Conveyor-Belt Sushi

Believe it or not, I decided I wanted sushi for my birthday. Now, the sushi I really wanted wasn't the "normal" kind -- you know, the incredibly raw stuff that is still moving -- but instead moved in a different way. Known as kaiten-zushi or kurukuru sushi (an onomatopoeia for the sound it makes as it goes around) this sushi is just as much of the Japanese culture as the really fresh, wiggly stuff. Anyways, Sarah offered to go with me -- though she did insist we sit at a booth instead of the counter (I think she was embarrassed that I was playing "foreigner" and taking pictures of everything!) Anyway, here they are...

The conveyor belt is behind me and weaved throughout the entire restaurant. To order, you just pressed the touch screen TV (for special orders) or took whatever you wished off the belt as it passed by

A close up of the TV as well as the table's hot water dispenser (each one had one) for making tea

The automatic rice-dispensing machine

Two of the more interesting flavors of the evening:

bacon sushi (above) and hamburger sushi (below). Neither of which were as good as the fried shrimp sushi or the shrimp salad sushi.

Sushi wasn't the only thing that rode around the restaurant.
Below is Sarah with a piece of melon...

a carton of chocolate milk...

and dessert (though I opted for the cream puffs instead of the pudding)

When we were finished, we pressed a door-bell like button, an attendant appeared, counted our plates (they were colored differently for the varying prices) and off we went...