Sushi Terror: Japan’s conveyor belt eateries grind to a halt after viral videos raise key hygiene issues

Tokyo: Gone are the days of hi-tech sushi dining in Japan’s restaurants, in which customers took their food directly from a conveyor belt. Well-known Japanese eateries are now scrambling to restore their reputation for cleanliness and hygiene even if it means removing their chief attraction — food appearing on a conveyor belt aiding patrons to help themselves. Over the past few weeks, a viral video showing a teenager licking the open top of a communal soy sauce bottle and rubbing saliva on passing food at a ‘kaitenzushi’ (conveyor belt sushi) restaurant, has shaken the Japanese world of fine dining. Choshimaru, which operates restaurants in the greater Tokyo area, recently said its conveyor belts are becoming defunct, forcing staff to deliver orders manually, after a fresh video showed a diner placing a cigarette butt in a container of pickled ginger. In a desperate attempt to deal with the sudden crisis and to convince customers about hygiene issues, the staff at Japanese restaurants have begun taking condiments and utensils to tables every time a new group of diners take their seats. Choshimaru has also announced that, for the time being, conveyor belts at all 63 of its outlets would be switched off, making customers wait for staff to bring their orders directly to the table. For Japanese diners, the move has removed the fun element. But, the company reasoned that the absence of dozens of plates making their way through the restaurant on a conveyor belt would make it practically impossible for pranksters to interfere with other customers’ orders. Japan’s ‘kaitenzushi’ industry, worth an estimated ¥740billion ($5.4bn) in 2021, has been hit hard by a spate of viral videos showing flippant customers licking communal sauce bottles, daubing wasabi on food as it passes by, spraying sushi with hand sanitiser and snatching plates of food meant for other customers. The incidents have sent shares of Sushiro, the industry leader, plummeting and prompted restaurant owners to brainstorm on how they can serve their dishes differently and yet hold on to their customer base. According to Choshimaru, all its conveyor belts are expected to stop by late April, with some outlets likely to implement the new move in the very near future. The company is not alone in going to extreme lengths to ensure that its sushi makes the journey from the kitchen and table in perfect condition. Sushiro said last month that its sushi would be delivered only via an “express lane” to customers who order via touch-screen devices, making it harder for other diners to tamper with food. The change came after Sushiro suffered a slump in customers, as more people shunned the convenience and novelty of kaitenzushi amid widespread media coverage of “terrorism” targeting items of food. The Kura Sushi chain said last week it would soon introduce cameras equipped with AI to monitor tables at its restaurants in an attempt to deter mischievous diners. The system can reportedly detect “unusual” behaviour by customers, such as removing a plate from the conveyor belt and quickly returning it. “Our company has been hearing from a large number of customers who tell us they no longer trust or want to go to conveyor belt sushi restaurants,” Kura Sushi’s head of public relations, Hiroyuki Okamoto, told reporters, according to the Mainichi Shimbun. “This is a crisis not only for our stores, but for the entire conveyor belt sushi industry,” Okamoto said, adding that the use of AI would reassure diners even though it meant they were effectively being placed under surveillance. And it is not just the fine dining eateries which are suffering. Gyoza no Osho, a popular chain of Chinese restaurants, has removed soy sauce and other condiments from tables – they are still available on request from staff – while the ramen chain Ichiran has removed glasses from its counters and tables. Though the drastic changes have been brought about by the misbehaviour of a handful of diners, it seems that the famous Japanese conveyor belts which carried sushi to customers have temporarily come to a halt. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.