Kura Sushi to Open Revolving Sushi Restaurant with World’s Largest Seating Capacity and Longest Lanes at Osaka-Kansai Expo

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Environmentally Friendly Materials Used for Exterior Walls

Food from Around the World to Be Served

OSAKA, Japan–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sep. 12, 2024

Kura Sushi Inc. (Headquarters: Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture), one of the world’s most popular revolving sushi chains, announced on September 12 that it will open a revolving sushi restaurant with 338 seats, the largest number of seats in the world for a company outlet, at the Osaka-Kansai Expo, which will open on April 13, 2025, at Yumeshima, Osaka.

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Perspective view (*This perspective view is for illustrative purposes only and is subject to change.) (Graphic: Business Wire)

The restaurant will be located in the Future Society Showcase Zone on the west side of the Expo site. In addition to having the world’s largest number of seats, the restaurant will also have the world’s longest conveyor belt, at about 135 meters long, and deliver sushi and other food right to the customer’s seat.

The exterior walls of the restaurant will be constructed with the SDGs in mind, using plaster made from about 336,000 discarded ark clam shells. The walls are designed to be instantly recognizable as Kura Sushi, with a picture of tuna sushi in an “antibacterial sushi cover,” one of Kura Sushi’s unique features.

The interior is designed in a modern Japanese style with a white wood base, and the design of the Kura Sushi plates on the ceiling and the model of the antibacterial sushi cover in the waiting area are eye-catching to customers.

The restaurant will also be equipped with the following state-of-the-art, proprietary Kura Sushi system, which is standard at all Kura Sushi restaurants in Japan.

“Smart Kura” eliminates the need for customers to be in contact with an employee from the time they enter to the time they leave the restaurant.
A new AI camera system constantly monitors the lanes to prevent unwanted behavior.
A “production control system” that assists in adjusting the amount of sushi to be placed in the lanes according to customer conditions in the restaurant.
A “water collection system” that automatically carries finished plates back to the kitchen on a stream of water

Of course, customers can also enjoy “Bikkura Pon,” a game in which five plates are worth one game and the winner gets an original prize, which is a key to Kura Sushi’s popularity.

The capsules that contain the “Bikkura Pon” prizes are usually made of plastic, but the Expo store plans to use environmentally friendly materials.

Hiroyuki Okamoto, Director and General Manager of the Public Relations, Advertising and Investor Relations Division of the company, said, “At the Expo, our stores will be operated under the concept of ‘Revolving conveyor belt unites the world.’ Under this concept, the customers will be able to enjoy representative dishes from each of the countries participating in the Expo, along with popular sushi and side dishes from our restaurants. Despite the many challenges that exist in today’s world, we hope that visitors from all over the world will smile as they enjoy not only sushi but also dishes from around the world from our revolving conveyor belt, which has no beginning and no end. As the revolving sushi restaurant spread throughout Japan in the wake of the 1970s Osaka Expo, I would like to use next year’s Osaka-Kansai Expo as an opportunity to promote the revolving sushi restaurant even more widely throughout the world.”

As of September 6, Kura Sushi operates about 550 restaurants in Japan, 65 in the United States, 57 in Taiwan, and 3 in Shanghai.

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