The Sushi Shop I patronize

Text: KIM Yong ha (Korea)

I am a foreign student living in Japan. Sometimes I eat with Japanese. When I say to Japanese I meet for the first time, "Watashi no ikitsuke no sushiya de ippai yarimasen-ka," (Shall we have sushi over drinks at the sushi shop I patronize?" they are usually very surprised and believe I am very rich.

Whenever I take them to a kaiten-zushi (rotary sushi), they look relieved and say with mock contempt in their voices "Oh! Kaiten-zushi!" It is fun to see their reaction, so I purposely say, "Watashi no ikitsukeno sushiya ni ikimasho" (Shall we go to my favorite sushi shop?). When Japanese hear this phrase, they think I can afford to go to a high class sushi shop and that I am friendly with the chefs. Why don't you try it?

I have never lied as I often go to kaiten-zushi shops, which serve delicious sushi for very cheap prices. Any two pieces of sushi on a plate can cost only 100 yen. Five plates will probably fill you up. With only 500 yen you can enjoy a variety of delicious sushi. It is unbelievably cheap when compared with a bowl of ramen, one of Japanese peoples' favorite foods, which is usually priced around 700 yen. Because kaiten-zushi is one of the cheapest foods in Japan, I patronize these shops.

However, there are some minus points. At dinner time, it is so crowded that you often have to wait about 30 minutes. Soon after customers finish their meals, they leave and new customers sit at the table or counter. Customers come in one after another. I heard the name kaiten-zushi is so named because sushi loaded plates rotate in the shop, but I have come to the conclusion that it was named as such since customers themselves rotate.

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