It was exciting to watch and pick the best plate as it passed by. The color of the plate also represented the price, so you could know how much it cost before grabbing it. I also noticed that the chefs occasionally removed plates that had gone around too many times to keep the sushi on the belt fresh.
If you had no luck finding what you want on the belt, you could also order by writing your order on paper and giving it to the chef. As a foreigner, I was given a menu with English translations and corresponding numbers for each dish, which made ordering easy. Watching the chefs skillfully cut fish and make sushi while eating was a fun and unique experience.
Yes, sushi is connected to the local environment in Japan. As Japan is an island nation surrounded by the sea, seafood has been one of the main sources of food. The sushi restaurant I went to is known for serving high-quality seafood directly from Hokkaido, the northernmost part of Japan, at a reasonable price. Using local seafood keeps the sushi fresh. The professional skills of the chefs show their respect for nature and its resources.
