It’s no surprise that the Japanese eat a lot of sushi, having invented it and all, and even in J-List’s landlocked prefecture of Gunma, it’s very popular. While there are plenty of upscale sushi restaurants you can go to — my favorite is one called Edokko Sushi near Narita station, if you’re ever staying overnight in the area for a layover — most sushi is consumed as mawari-zushi or conveyor belt sushi. It’s a great idea — just wait for the dishes you want to come sliding by and take them down — and it’s economical too, since many customers can be served at once. Recently there have been some interesting innovations in the sushi industry, including iPad-style computer panels that allow you to order specific items which the sushi chefs in the back will make and send down the line to you. Yesterday I went to a new place, and they had a really interesting system: the normal conveyor belt with sushi slowly moving by, plus a second track where items you had ordered were delivered on a cute little train. It was so fun watching that train deliver my sushi that I found myself ordering more than I could comfortably eat.
Naturally, the Japanese are big fans of sushi.
