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The secret behind the hi-tech future of sushi lies in an unremarkable building in the backstreets of Osaka.
Inside, empty plastic cups and plates adorned with scrunched-up wet paper – to replicate the weight and texture of scallops – make their way along a conveyer belt.
To one side, concealed behind a plastic screen, technicians monitor data on computer screens, the specifics of their work deemed off-limits to the Observer and a small group of journalists granted rare access to the development “studio” belonging to Sushiro, the leading force in Japan’s multimillion dollar sushi train industry.
This is where developers make incremental improvements to the restaurant chain’s ability to deliver plates of freshly-made sushi to diners’ tables with lightning speed, and stay one step ahead of the competition in a sector estimated to be worth 740bn yen (about £4bn).
“In the past, diners used to take what they fancied from a free-for-all conveyer belt, but these days most people want to order their favourite sushi,” said Masato Sugihara, deputy manager in the IT department at Sushiro’s parent company, Food and Life.
The studio replicates a typical Sushiro restaurant. “Here we can ensure that the delivery system works properly and send the right order to the right customer as quickly as possible,” he said. “We can make tweaks, such as improving diners’ interface with the online menu, that we can’t make in real time at our restaurants.
“It’s not exactly top secret, but our neighbours have no idea what we do here.”
The holy grail of revolving sushi (or kaitenzushi) is flawless, contactless low-budget dining – a trend accelerated by the pandemic and a labour shortage that will leave Japan with an estimated shortfall of 6.4 million workers by 2030.
Not far from Sushiro’s secret nerve centre, staff are preparing for the lunch service at the chain’s outlet in the Namba district, one of about 4,000 kaitenzushi restaurants across Japan.
Diners at the 236-seat restaurant use a touch panel to choose from 150 items, from sushi and fried chicken to coffee and cake. Their bill is calculated automatically, and payment is made via a machine at the exit, where customers who have ordered takeaways online retrieve their orders from a bank of lockers.
