TOKYO – Conveyor-belt sushi is hitting the road in Tokyo, with tours aboard a double-decker sightseeing bus set to begin on Oct 10.
The Sushi Bus offers tours around sights in central Tokyo while passengers on the second floor dine on sushi, taking their pick from plates transported by conveyor belt, much as they would at a conventional conveyor-belt sushi restaurant.
Tours on the 20-seat bus with a retractable roof include all-you-can-eat sushi and last around 70 minutes. Tickets are priced at 16,000 yen (S$129) for regular seats and 20,000 yen for seats at the front of the bus.
During a media preview of the bus on Oct 1, kitchen staff on the first floor loaded plates of sushi onto a small service lift and sent them up to the upper deck. Another staff member then placed the plates on a moving conveyor belt for passengers to choose from as they passed by the tables.
The tour departed from a location near Tokyo Station, passing through the famous Ginza shopping district and offering passengers a close look at Tokyo Tower and other sights.
Many pedestrians who spotted the bus did a double take before realising that the entire vehicle was decorated to resemble a piece of sushi.
When the bus stopped at traffic lights, staff engaged the onlookers, holding signs and encouraging people to wave and take photos.
Sushi Bus is the latest tourist experience from founder Tomoyuki Yano, who said he is not the kind of person to jump on the bandwagon and follow what others are doing.
The 40-year-old established a ninja-themed tour in 2016, which he followed with a ninja cafe. While other ninja-themed experiences have emerged since, Yano believes no one has previously offered conveyor-belt sushi on a sightseeing bus.
“I wanted to develop a business model that other people would find hard to imitate,” he said.
After deciding on a bus, Yano thought about what passengers might want to eat on board.
“Ramen seemed too hot and too risky,” he said of the popular noodles-in-soup dish. Sushi, which can be eaten in a single bite with one hand, appeared much more manageable.
Given the project’s unusual nature, however, finding collaborators and navigating the necessary regulations proved challenging. According to Yano, arranging the bus tour took over two years and cost more than 100 million yen.
Developers carried out over 100 tests on the conveyor belt alone to ensure that the sushi plates remain secure while the bus is in motion and in the event of a sudden stop.
They decided to use special plastic trays that can be secured to the belt to hold the plates in place and prevent them from sliding forward suddenly.
Since the fish cannot be sliced on a moving bus, it is sourced pre-cut. But the portions are larger than at a typical conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, according to Yano, as the dishes compete with the scenery for passengers’ attention.
He insists that despite the apparent novelty, the experience is more than just a gimmick, a challenge he has often had to address.
With tour prices allowing the company to spend heavily on ingredients, Yano said the bus has achieved a level of quality not far removed from that of a traditional sushi restaurant. KYODO NEWS
Dining and Cooking