TikTok video showing how a conveyer belt sushi restaurant in Japan quickly calculates bills goes viral

April 28, 2022

TikTok fans are impressed by the clever technology a Japanese revolving sushi restaurant uses to ring up customers instantly.

“Why Japan is living in the future,” begins the viral video by @allstarsteven, a Japanese food and travel content creator on TikTok and Instagram.

With over 3.3 million views and 800 comments, the 13-second TikTok video posted on April 13 shows off gorgeous maki and nigiri on colorful plates in an unnamed revolving sushi restaurant in Japan.

But the most impressive part is when a staff member wearing a chef hat as well as a protective mask and gloves pans a phone-like machine up and down the stack of about 25 plates to produce the customer’s bill.

“I eat a lot. Don’t judge me 😂🍣 Most sushi only cost $1.20,” wrote @allstarsteven in the caption.

Each plate has a different color that corresponds to a different price, he explains in the video. Within a few seconds, the device calculates the price, and another machine quickly prints the receipt.

Kaiten sushi, also known as revolving sushi or conveyor belt sushi, began as a fascinating marriage of food and technology in 1958, when Japan sushi chef Yoshiaki Sharashi used a conveyor belt at his own restaurant to save on labor costs after being inspired by an Asahi brewery that used similar technology.

The simple scanner in the TikTok video adds another technological improvement to kaiten sushi restaurants, removing the hassle for staff of having to manually count plates. This saves customers time they would have to wait for their receipt as well as giving staff more time to focus on running the restaurant.

Many viewers were amazed, calling the technology “genius” and “smart” in the video’s comments section.

Others tried to figure out how the technology works.

“Optical scanner.” One said, “Colors register differently on the spectrum.”

Another said, “Probably RFID tags like they do in clothing stores now.”

Some also commented that this technology has reached overseas in places such as in London, Thailand, India and Saudi Arabia.

One commented in the TikTok video, “I work in a sushi restaurant and would love this as it can be very difficult to keep track on all the customers.”

Featured Image via @allstarsteven

Share this Article