Next-generation Restaurant Model “Kura Sushi Osaka Kansai Expo Store” Completed To Open in “Future Life Zone” on April 13 (Sun.)!

The Kura Sushi’s first “sustainable restaurant” that reuses marine products and scrap fishing equipment and plastic!

‘Sustainable’ and “latest technology” fuse together

OSAKA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kura Sushi Inc. (Headquarters: Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture), one of the world’s most popular conveyor-belt sushi chains, announced that it will open its largest-ever Kura Sushi restaurant with a strong focus on sustainability at the Future Life Zone of the Osaka-Kansai Expo on Sunday, April 13, 2025.

The Kura Sushi Osaka Kansai Expo Store is the largest such store ever built, with 338 seats, the most in the history of Kura Sushi, and the longest revolving belt at about 135 meters. The exterior design is simple, with namako walls reminiscent of the company’s symbolic storehouse and a large image of tuna nigiri in the “Antibacterial Sushi Cover Mr. Freshness” that protects the sushi from airborne dust and viruses. The interior has a luxurious, modern Japanese design with wood-grained tables and backs and tatami-style seating surfaces, and a bold graphic depiction of a giant plate on the ceiling.

The exterior walls are made of “plaster without artificial substances,” which is made by reusing 336,000 shells that would otherwise be discarded and using glue and other ingredients made from seaweed. For the pictograms at the cash register counters and restrooms, a total of about 100 kg of discarded plastic bottle caps and milky-white polyethylene tanks were used, reducing CO₂ emissions to about one-third of what would be produced by incineration. In addition, a part of the seat numbers and the logo sign in the wind shelter are made of about 15 kg in total of recycled fishing equipment such as ropes, buoys, and baskets. The benches in the waiting area are made of cedar trees thinned in Japan. The “Bikkura Pon®” capsules and other items that visitors can take home with them are also recycled and take-out containers are made of environmentally friendly materials, with the aim of contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In addition, the restaurant is equipped with a system that enhances customer convenience and comfort, with a system that improves hygiene and quality control by utilizing AI and ICT technologies developed over many years, and is the only major conveyor-belt sushi chain to have achieved this. It is a state-of-the-art restaurant that combines the latest technology with the pursuit of “serving by conveyor belt,” which can only be realized by a major conveyor belt sushi chain.

Along with the regular sushi menu, the restaurant will also offer a sustainable menu that utilizes low-use fish, such as nizadai, as part of its efforts to promote sustainable fishing, as well as a 70-course menu that recreates dishes representative of 70 countries and regions.

At the press conference, Hiroyuki Okamoto, Director and General Manager of Public Relations, Advertising and Investor Relations Division, said, “We are the only major conveyor-belt sushi chain to serve sushi from our conveyor belts at all of our restaurants. Our concept is to provide a place where visitors from all over the world can have an enjoyable dining experience filled with smiles. We will also introduce to the world a “next-generation restaurant model” that combines sustainable elements with cutting-edge technology, and bring the revolving sushi culture that originated in Japan to as many people as possible.”

As of the end of February, Kura Sushi Inc. operates 546 restaurants in Japan, 73 in the United States, 59 in Taiwan, and 3 in Shanghai.

[ Features of Kura Sushi Osaka Kansai Expo Store ]

• Sustainable store that uses “plaster with no artificial materials” for exterior wall material that reuses “seashells” that would otherwise be discarded.

• With the largest number of seats and the longest revolving belt in the history of Kura Sushi, offers an enjoyable dining experience with sushi that only Kura Sushi revolving sushi can provide.

• Initiatives aimed at reducing environmental impact through the use of discarded materials
  The Kura Sushi Osaka-Kansai Expo Store places a high priority on environmental friendliness and utilizes recycled materials in various areas of the restaurant. Plastic bottle caps and milky-white polyethylene tanks are used for pictograms at the cash register counter and restrooms, and no longer needed fishing ropes, buoys, and baskets are used for some of the logo signs and seat number indicators in the wind shelter.

• Introduction of environmentally friendly “Bikkura Pon!®” capsules and take-out containers introduced
  The “Bikkura Pon!®” capsules are paper capsules using PIM (Pulp Injection Molding) technology, which is made from starch and pulp. The capsules do not emit toxic substances when burned, are recyclable, and decompose in the soil in about six months.
  The take-out container uses coconut palm frond residues^(*1), which are produced during the manufacture of palm oil, as part of the raw materials. This reduces CO₂ emissions during incineration and methane gas emissions from decomposition, thereby reducing environmental impact. Paper bags for take-out are made of 100% recycled paper.^(*2) In addition, a “fortune” is printed on the inside of the container, adding an element of fun for customers using takeout.
  *1 Palm frond residues: empty fruit bunches that are created after palm fronds are squeezed to produce palm oil
  *2 Excluding the handle of the paper bag

• Sustainable menu offerings that can be realized through longstanding fishery creation efforts
  The company is working with fishers in Japan on a variety of initiatives to protect marine resources and revitalize the fishing industry in order to protect the rich oceans of the future. Through these ongoing efforts, the company is able to offer sustainable products such as low-use fish, AI-based “smart aquaculture,” and organic fish.
  The Osaka Kansai Expo branch of Kura Sushi also offers sustainable menu items that can only be realized by Kura Sushi, such as “Cabbage Nizadai,” “Organic Hamachi,” and “Healthy Roll (Shrimp Mayo)” using ‘Vegito’ (carrot sheet), a vegetable sheet made from non-standard vegetables, to promote “sustainable development” through food. The company aims to “contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” through food.

• Kura Sushi’s first special menu featuring dishes representing 70 countries and regions!
  Kura Sushi has developed a special menu that recreates dishes representing 70 countries and regions. For 25 of the dishes, we asked ambassadors to Japan and other people familiar with the authentic flavors of each country to taste them, and based on their opinions and advice, we made improvements. We were particular about reproducing authentic flavors that reflect the culinary culture of each country and ambassador. Seventy different dishes from around the world can be enjoyed together at the Expo Store.
  The “Antibacterial Sushi Cover Mr. Freshness” has also been designed in a special edition to express the Osaka/Kansai Expo store concept: “The revolving belt brings the world together. The two covers are connected by a handshaking motif of red and blue hands, the colors of the Expo. The front cover features dishes from different countries and regions, while the back cover features sushi dishes, which flow together on the revolving belt.

[ Store Outline ]

• Store Name: “Kura Sushi Osaka Kansai Expo Store”
• Opening hours: 10:00–21:00
• Number of seats: 338
• Seating area: 799.55 square meters

HP: https://www.kurasushi.co.jp/2025expo/