An Evening at Sushiro in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Stacking Plates

In Shinjuku's east side alley, where neon signs overlap, there is a Sushiro. When you mention eating conveyor belt sushi in Tokyo, Japan, this chain's name usually comes up first.…

Tokyo · Sushiro Shinjuku

In Shinjuku's east side alley, where neon signs overlap, there is a Sushiro. When you mention eating conveyor belt sushi in Tokyo, Japan, this chain's name usually comes up first. That evening, I arrived a little after 7 PM, wrote my name on the waiting list, and stood there for about 20 minutes. The Shinjuku location seems to have a high proportion of tourists, as the ticketing machine screen had Korean, and once seated, I could switch the tablet to Korean as well.

My seat was at the counter. Two rails pass in front of me. The upper one is the regular rotating rail, and the lower one is a dedicated lane where ordered plates come directly. The guidance even says, "專用レーンでお届けします We will notify you by voice and screen when it arrives." First-time visitors stare intently at the plates flowing down the upper rail, but in reality, ordering through the tablet is much fresher and faster. Some of the plates on the upper rail have been circulating for quite a while.

I Came for the Tuna

Whenever I go to Sushiro, I order tuna first. That evening, my first plate was maguro—red flesh glazed with soy sauce. It came with a little wasabi on top, but the wasabi here isn't overly strong. Even my companion, who can't eat spicy food, ate it without hesitation. The rice grains are loosely packed, so when I pick them up with chopsticks, a few grains fall onto the plate. The fallen rice grains are even visible in the photo.

But the real star came next. The fatty belly tuna (otoro) on a white plate. Sushiro divides prices by plate color, and in the photo, the yellow, white, red, and black plates all have different prices. You can see on the signage behind the table that it says "黒皿 (Black plate) ¥290." The white and gold-rimmed plates are a lower tier than that.

The moment I lifted it was the peak of the evening. When you pick it up with chopsticks, the flesh drapes down. Restaurants that hastily thaw frozen fish won't have this drape—it stays rigid. Once in your mouth, after chewing a couple of times, the fat spreads first, and the rice follows later. My draft beer glass next to me was already half-empty, and this single piece almost made me order another.

It's a Sushi Restaurant, But Omurice Appears

If you scroll to the bottom of the Sushiro menu, nearly half of it isn't sushi. Ramen, udon, fried items, dessert. What I ordered that night was omurice with a single drop of ketchup. There's no excuse for ordering this at a sushi restaurant, but this is why there are so many families with children here. The egg was thinly cooked, so it was chewy rather than fluffy, and the rice inside tasted like ketchup fried rice. Nothing special, but it was fine to slip in one when I got tired of eating only sushi.

The green drink on the table is melon soda. It comes without ice but is quite cold, and with its strong sweetness, it was actually good for rinsing my mouth after eating the fatty belly. The small white fan next to it didn't seem to be a store item but rather belonged to the customer next to me. Summer in Shinjuku gets hot indoors when crowded.

The Device That Makes You Stack Plates

What caught my eye immediately upon sitting was the table mat. It was a guide for a Sushiro × Street Fighter collaboration, explaining that if you stack 20 or 100 plates, take a photo, and post it with a hashtag, you'll receive merchandise and meal vouchers. The corner of the mat shows "2024.7.24~9.1," so this promotion has already ended. However, these seasonal collaborations keep changing and rotating in, so you can tell what's happening at the time of your visit just by looking at the mat once seated.

After the two of us finished eating, this is how many plates we had stacked. With the mix of yellow, white, red, and black plates, you can roughly estimate the total before paying. Just by looking at the plate color combination, I thought, "Oh, we ordered quite a bit of fatty belly today." While Sushiro is one of the cheaper conveyor belt sushi restaurants, if you keep ordering white and black plates, the bill climbs quickly. To eat cheaply here, it's better to stick mainly to yellow plates and add fatty belly and similar items just as accents.

Getting There and What's Good to Know

The location is in the east direction from Shinjuku Station. It's walking distance from the station, but since Shinjuku Station has so many exits, it's faster to go above ground first and then turn on a map. If you try to get your bearings underground and end up on the opposite side, you'll walk for 15 minutes instead of 5.

Things I would do differently when I come next time, based on my actual experience:

• Evening peak hours (6-8 PM) have long waits. You can reduce wait time by reserving ahead through the Sushiro app. If you only count on ticketing at the location, you'll waste time standing.
• Order by tablet rather than the upper rail. It comes to a dedicated lane and notifies you by voice.
• Teacups, wet towels, toothpicks, salt, and shichimi are all provided at the table. There's signage, so no need to call staff.
• Hot water comes out when you turn the lever in front of the table. It comes out hot enough that there's a やけどに注意 (Burn hazard) sticker.
• Plate color equals price. If you count by color before paying, there will be no surprises. Prices vary by time period and location, so it's recommended to check the signage at your table.

In terms of taste alone, there are plenty of better sushi restaurants in Tokyo. But this is the place where you can casually order fatty belly twice without hesitation, order omurice at a sushi restaurant without anyone finding it strange, and even have fun stacking plates for photos. Next time I come to Shinjuku, I think I'll sit at the counter here again.