Conveyor-belt sushi is making the rounds in the Seattle area

Known as conveyor-belt, rotation or revolving sushi, Kaiten sushi isn't new to the area -- Marinepolis Sushi Land has successfully operated in Bellevue since 1999; Azuma Kaiten Sushi Bar opened and closed in the International District last year.

Yet somehow, despite the deadline-driven, espresso-fueled lifestyle shared by many local residents, this expeditious way to score affordable sushi has yet to take off and flourish.


		Grant M. Haller / P-I
	Sushi rides on a train at Sushi Express on the Ave in the University District. Different colored plates determine the price of each item with customers billed for the number of plates taken.

But with a new, toy train-driven Kaiten sushi restaurant called Sushi Express newly opened on the Ave in the University District (5000 University Way N.E.) last month, and a newer, bigger, better branch of Marinepolis Sushi Land schedule to premiere near Seattle Center in Queen Anne next week, that may change.

What it is

Visualize the automat meets the Jetsons and you've grasped the basic concept of Kaiten sushi.

Here's how it works. Sushi is prepared. Sushi goes on plate. Plate is put on a revolving "line" powered by conveyor belt, moat or, as at Sushi Express, toy train. Sushi goes round and round until a) it's eaten, or b) its time-limit expires and it's removed from the line.

Once seated at the counter, customers make sushi selections by plucking plates off the line. They help themselves to soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger from communal containers. Each customer's bill is calculated by tallying the number of empty plates stacked.

Simple, no? And fun. And cheap. And filling.

Automatic for the people

One of the five biggest chains of conveyor-belt sushi restaurants in Japan, Marinepolis Sushi Land (Sushi Land, for short) operates 100 sushi outlets in Western Japan.

Marinepolis USA Inc., its American division, is headquartered in Beaverton, Ore., and all three -- soon to be four -- existing stores are in the Pacific Northwest. According to Tim Reimer, Marinepolis USA operations manager, the new Queen Anne Sushi Land signals a change in direction.


		Grant M. Haller / P-I
	Sam Ahn, co-owner of Sushi Express, puts sauce on sushi riding the rail to customers. Ahn has been a chef for more than 20 years.

"It represents a major upgrade," he said. "It's bigger. We're changing the decor. Before it was more casual. Now it's a little nicer, more serious."

"The restaurant represents a new growth spurt to where we want to grow," Reimer stated. "We want to have 10 restaurants, total, three years from now. We're on a fast-track to growth. This is the first of the new ones.

Part of that transition involves launching new technology. The new Queen Anne restaurant will be the first U.S. Sushi Land to track sushi using computer chips embedded in its plates. The conveyor belt system detects plates that have been rotating for an hour and -- get this -- automatically pulls those plates off the line.

Using time-stamped bar codes on the plate to detect how long each individual sushi's been revolving is just, so, yesterday, you know?

STACK 'EM, DAN-O

At Marinepolis Sushi Land restaurants, dishes are color-coded to indicate price. At the end of the meal, your plates are tallied to calculate your bill. Here's a sampling:

GREEN ($1): Cucumber Roll, Pickled Radish Roll, Krab Salad, Egg, Mackerel, Smelt Roll, Tuna Salad, House Special Roll

ORANGE ($1.50): Flying Fish Egg, California Roll, Octopus, Eel, Smoked Salmon Roll, Salmon Skin Roll, Veggie Roll, Shrimp, Surf Clam, Tuna Roll, Salmon, Yellow Tail, Tuna, Shrimp Salad

BLUE ($2): Albacore-Toro, Shrimp Tempura, Sweet Shrimp, Yellow Tail, Spicy Tuna Roll, Salmon Roll, Amber Jack

PURPLE ($3): Sea Urchin, Spider Roll

REVOLVING SUSHI ETIQUETTE

If you see something you like, grab it. It may not come around again.

Don't see the item you want? Ask for it. Special requests may work better during slower times, but if you can snag the sushi chef's attention, go for it.

It's OK, even smart, to take a moment before diving in. Sit down, order a beverage and survey what's in heavy or light rotation. This will give you a sense of what's a pull-off-the-belt priority.

To tip or not to tip? A Kaiten sushi restaurant falls into the same faster-food category as a sandwich shop, coffee shop, taqueria, buffet or cafeteria. Which is to say: Most of the meal involves counter or self-service, but if you like the food and enjoyed the experience, feel free to create goodwill with a 10- to 15-percent gratuity.

P-I restaurant critic Penelope Corcoran can be reached at 206-448-8391 or penelopecorcoran@seattlepi.com.

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