Expo “KURAZUKI” is now a permanent fixture at the Expo, with wait times of up to 8 hours!　Mysterious dishes from 70 countries rotate for 310 yen per plate at this chaotic restaurant!

The “Kura Sushi Osaka-Kansai Expo Store” attracted 300,000 people at the Osaka-Kansai Expo. In May, a memorial restaurant opened in front of Namba Sennichimae, featuring “dishes from 70 countries around the world,” in a relocated interior. We will sneak into the restaurant to see how much of the Expo legacy can be experienced at the permanent location of the legendary restaurant, which was said to have a waiting time of up to 8 hours⁉ We will experience the level of reproduction of the Expo and the quality of the international menu, and review the actual food without any discovery.

The heat of the Expo!　The shock of 310 yen per plate!

Although you are supposed to be in a sushi restaurant, you see “Roasted Duck with Truffle Sauce,” “Roast Beef,” “Chicken Adobo,” “Moon Cake,” and more ……. There are also menu items such as “Ropa Vieja” and “Daud Basha” that you can no longer imagine a millimeter what kind of dishes they are.

The “Kura Sushi Memorial Store Namba Sennichimae,” which opened on May 14 in Namba, Osaka, is the permanent location of the “Kura Sushi Osaka-Kansai Expo Store,” which made a splash at the Osaka Expo. 338 seats and a 135-meter revolving belt make the Expo store the largest in scale for Kura Sushi, and during the Expo period it attracted a total of over 300,000 people. During the Expo, it attracted a total of more than 300,000 people.

While Expo cuisine is priced at over 2,000 yen across the board, the fact that all of the dishes from 70 countries can be enjoyed for the bargain price of 320 yen draws huge lines every day, with many people saying they waited eight hours or gave up trying to get in in the first place. Many people must have sighed when they saw it on TV and said, “I wish I could go there.

The new “Memoria” was opened to bring back the excitement of the first time!　The Memorial Store is the largest permanent store of the company at 28,000 square meters, and the first of its kind in Japan. It is the company’s largest permanent location, with 288 seats and a revolving belt that spans 128.3 meters, and it is located right in the middle of Namba. It is not just a new store, but a sustainable next-generation store that inherits the antibacterial sushi-covered objet d’art, revolving belt, and wood-grain flat tables used at the Expo store, and employs a cash register counter made of recycled waste plastic.

Kunihiko Tanaka, the president of the company, was so excited about the idea of opening a sushi restaurant at the Expo that he created approximately 480 prototypes of a menu that combined sushi with dishes from various countries. However, in the final stage of the project, he changed his mind. He decided to focus on representative dishes from 70 countries, saying, “If we do this, we will end up with a sushi-like dish that is neither sushi nor international cuisine, and that I don’t really understand. By putting ordinary sushi and international cuisine on the same lane, he wanted to convey the message that “there are no national borders on the dining table.

Of course, no compromises were made in terms of taste or ingredients, and after repeated tastings by the ambassador to Japan and other people familiar with the authentic flavors of the region, the sushi is as perfect as the local version. The permanent establishment of this sushi restaurant is not only for the purpose of preserving the impression of the Expo, but also as an extension of the desire to further expand the appeal and potential of conveyor-belt sushi, which is the pride of Japan. That is an admirable mindset!

Let me preface this by asking how the food actually tastes. Let’s sample some of the dishes that were ranked in the top five most popular at the Expo and give our honest opinions.

Real food!　Top 5 popular flavors

No. 5: Vietnamese “Spring Rolls”: Shrimp and vegetables such as radish, cucumber, and pak choi are packed into a plate, and it is hard to believe that this is only 310 yen per plate.

No. 4: Singapore’s “Chili Crab”: Soft shell crab topped with a sweet and spicy chili sauce so hot and spicy that it is too much for children.

No. 3 Italian “Tagliata”: So-called roast beef with balsamic sauce.

No. 2 Palau’s “Aho”: A sweet like coconut zenzai, with a light mousse-like texture.

No. 1 Hungarian “Roasted Duck with Truffle Sauce”: The truffle aroma is strong, and the fatty duck goes well with the saltiness of the crackers. Certainly, this is delicious.

An unknown taste!　Unusual dishes from all over the world!

Next, let’s move on to the mysterious and unusual menu items that will make you realize the vastness of the world.

Cuban “Ropa Vieja”: It is like tenderized and braised lean beef. It is thickly seasoned with garlic, onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes.

Soup Meat” from the Republic of Vanuatu: This island nation to the east of Australia is said to be home to a large number of Chinese people. Therefore, this dish is flavored in Chinese style.

◇”Azi Desi” from the Republic of Togo: It was chicken, not horse mackerel. Is it a sweet and spicy sauce?　I thought it was, but it was a thick peanut paste sauce!

This is a chicken sautee similar to Azideji, but the same chicken is used as the base, and the sauce and garnishes are used to express the different countries’ tastes. This one is covered with tomato chili sauce and served with potatoes.

Costa’s best!　Three dishes you must try!

Lithuania’s “Chartibarschichai”: A cold soup-like dish that looks like it could be served at a trendy bar. It is served on garlic toast.

Malaysian “Sambal Udang”: Malaysian-style shrimp chili. It is a snack of fried shrimp with spicy sauce with a hint of chili pepper.

◊Cameroon’s “Makelo”: Grilled mackerel with a chili-based sauce. It is topped with cucumber, onion, and lime. It is garlicky and has a refreshing sour taste.

After all, regular sushi is good! I’m sure you’ll enjoy the sushi.

After all this international cuisine, I still miss the “sushi” that is served right in front of my eyes. So, I was tempted to go for eel, salmon roe, or horse mackerel, but as you would expect from Kura Sushi, the cost is stable and the quality is high. The stable cost performance and high quality of the ingredients impressed me once again as a conveyor-belt sushi chain that is the pride of the world.

I wondered how many reservations would rush in for the permanent location of the “Kura Sushi Osaka Kansai Expo Store,” which no one could get into, but so far reservations have been a piece of cake. The restaurant is spacious, so you can enjoy your meal in a relaxed atmosphere. It would be tough if the entire menu consisted of world cuisines, but the restaurant offers more than 150 kinds of regular nigiri and side dishes, so you can enjoy both world cuisines and regular sushi. And of course, there is “Bikura Pon! is also available. For now, there is only one restaurant here, so it is well worth a visit as a revenge or refrain from the Expo when you come to Osaka.

Click here for the official website of “Kura Sushi Memorial Store Namba Sennichimae”.