Fish, noodles, and heresy are all on the table as our panel of hngry reporters puts together 10 different meals for 1,000 yen or less.

Our Japan Super Budget Dining panel is coming off two straight meaty meals, having made recent visits to the Mos Burger and Matsuya chains for hamburgers and gyudon (beef bowls), respectively. So today we’re giving beef a break and instead heading to Kura Sushi, or Kurazushi, as it’s pronounced by locals in Japan.

Kura Sushi is one of Japan’s most popular kaiten sushi/conveyor belt sushi chains, and among that section of the dining scene it’s known as an especially budget-friendly tasty place. So, as we do in this series, we gave each of our panel members a budge ot 1,000 yen (US$6.90) and told them to put together the best meal they could from Kura Sushi’s menu.

▼ Takamichi Furusawa’s “Kura Sushi Beginner” set (920 yen)

● Salted matured tuna (115 yen)
● Marinated matured tuna (115 yen)
● Salmon (115 yen)
● Umadare sauce salmon (115 yen)
● Kisslip squid (115 yen)
● Pacific flying squid (115 yen)
● Natural dashi udon noodles (230 yen)

“This is actually my first time to eat at Kura Sushi. Since I don’t have any experience with their menu, I went with things I saw being promoted on their website and in-restaurant signs and posters, plus a few things I always order at kaiten sushi restaurants. But when I broke up rotation between tuna, salmon, and squid, I was shocked by how good the udon’s dashi bonito stock broth. The combo of sushi and udon is like a revelation, and I can’t believe I found noodles that taste this good at a sushi restaurant.”

▼ Go Hatori’s “Shrimp All the Way” set (945 yen)

● Shrimp (115 yen)
● Shirim with avocado (150 yen)
● Seared gratin-style shrimp with mayo (170 yen)
● Seard shrimp with cheese (170 yen)
● Tempura shrimp nigiri sushi (170 yen)
● Tempura shrimp sushi roll (170 yen)

“I regularly make whole kaiten sushi meals out of nothing but cooked shrimp sushi, so I went down that path again, grabbing both some conventional and some unorthodox plates. But even this isn’t all the cooked shrimp options Kura Sushi has!”

▼ Masanuki Sunakoma’s “Super Honor Roll” set (995 yen)

● Kaisen mixed seafood gunkan (115 yen)
● Salted matured tuna (115 yen)
● Salmon (115 yen)
● Squid with oba (Japanese basil) (115 yen)
● Special of the day tuna with green onion gunkan (115 yen)
● Seared bonito without rice (190 yen)
● Natural dashi udon noodles (230 yen)

“You’ve got to keep your eyes on the conveyor while you’re at Kura Sushi, since the daily specials, like the three-piece tuna with green onion plate, might not be on the menu. Picking that up made my stomach and my soul feel very happy.”

▼ Yuichiro Wasai’s “Drawing Out the Full Potential of Inexpensive Sushi” set (990 yen)

● Salted matured tuna (115 yen)
● Matured tuna (115 yen)
● Salted marinated yellowtail (115 yen)
● Sered bonito with yuzu citrus salt (115 yen)
● Yuzu citrus flounder (115 yen)
● Kisslip squid (115 yen)
● Iberian pork (130 yen)
● Corn fritters (170 yen)

“There’s no getting around it: a lot of my favorite types of sushi are expensive. There’re exceptions, though, with less expensive ingredients with a little extra effort put in to maximize their potential in how they’re prepared or seasoned. Basically, cheap ingredients made to taste better than they otherwise would. My selection is kind of heavy on salty flavors overall, but there’re some sweet notes too in the pork and corn, making every plate great.

▼ Yoshio’s “Cheap but Ultimate” set (920 yen)

● Salted matured tuna (115 yen)
● Salted marinated yellowtail ( yen)
● Large-serving scallop sushi (115 yen)
● Yuzu citrus salt bonito (115 yen)
● Salmon (115 yen)
● Pangasius (115 yen)
● Mackerel (115 yen)
● Sardine (115 yen)

“When I go to kaiten sushi, I’m all about maxing out on the affordably priced stuff. The bonito and sardine in particular were super thick and fresh, especially for the low price, so I totally recommend getting some of those.”

▼ Ahiruneko’s “Ultimate Kura Sushi Alcoholic Drink Side Order” set (930 yen)

● Maguro yukke (tuna with egg) (130 yen)
● Chanja (spicy cod innards) (115 yen)
● Marinated salmon (115 yen)
● Small-size goro chicken fried chicken (150 yen)
● Gin lemon soda (420 yen)

“Gunkan (battleship-shape) sushi is a little more expensive that regular nigiri sushi, but it makes for a great side order snack to have with alcoholic drinks, and since gin with lemon and soda water is something you don’t often see at chain kaiten sushi restaurants, I wasn’t going to pass that up. The fried chicken is the finishing touch that gives the whole thing just the right balance of flavors.”

▼ Takashi Harada’s “Orthodox Chawanmushi and Sushi” set (995 yen)

● Chawanmushi savory egg custard (230 yen)
● Salted matured tuna (115 yen)
● Matured marinated tuna (115 yen)
● Salmon (115 yen)
● Shrimp (115 yen)
● Large-serving scallop sushi (115 yen)
● Aji (horse mackerel) (190 yen)

“Obviously I wanted to focus on sushi, but the chawanmushi looked to good not to order. Even with that, I still had a little extra room left over in the budget, so I splurged on a plate of aji.”

▼ Mr. Sato’s “Weekdays-only Set Meal” (980 yen)

● Kaisen mixed seafood bowl (600 yen)
● Miso soup (150 yen yen)
● Chawanmushi savory egg custard (230 yen)

“On weekdays only, until 5 p.m. Kura Sushi has a special lunch kaisen bowl, so I used that as the foundation to build my meal on. It’s tasty, filling, and more convenient than having to order a bunch of different things.”

▼ Mariko Ohanabatake’s “Entertaining Heresy” set (990 yen)

● Sukiyaki-style gunkan (115 yen)
● Squid with okura gunkan (115 yen)
● Salted tuna (115 yen)
● Pangasius with lime salt (115 yen)
● Natural dashi udon noodles (230 yen)
● Corn fritters (170 yen)
● Warabi mochi (130 yen)

“Kaiten sushi is supposed to be fun. They’ve got all sorts of things on the menu thatd be considered heresy at more traditional sushi restaurants, things like ‘sukiyaki sushi’ and sushi seasoned with lime salt. So I got creative, and also treated myself to some jiggly warabi mochi for dessert.”

▼ Seiji Nakazawa’s “Actually Kura Sushi has Crazy Good Dandan Noodles” set (910 yen)

● Dandan noodles (490 yen)
● Two orders of beef kalbi short rib (230 yen each)
● Chashu pork croquette (190 yen)

“I see a lot of other people choosing udon to be part of their meal, and yeah, Kura Sushi does a great job with it. But I’d pass on the udon and get their tantanmen/dandan noodles instead. Kura Sushi makes their own broth for this in-house too, and it’s nt just spicy, but nice and rich too, and I powered it up to the limit by adding extra beef and pork to my bowl.”

And with that, the Japan Super Budget Dining panel is off to bask in their food comas. We’ll see you all again next time, and in the meantime, if you’re craving Kura Sushi but have a little more money to spend, the chain now has a high-end sister restaurant open in Tokyo too.

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