Japanese Sushi is now more accessible.
When we think of Japanese food, perhaps most of us would imagine Sushi. It is the most typical Japanese food, loved and eaten world-wide, but have you ever tried revolving Sushi?
Yes, that is a Sushi restaurant that has a carousel running in front of customers. It is also called as Sushi on the run, or Kaiten Zushi (回転寿司) in Japanese. Whatever it is called, this style now became more popular than 20 years ago, and thanks to their reasonable price, now more people can enjoy Sushi.

It is also one of the things that foreigners would like to try when visiting Japan, so let’s learn how we can best enjoy the experience, as well as a concern with regards to their Halal status.
Tell us about Sushi restaurants in Japan.
Let’s learn about chain Sushi restaurants first.
- Sushiro (スシロー)
- Kura Sushi (くら寿司)
- Kappa Sushi (かっぱ寿司)
- Hama Sushi (はま寿司)
These chain shops are usually serving Sushi at very reasonable price. Because of the inflation, the price is going up day by day, but the biggest feature is that most of them are 100 yen to 300 yen per plate! This can never happen in a proper Sushi restaurant.
The second feature is that they have traditional and original Sushi. Traditional Sushi such as tuna, squid or prawn are all available. Because the restaurant is expecting a family customer, they have prepared creative Sushi such as avocado, Tempura or even Korean style for kids or pregnant ladies.
There are noodle, soup and dessert, too. This is a good thing for a foreigner who is not good at eating raw fish.
What are the steps to enjoy Sushi?
Don’t worry, the system is made super easy, and you don’t have to worry about communication in Japanese either.
- Take a coupon to be seated.
- Prepare cutlery and soy sauce. Tea can be prepared at each table with your own faucet.
- Pick any Sushi you like, but you may need to order through a tablet or by filling a piece of paper.
- When you are done, put the same color plates together to enable staff to count faster.
- Pay the bill at the cashier.
When you enter the restaurant, you register your name and number of people first. They may ask you to fill out a name or simply pass you a token. When your turn comes, take a seat.
After you take a seat, prepare your cutleries and tea first. There is a box with chopsticks, or you can ask a staff to bring folk and spoon for your kids. There will be small, round plate for your soy sauce, however, if you don’t find one, you may use the plate you finished. Also, you can prepare a cup of green tea using green tea powder and hot water faucet at each table.

You can simply pick Sushi from the conveyor, but if you cannot find what you want or you want a fresher one, then you can order from the tablet or by filling a piece of paper. Special menus such as noodles or dessert also have to be ordered separately, too.
When you are done, put same color plates together. This is because a staff will come to your table to count the number and make a bill.
Different color means different price, so it would be a lot easier for a staff to see how many plates you have finished, which will make the calculation much faster. Sometimes, there is a staff with a “scanner”, and he/she will just scan over your plates and the plates are counted automatically. Whatever it is, you will be surprised how Japanese system is organized and advanced.

The question is, are they Halal?
As explained, Japanese Sushi itself look Muslim-friendly, however, the truth is that they can contain alcohol in their Sushi rice or soy sauce. Some even mention that they have a risk of contamination with pork.
You can take your own Halal soy sauce or substitute with other seasoning such as salt, but rice that they use for Sushi cannot be complete Halal. Make sure the restaurant that you are visiting is offering Muslim-friendly menus.