Ramen, draft beer, and sake also on the menu at branch that’s part of a trend of de-mobilizing sushi.

Sushiro has made a name for itself as one of Japan’s most popular chains for revolving sushi (or kaitenzushi, as it’s called in Japanese). A lot of that is due to Sushiro’s tasty fish and low prices, but part of it is also thanks to the chain’s willingness to innovate, offering such things as delicious French fries, sushi burgers, and menu items so unique we struggle to think of a name for them.

This week, Sushiro once again did something it’s never done before by opening its first restaurant with no conveyor belt.

Sushiro Konomi is one of the restaurants in the just-renovated Food & Time Isetan food court in the Joinus shopping plaza attached to Yokohama Station, the main rail hub of Japan’s second-largest city that’s about 30 minutes south of downtown Tokyo. “Konomi” is the Japanese word for “preference,” and speaks to the fact that there are no unwanted sushi morsels in a lonely revolving parade past uninterested diners at this Sushiro, as your sushi is instead made to order.

Diners can take a seat along the restaurant’s counter or get their food to-go (perhaps to eat at one of the central tables shared by all of the food court’s restaurants). Several dozen types of sushi are on offer, split into price tiers of 60, 100, or 200 yen (US$0.56, $0.93, or $1.87) per piece. Even in the most economically priced bracket, there’s plenty to choose from, such as perennial sushi stars tuna, salmon, shrimp, squid, mackerel, and egg. Yellowtail, salmon roe, sea urchin, and sea bream fall in the middle of the price scale, and the top-class 200-yen offerings include extra-fatty otoro tuna.

If you don’t want your entire meal to be sushi, Sushiro Konomi also has ramen with clams or wantons, udon noodles, and miso soup. This being a Japanese food court, alcoholic beverages are also on offer with Suntory Premium Malts draft beer, whiskey highballs, lemon sour shochu cocktails, and two types of sake, with prices ranging from 350 to 580 yen.

Sushiro Konomi is a great way to split the difference between inexpensive kaitenzushi joints and traditional yet pricey full-service sushi restaurants. It’s also part of a broad trend to reduce waste in the kaitenzushi industry, and as yet another bonus, since there’s no conveyor belt, the company can avoid the headache of dealing with someone sticking their GoPro on the belt and filming the other customers. Really, the only complaint that we, with our constantly raging sweet tooth, can make is that they don’t have desserts…

…but luckily right in the same food court is a branch of Hokkaido dairy dessert specialist Machimura Farms, whose ice cream is a great way to cap any kind of meal.

Restaurant information
Sushiro Konomi / スシローコノミ
Located inside Food & Time Isetan Yokohama / フード＆タイム イセタン ヨコハマ
Address: Kanagawa-ken, Yokohama-shi, Nishi-ku, Minami Saiwai 1-5-1, Sotetsu Building (Joinus), basement level 1
神奈川県横浜市西区南幸1-5-1 新相鉄ビル（ジョイナス）地下1階
Open 7:30 a.m.-11 p.m.
Website

Photos ©SoraNews24
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