Conveyor-belt Sushi Chain War 2024: A New Battle among Sushiro, Kurazushi, Kappa, and Hamazushi

Uobei, Choshimaru, Gatenzushi, and Chojiro are also trying to expand their influence.
How will each company make money after overcoming the PEROPERO incident and soaring costs?

Sushi is spinning on the screen.

A FRIDAY reporter witnessed a shocking sight at the Shinjuku Nishiguchi branch of Sushiro.

When the automated voice guidance system prompted him to take a seat, he found that no sushi was flowing in the lane. Instead, each table was equipped with a huge monitor measuring approximately 50 cm (8.5 in.) long and 1.5 m (8.5 in.) wide, showing a “virtual lane” where familiar sushi plates were being served.

The store is said to be conducting a demonstration experiment of “Digital Sushiro Vision,” or “Digiro,” which was developed by Sushiro to explore new possibilities for conveyor-belt sushi.

Last year, Sushiro’s market value temporarily plummeted by approximately 17 billion yen after the “Soy Sauce Peropero Incident,” in which a boy licked a shared soy sauce container on a social networking service.

Although things are picking up now, hygiene concerns will never go away in the minds of customers. So Sushiro shifted to a method whereby sushi is ordered via a touch panel and delivered directly to the customer’s seat. Although it has been derided by some as ‘not conveyor-belt sushi, but delivered sushi,’ Digilow has maintained the appeal of conveyor-belt sushi, whereby customers encounter plates flowing by on the monitor by chance, while ensuring hygiene. This is a trend that is likely to continue to grow in the future.

Sushiro, which operates 641 restaurants in Japan, the largest in the industry, experienced a slump in business performance from 2010 to 2011. Food journalist Junnosuke Nagahama explains.

The half-price draft beer campaign and the ‘soy sauce peropero incident’ that occurred between 2010 and the first half of 2011, as well as price hikes due to soaring raw material costs, had a major impact on the company’s performance. They raised the price, which had not been changed since the establishment in 1984, by 10 to 30 yen per plate in stages.

This drove away consumers who had been attracted by the low price. Sales have increased in recent months, but that only means that we are back to where we were.

Sushiro has turned its course in the direction of pursuing quality by setting aggressive prices, starting at 150 yen per plate at its city-center stores. Sales of “Tokuneta Ootoro” (large tuna), priced from 370 yen per plate, are going well.

The bold price hikes by the champions have brought about signs of change in the industry. The so-called “four major chains” (Sushiro, Kurazushi, Hama-zushi, and Kappa-zushi) are being followed by mid-sized chains that are making great strides. For example, Genki Sushi, operator of 172 Uobei restaurants, revised its earnings forecast upward at the end of October last year.

Uobei was one of the first to propose the concept of “kaitenzushi,” or conveyor-belt sushi that does not rotate. Lanes are used only to carry ordered items, and their speed is unusually fast (laughs). Although it is positioned as a low-cost chain, it has raised the price per customer by enhancing its sashimi and sake menus and capturing the demand of single customers for a little drink. Every restaurant has 20% counter seats,” says food journalist Takao Shigemori.

In addition to Uobei, Choshimaru, which operates 93 stores mainly in the Kanto region, also revised its earnings forecast upward. Choshimaru is synonymous with “gourmet conveyor-belt sushi,” in which fresh ingredients purchased at Choshi Port are prepared and served by artisans. Although its prices are higher than those of other chains, the increase in the number of consumers who value quality is thought to be the reason for this restaurant’s popularity.

Nigiri Chojiro (mainly in the Kansai region), Gatten Sushi (mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area), and Kaiten Sushi Misaki (mainly in the Kanto region), all in the same price range as Choshimaru, are also steadily improving their performance by emphasizing quality.

The “four major chains,” which are being pushed aside by mid-sized companies, are also showing signs of change.

Kurazushi is pursuing the entertainment value of “kaitenzushi” (conveyor-belt sushi). For example, they are offering “Momotaro’s Gift” (from 115 yen), which is a plate with a lid so that the contents cannot be seen. It looks like a “gacha” (a kind of “mess”), with three pieces of sushi inside, which are usually two pieces, or a sweet equivalent to the price of two plates. It is an interesting product that can be enjoyed only because the sushi is flowing in the lane,” says conveyor-belt sushi critic Nobuo Yonekawa.

Kurazushi has obtained a patent for its sushi cover, “SENJOKUN,” which keeps the flowing products from drying out. The disadvantage of the cover is that it makes it difficult to remove the plate, but since the “soy sauce peropero” incident, hygiene control has become more important, and the company has gained overwhelming support for its product.

Recently, they have attempted to raise the price per customer by charging for gari (pickled ginger) and setting the price of chutoro (medium fatty tuna) at 300 yen and up, in response to the rising cost of raw materials. However, the quality of the ingredients has improved, and the chutoro (medium fatty tuna) tastes good enough to justify the price. On the other hand, I think they are aiming at families, but the 420 yen fries are too expensive” (Shigemori, above).

The “Bikkura Pon!” game, in which you can try once after eating five plates and get a special prize if you hit the jackpot, is popular with children. is popular among children. Recently, “Bikkura Pon Plus,” which allows customers to increase their chances of winning prizes by paying an additional 10 yen per dish, has also been introduced! Plus,” which allows customers to increase their chances of winning prizes by paying an extra 10 yen per plate. The restaurant has a firm grip on family fans with its taste and entertainment value.

Hamazushi is trying to differentiate itself by offering a wide variety of side dishes such as ramen noodles and takoyaki while maintaining its low-priced lineup.

As a member of the Zensho Group, which also operates Sukiya, Hamazushi offers delicious meat-based sushi such as the “Open-flame Grilled Beef Kalbi” (165 yen). The recent opening of a new restaurant in Akihabara suggests that Kappa Sushi is aiming for inbound demand even more than before,” says Nagahama.

Kappa Sushi, the former champion of sushi restaurants, stalled after becoming a subsidiary of Colowide in 2002. Although Kappa Sushi is using one of the cheapest prices among the four major chains as a weapon, …….

The quality of the ingredients is improving, but it has yet to dispel the image of cheap and bad sushi.” In 2010, a former president from the Zensho Group was arrested for illegally obtaining a list of suppliers from a Hamazushi employee, and the company is now struggling to recover from its self-destruction.

Conveyor-belt sushi expert Yagyu Kyubei says, “The year 2012 will be a year of upheaval in the conveyor-belt sushi industry.

Until now, the four major chains have competed mainly on price. However, since last year, we have started to see an increase in repeat customers, not just “conveyor-belt sushi repeaters,” but repeat customers of each restaurant, such as “Sushiro for its high-quality ingredients,” “Kurazushi for its choice of covered plates from the lane,” and “Hama-zushi and Kappa-zushi for its cosy and casual atmosphere. Where will the support come from? The performance of each company this year will determine the future of the industry.

A new era in the conveyor-belt sushi industry is about to begin.

From the February 2 and 9, 2024 issue of “FRIDAY