Ultimately, we found an un-brie-lievably cheesy hidden gem at a lesser well-known revolving sushi chain.

Cheese and sushi may not seem like two things that were destined to go together, but original cheese-based sushi creations have actually become fairly standard fare over recent years at conveyor belt sushi chains in Japan. We were feeling in a particularly gouda mood recently and decided to compare the different offerings at some of Japan’s biggest conveyor belt sushi chains, and boy were we grateful that we did. We hope that you use the following showcased options to decide where to dine when you’ve just got to get a slice out of life.

First up is conveyor belt sushi chain classic Kura Sushi, which has always had some pretty creative ideas (remember the “cake party train” as part of its present system?). Heck, Kura Sushi is so good that our Japanese-language musician reporter even composed a theme song for it.

That creativity extends straight to the menu, especially in the form of several cheese-centered sushi items. For instance, its grilled cheese salmon sushi (210 yen [US$1.35]) and grilled shrimp cheese sushi (210 yen) are drizzled in a unique cheese sauce.

While initially skeptical, we’d also previously tried the rich cheddar cheese tempura sushi (210 yen) and were blown away by how well all of the components go together.

In addition, since the sweetness of Kura Sushi’s sushi rice is somewhat subdued, it balances wonderfully with the cheese. We might even boldly say that this combination sets the standard for creative cheese sushi.

Meanwhile, another giant of the conveyor belt sushi world, Sushiro, takes a general approach that focuses on using the highest-quality individual ingredients.

Sushiro also offers a couple of varieties of cheese sushi. Its style is to lay sliced cheese over the regular sushi topping along with mayo and briefly sear everything.

▼ Salmon cheese mayo grilled sushi (230 yen)

Doing so really brings out the prominence of the cheese to the point that it almost feels like eating pizza. That, coupled with the rich nature of the sushi rice, results in a bold and daring take on cheese sushi.

▼ Shrimp cheese grilled mayo sushi (170 yen)

Finally, the chain Hama Sushi seems to be increasing in popularity every year. It’s the sushi place of choice for many young people, and you often see gaggles of high school students waiting in line.

Hama Sushi’s take on cheese sushi seems to be closer to Sushiro’s due to the presence of a sliced cheese topping.

▼ Grilled salmon cheese mayo sushi (198 yen)

The cheese is even thicker than Sushiro’s, and the resulting combination with Hama Sushi’s various dipping sauce offerings is unique. You can take your pick from five regional variations including Kyushu-sourced soy sauce and Shikoku-style ponzu sauce to discover the ultimate blend of flavors for yourself.

▼ Grilled shrimp cheese mayo sushi (198 yen)

Comparing all three of these “big chains” in terms of pricing, one thing that we were slightly surprised about was that Sushiro’s shrimp cheese grilled mayo sushi (170 yen) was the cheapest cheese sushi menu item while the same chain’s salmon cheese grilled mayo sushi (230 yen) was the most expensive. Within that range, Kura Sushi’s offerings were relatively more expensive and Hama Sushi’s offerings were relatively less expensive.

On the other hand, in terms of taste, Kura Sushi’s cheese sushi offerings had an exquisite balance and originality to them, while Hama Sushi’s had a depth of flavor. They were all uniquely charming in their own way.

We also expanded our search for cheese sushi outside of the big chains, which led us to stumble upon some surprising discoveries at Kaiten Sushi Misaki.

For instance, take its salmon mayo cheese grilled sushi (288 yen)…

Isn’t the cheese going a bit overboard?!

In fact, there’s so much cheese that you can’t even see the salmon underneath. This isn’t some kind of special “double-the-cheese” promotion, either, but a regular cheese sushi menu item. The same chain’s shrimp basil cheese grilled sushi (320 yen) also had just as insane of an amount.

Needless to say, that volume translated into an overwhelmingly cheesy flavor, and the whole plate even smelled like nothing but cheese. Sweet dreams are made of cheese, indeed.

The above selection of cheese sushi is by no means an exhaustive list of all of the offerings that Japan’s conveyor belt sushi restaurants have on the menu, but we hope it gives you a good sense of which chain’s sushi you might be particularly fondue of. Check out some of our other rankings of classic sushi toppings at the big chains, including which one has the best negitoro sushi and which one has the best salmon sushi, too.

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