When you go to Japan to order sushi, you can go to one of the “kaiten” sushi places where the sushi goes around on a conveyer belt, and usually costs about 100 yen or so per plate (usually with two pieces of sushi per plate). This is a very cheap way to get your fill, and the quality is often quite good depending on the restaurant you choose. When your stomach is at capacity, you just call someone from the shop over to count your plates and then pay on the way out. Some shops also have little slots for the plates that have automatic counters on them making life easier, but taking away the satisfying feeling of having stacks of finished sushi plates on your table. (One could always, of course, leave the plates to the end of dinner to preserve the satisfaction and still take advantage of the plate counting technology later.)
It’s important to note that you can always get on the speaker next to your table (or use the touch screen in newer sushi places) to order the particular sushi you want if you don’t see it come around. Some people sit down and immediately order their favorites, while others like to wait and see and try some new ones.
A second type of kaiten or conveyer belt sushi restaurant prices each plate of sushi differently by color. The more popular or expensive sushi will go on, for example, a black and gold plate, while the 100 yen sushi will be on a green plate. At the end of dinner when the plates are counted you’ll pay for what you got. Because it is “kaiten”, it’s easy to be taken in by the delicious looking sushi on the attractive plates, so it’s important to mind your wallet at a place like this. You don’t want to finish dinner and look down at 50 black and gold plates for 500 yen each at the end of dinner… then again, maybe you do!
The sushi shops mentioned above also allow you to order, and will often have real sushi chefs in the middle of the belt continually taking orders to provide the freshest sushi they can.
Both of the types of restaurants listed above are very family friendly, and may also provide options other than sushi such as udon (buckwheat noodles), ramen, or different types of cakes or Japanese traditional desserts. You can also buy beer, soda, or juice if you don’t have a taste for tea or plain water.
The tea is available either directly from a faucet, or a hot water faucet and tea bags (or powdered tea) will be provided at your table for drinking.
The third kind, also featured in the comedy video below, tends to be more expensive, but also may have fresher fish and better sized slices of fish on the rice. At these places, you’ll be able to order exactly what you want and watch it prepared in front of you.
Now, for some fun when ordering, try using some of the special sushi terminology below. Even if you don’t speak a lot of Japanese, it can be a fun conversation starter.
- agari – green tea
- kappa – cucumber (the original kappa is the mythical Japanese river creature which is said to like cucumbers)
- gari – the ginger served with sushi
- sabi – wasabi
- namida – wasabi (namida means tears in Japanese)
- neta – is what is served with the rice. This is a good word to know for daily conversation because people may ask what kind of “neta” you like. “Neta” has also come to refer to the topic of a joke or conversation.
- shari – the vinegared rice used for sushi
- tsume – the sweet-spicy sauce used on some neta such as anago
- gyoku – dashi maki tamago, a.k.a. rolled omelet, a.k.a. tamagoyaki (I think it usually refers to the dash maki tamago served as a dish itself, not as a sushi topping, though different shops may define it different ways)
- murasaki – soy sauce
- gareeji (or garage) – shako (mantis shrimp) named as such because “shako” in Japanese also means garage.
- o-aiso – say this when you are finished and ready to pay the bill
Some of these sushi terms are jokingly covered in the comic video below. Please keep in mind that this is a tongue-in-cheek video made by Japanese comedians! Enjoy.