Kura-ZushiAbikoshoppingupuraza

A day after risking LHR Terminal 3`s Yo sushi at four pounds of plate, I find myself at Kurazushi in Abiko, a typical conveyor-belt sushi joint. And the difference is not just the price! I tried a variety of fish based sushi including the (in my view difficult to do well) sardine and mackerel. They... were all of perfectly good quality, better than you`d find in the UK, and all for a little over 70p a plate at current exchange rates. If sushi isn`t your thing 100 yen also buys you two tempura king prawns, and a variety of other side dishes. There are noodles and chips (that is to say, french fries rather than crisps) and other bits and pieces for the non-rice person (although these can be up to around 300 yen). It is extremely good value. I did notice some of the plates on the conveyor didn`t seem absolutely fresh so I ordered mainly from the touch screen (which I think can be set up for English, but in any event has pictures to help). The only really criticism are the queues. At weekend evenings it is very popular and you could end up waiting for ages. If you are local then you`re almost certainly there to do a bit of shopping at the large department store next door - so no problem. Saturday evening was a one hour wait. If you book in with the sushi place first and they`ll give you a time to return to the restaurant. If not, then I suggest you turn up on a weekday or outside the busiest meal times. Some helpful hints, in this restaurant the plate colour has no meaning, each plate is 100 yen. The special sushi is 200 yen and comes on a double decker dish which can be split into two single dishes for pricing purposes. All dishes should be posted into the slot by the conveyor, and a running total will be kept for you to see! From time to time when you do so you may see a little animation on the screen - this can be safely ignored - its for kids really and is a kind of lottery game - if you win a little prize will turn up in a plastic ball next to the screen. Get your drinks from the self service area on the side of the restaurant (it has fridges with beer, soft drinks etc.) When you pay the basic 100 yen plates you`ve posted will be added to the bottles, bowls, etc from the drinks and other extra items by the staff. They`ll hand you a plastic tab you then take to the cash desk to pay. The system runs very smoothly as one would expect, and staff are helpful.

Visited May 2014