Kanazawa City in Ishikawa Prefecture, located about an hour by plane or three hours by Shinkansen from Tokyo, is one of Japan’s most popular tourist spots.
Kanazawa is known as a city with many attractions, including Kenrokuen, one of Japan’s three greatest gardens, and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, which displays a large number of modern art pieces.
Facing the Sea of Japan, the city is also rich in fresh seafood, and the local food culture is particularly famous for seafood dishes, including sushi.
So, this time we visited Sushi Kuinee!, a conveyor belt sushi restaurant that is extremely popular among Kanazawa locals, and we’ll tell you about the charms of the restaurant and our impressions of the sushi.
The appeal of Kanazawa’s beloved “Sushikuinee!”
This time we visited Sushi Kuinee!’s Prefectural Office branch.
Sushi Kuinee!’s Prefectural Office branch is located about a 15-minute bus ride from Kanazawa Station.
This is a well-known conveyor belt sushi restaurant among Kanazawa residents, so popular that it is often fully booked even on weekdays.
There are many conveyor belt sushi restaurants in Kanazawa, and of those, Sushi Kuinee! is extremely popular among locals, and is known as one of the “Kanazawa Conveyor Belt Sushi Big Three.”
Let’s take a closer look at its appeal right away.
Attraction No. 1: The chef makes sushi right in front of you
One of the attractions of Sushi Kuinee! is that the chef will make the sushi right in front of you.
When you imagine a typical conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, you probably imagine a variety of sushi lined up on a conveyor belt.
However, at Sushi Kuinee!, when an order is placed, a sushi chef standing in the center of the restaurant will make the sushi.
Even though it is a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, you can enjoy the feeling of being at a high-end sushi restaurant.
Attraction No. 2: Wide variety of sushi
The second appeal of Sushi Kuinee! is the wide variety of sushi they offer.
The standard sushi toppings are tuna and salmon, but at Sushi Kuinee! they offer different toppings each day that even locals rarely get to see.
Not only do they offer sushi toppings unique to Kanazawa, but they also serve sushi made with seasonal fish delivered directly from ports in Hokkaido and Kyushu, so one of their charms is that the sushi available changes with the season.
Attraction No. 3: Menu that even those who don’t like raw fish can enjoy
The third appeal of Sushi Kuinee! is that they have menus that even people who don’t like raw fish can enjoy.
Sushi Kuinee! doesn’t just offer fresh fish as sushi toppings; they also offer sushi with cucumber, daikon, avocado, shiitake mushrooms, and more.
They also have an ala carte menu with fried foods and a kids’ menu, so the whole family can enjoy themselves.
Sushi Kuinee! is also recommended for people who have tried sushi but couldn’t stand raw fish, or who have vegetarian family members who can’t eat fish.
What is the atmosphere and seating like at Sushi Kuinee!?
One of the attractions of this restaurant is having a sushi chef make the sushi right in front of you – what does this mean?
Let’s go inside the restaurant right away.
As one of the restaurant’s attractions, the counter seats right when you enter allow you to be close to the chef!
In the back you can see a board with today’s recommended sushi toppings written on it, and the contents change depending on the day.
The inside of a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant gives off an air of luxury.
Also, on weekdays, many customers are already eating sushi right after the restaurant opens, and on weekends the tables are bustling with families with children.
“I want to eat sushi!” Wondering how much sushi costs?
Now let’s take a look at the actual prices of “Sushi Kuinee!”
The lunch menu is reasonably priced, starting from 680 yen (tax included).
Sushi Kuinee! offers limited-time lunch sets from Monday to Saturday during lunchtime.
All sets come with a side of miso soup with fish bones, and a set of eight nigiri pieces is 680 yen (tax included), while a set of 11 nigiri pieces is 1,190 yen (tax included).
Please note, however, that quantities are limited and the offer will end once sold out.
The sushi contents of the set change depending on the day, but the restaurant’s recommended sushi will be served.
This is a better deal than ordering individual items, so if you’re not sure what to eat, we recommend ordering the set and then ordering the sushi that catches your eye.
Orders start from 160 yen (tax included) per plate
If you look at the plates displayed on the wall inside the restaurant, you will see the price written underneath the plate.
At Sushi Kuinee!, prices range from 160 yen (tax included) to 1,100 yen (tax included), but when we checked the menu, the highest price was 990 yen (tax included).
The sushi offered that day changes depending on the ingredients procured from the market, so there may be premium sushi on the menu on the day you visit.
It seems that most sushi plates cost between 400 and 500 yen.
Ordering is done via touch panel
Ordering is done via a touch panel, and English is also available.
After ordering, if you’re sitting at the counter, a sushi chef will hand it to you, and side dishes will be brought to you by someone in the dining area.
Time to try it! “Sushi Kuinee!”‘s exquisite sushi
This time, we tried the following dishes from the extensive menu!
NO.1:Bargain Lunch: 680 yen (tax included)
In addition to the popular tuna and salmon, the set includes eight pieces of sushi including locally caught sweet shrimp and squid, as well as fish soup, all for 680 yen (tax included)!
The egg was slightly sweet and easy to eat.
The fish bones in the soup were also carefully prepared so there was no unpleasant odor.
NO.2:Hokkaido salmon roe: 490 yen (tax included)
This dish has an irresistible crunchy texture.
The Hokkaido salmon roe is large and packed with flavor.
NO.3:Tiger pufferfish: 580 yen (tax included)
Tiger pufferfish is hard to find at conveyor-belt sushi restaurants in Tokyo.
Because pufferfish is a poisonous fish, a license is required to cook it, but Sushi Kuinee! has a licensed pufferfish chef on staff, so you can eat tiger pufferfish sushi, a high-quality fish.
The mild, crunchy texture of the pufferfish is accented with a spicy kick by momiji oroshi (a condiment made from daikon radish and chili peppers).
Access information for “Sushi Kuinee!” Prefectural Office Store
We’ve compiled information on access and payment methods for the Sushi Kuinee! Prefectural Office branch, so please check it out!
| Store name | Sushi Kuinee! Prefectural Office Branch (Sushi Kuinee!) |
| inquiry | 076-268-3450 |
| reservation | “No seat reservations possible. Online and phone reservations available for take-out only.” |
| transportation | By car or taxi 10 minutes from the west exit of Kanazawa Station By bus Within a 5 minute walk from the prefectural office |
| business hours | 11:00-21:30 Last orders 21:00 Lunchtime Monday-Saturday 11:00-16:00 (Excluding public holidays) ■Closed days Open everyday |
| budget | Lunch: ¥2,000 – ¥3,000 Dinner: ¥3,000 – ¥4,000 |
| method of payment | Cards accepted (JCB, AMEX, VISA, Master, Diners) Electronic money accepted (Transportation electronic money (Suica, etc.), Rakuten Edy, nanaco, WAON, iD, QUICPay) |
Frequently asked questions about “Sushi Kuinee!”
Before actually going to Sushi Kuinee!, be sure to check out the frequently asked questions.
Question 1: What does “I want to eat sushi!” mean?
The name “Sushi Kuinee!” means “Eat sushi.”
“Kuinee” is an old Japanese word that means “eat.”
Question 2: Can I bring children into the store?
Sushi Kuinee! Prefectural Office Branch has over 10 tables, making it easy to bring children with you.
If you let the staff know you have children, they will prepare chairs for children.
In addition to sushi, they also offer side dishes such as french fries and fried chicken, as well as desserts such as pudding and ice cream.
Question 3: Are there any English-speaking staff?
To cut straight to the point, I don’t think there are any specialized staff on staff.
However, the touch panels are in English and there is English writing here and there, so it’s not like they don’t provide any service at all to tourists from overseas.
What are the reviews from people who have actually visited “Sushi Kuinee!?”
Now let’s take a look at the reviews from people who have actually visited Sushi Kuinee!
Looking at the reviews, we noticed that many of them were written by locals as well as tourists.
Summary: I want to go to “Sushi Kuinee!” again!
What did you think?
My impression after eating sushi at Sushi Kuinee!, a beloved conveyor-belt sushi restaurant in Kanazawa, was that it was a wonderful conveyor-belt sushi restaurant where you could enjoy authentic sushi at a reasonable price and immerse yourself in the charm of Kanazawa.
The appeal of Sushi Kuinee! is wide-ranging, including sushi made by a chef right in front of you, a wide variety of toppings, and even menu items that even people who don’t like raw fish can enjoy.
Another attraction is the casual lunch set and reasonable prices.
If you’re in Kanazawa, be sure to stop by Sushi Kuinee!
