate to the conveyor belt.
• Do not place empty dishes back on the conveyor belt.