Posted by Christopher Stevenson
I just returned from a trip to Japan. Not surprisingly, over the course of the week, I had a few experiences outside of my normal routine. One of those was visiting a kaiten-zushi, or conveyor belt sushi, restaurant.
In the kaiten-zushi restaurant, there is no traditional wait staff, sushi chef behind the counter, or fish in a glass case. There are none of the traditions commonly found in old-style sushi restaurants. Instead, we were seated in a booth adjacent to a conveyor belt full of sushi and other goodies that ran zig-zagging past every booth in the restaurant.
Everything is self serve. If you see something on the conveyor belt that looks good, you take it and eat it. Each plate holds a single serving--usually two pieces of sushi. If you'd like to place a special order, there is a touch screen at the table that allows you to order beverages (other than green tea, which is available at the table), desserts, and sushi that isn't already revolving around the room. The bill is tallied by dropping the empty plates, which have computer chips embedded in them, into a slot at the end of the table. Also, much to my son's glee, when you drop five plates into the slot, a video slot machine or a fishing game appears on the touch screen; if you win the game, a chime sounds and a simple prize drops out of a gumball machine near the table. (Although when the 5 of us at the table hit 45 plates, the gumball machine froze and a hostess came to the table with a cardboard box of prizes; I think it may have been a subtle hint for us to eat and get out.)
Here's what is surprising. Japan is a nation of traditions and the traditional method of sushi service is near and dear to many. Sushi chefs go through rigorous training. They use specialized vocabulary. (Soy sauce is called "murasaki" only in sushi restaurants; everywhere else it's called "shoyu.") And I've listened in on conversations in which two people seriously discuss where to find the best sushi in the region. Nevertheless, kaiten-sushi restaurants are booming, so much so that traditional sushi restaurants feel threatened by the competition.
Why are they so successful?
I don't think anyone would argue that kaiten-zushi is the best in town, but it is tasty and the restaurants are convenient, family friendly and, most important, affordable. We had 10 people in our party; we all ate our fill (and then some), and escaped for about $100. Try that in a traditional sushi restaurant.
Here's what else I like about kaiten-zushi. It's inventor, Yoshiaki Shiraishi, challenged the traditions of sushi. He presumed that consumers would be willing to trade the experience that comes with old-style sushi restaurants in favor of affordable and fast food. No matter how many people lamented the loss of tradition, he moved forward with his idea. He took some time to test his concept (i.e. rapid prototyping), and then launched his idea. He acted and, over the course of his lifetime, he built his own restaurant empire that inspired a new style of eatery throughout Japan.
It's a model for innovation. What can credit unions learn from it?
For more about disruptive technology and their role in the competitive environment, check out this post about Yamaha pianos by Mary Arnold.
