A note on the words: kaiten sushi is conveyor-belt sushi, and shari is the vinegared rice under the topping, so “half rice” is an order with the rice halved. Akagai is ark shell, tsubugai a whelk, toro the fatty belly of the tuna and chutoro its medium-fatty part, ikura salmon roe, and shime-iwashi sardine cured in salt and vinegar. Gari is the pickled ginger eaten between pieces, karaage is Japanese fried chicken, and tempura is seafood or vegetables fried in a light batter. Kikanbo is a Tokyo ramen shop known for bowls built on chili heat and the numbing tingle of sansho pepper. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
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Kappa Sushi, Itabashi, on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
I want something good to eat today too. This is Hangover Meshi. Kappa Sushi — a long time ago, if you said conveyor-belt sushi, this was the only name. My impression was that it had since been pushed into a much smaller position by rivals like Sushiro and Hama Sushi. But apparently it has been making a comeback lately. It used to be the shop where the tuna came out frozen stiff, and these days even conveyor-belt sushi is of a fairly high quality. I am looking forward to seeing what Kappa Sushi has become.
A large branch along the Kawagoe-kaido. Thanks to the location, perhaps, it was not very busy and we were seated at once.
Step inside and — the sushi is not going round at all any more.
Is this normal now?
I have a feeling Sushiro or somewhere still had things going round. Here at Kappa Sushi the lanes are strictly for delivery. Nothing circulates. There are two tiers of lane, the upper one shinkansen-like, the lower one ordinary. I wonder how they are used differently. Basically you order on the tablet and either the lane or a person brings it over. Four or five plates is the limit for one order. Is that the maximum they can send at once? Perhaps the ordering, making and lane-booking is all automated, and that is why the limit is four or five plates.
Well, the mechanics can wait.
Soy sauce is on the table. Gari comes if you order a portion, just a little heap of it. Free. There are people in the world who would take it obsessively, and people who play pranks, so making you take one small step is win-win.
Right, I thought, time to order a range of things — and it turns out there is a collaboration with Kikanbo running, so you can order their hot-and-numbing ramen.
I came to a sushi place and immediately ordered ramen. A decent amount of noodles for 491 yen. Cheap. For something called level 3 the heat may not be all that strong. A miso ramen with depth. I want more heat and more numbing! The trademark baby corn is properly there as well.
Half rice can be done for some things and not for others. Honestly, forget half — give me no rice at all! They will sell you rice on its own, after all. No rice, please — keep the price the same, I do not mind, just take the rice out! The ark shell is delicious.
The raw prawn is good. The quality of the toppings has gone up. Straightforwardly delicious — though one might ask which era I am comparing it with — and no worse than the other conveyor-belt chains.
This one could not be done with half rice. It is called thick-cut for a reason, and the generous slab that arrives is a fine thing. A little sinewy, mind.
The whelk I love is good too. Even with half rice it gradually builds up in the stomach.
A plate of luxury, one piece each of three kinds of crab and toro. Expensive, but then it is crab and toro.
This squid is very tender, dense and sweet, and delicious.
Sea urchin, three luxurious pieces on one plate. The urchin itself is not quite the finest grade, but you can taste the urchin properly.
A single piece of fried herring with mayonnaise, I suppose. One piece is fine, but let me have it without the rice!
The salmon is beautifully fatty and delicious.
Kappa Sushi — it feels a little heretical, but this tempura plate is very good. The tempura is fried to order and thoroughly crisp. I do not particularly need the rice, but with a tempura assortment the topping I want is sometimes missing, so I would like something done about that.
I got a craving for ikura and had just one piece. Good. I wish ikura were cheaper.
I could not drink that day, but I wanted fries. This was the only small size they had.
This one, though — no need to order it. I was curious, but gari is free anyway, and the batter is so thick that you are essentially eating batter. I imagine that is the concept, but if I am going to pay for gari I want it crunchier.
Kappa Sushi! Completely full. The level of conveyor-belt sushi really has risen. It is straightforwardly good. Sushi has gone upmarket, and an ordinary meal can easily run to thirty or fifty thousand yen. In quite another direction from that: cheap, tasty, casual sushi. Places like this are a genuine help. Judged as overall value, it is worth more than the expensive shops. A place I would like near my house.
Kappa Sushi, Itabashi (Kaiten sushi / Tokiwadai Station, Kami-Itabashi Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.3
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
