Kura Sushi Global Flagship Store Ginza to open on Thursday, April 25, 2024

Travel back in time to Japan’s Edo period!

A store with an interactive space where customers can enjoy “Edo-style entertainment,” including food stalls inspired by the world of ukiyo-e woodblock prints, to open in Ginza

TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#Ginza–Kura Sushi, Inc. (President: Kunihiko Tanaka; Head Office: Sakai City, Osaka), which operates the conveyor-belt sushi chain “Kura Sushi,” will open “Kura Sushi Global Flagship Store Ginza,” its sixth global flagship store in Japan, on Thursday, April 25, 2024, inside Marronnier Gate Ginza 2. The store was produced by Kashiwa Sato, one of Japan’s top creative directors, and is the first location of a major conveyor-belt sushi chain to open in the Ginza area.

With the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan setting a new record in March 2024¹, inbound tourism demand has rapidly recovered and is on an upward trend. Additionally, Tokyo boasts a larger number of restaurants highly rated by a global restaurant guide than any other city in the world, and Ginza in particular is an area containing some of Japan’s finest dining establishments.

That is why in Ginza, a district that draws foodies from all over the world, Kura Sushi is opening a large global flagship store that is also tailored to the needs of overseas visitors with its concept of entertainment in the style of Edo, the former name for Tokyo during the Edo period (1603-1868).

The store will feature “Kura Koedo,” a space inspired by the Edo-period food stalls depicted in a woodblock print by the ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige². Here, staff will prepare sushi, tempura, and skewered rice dumplings right in front of customers’ eyes, making Kura Sushi the first-ever major conveyor-belt sushi chain to offer customers opportunities to experience the feeling of live performances as new added value.

The store will be equipped with Kura Sushi’s longest-ever conveyor belt, allowing customers to experience the fun of revolving sushi that is a hallmark of Kura Sushi. Like the existing global flagship stores, the interior will have a modern Japanese design decorated with ukiyo-e images and paper lanterns and featuring plain wood tables and columns along with tatami-mat seats.

Kura Sushi will continue to deliver unforgettable culinary experiences that allow customers all over the world to experience the delicious taste to which Kura Sushi has remained committed since it was founded as a company, as well as the evolving fun of conveyor-belt sushi.

1 Japan National Tourism Organization, “Visitor Arrivals (Preliminary figures for Mar. 2024)” (released April 17, 2024)

2 Famous Views of the Eastern Capital, Amusements While Waiting for the Moon on the Twenty-sixth Night at Takanawa

Features of Kura Sushi Global Flagship Store Ginza

■ “Kura Koedo” recreating the world of Utagawa Hiroshige’s ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Three food stalls for sushi, tempura, and rice dumplings

The Ginza Store will be the first Kura Sushi store to feature “Kura Koedo,” a space inspired by the ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige’s woodblock prints capturing scenes of Edo (Tokyo during the Edo period, 1603-1868). Hiroshige’s print Famous Views of the Eastern Capital, Amusements While Waiting for the Moon on the Twenty-sixth Night at Takanawa, which decorates the walls of Kura Sushi’s global flagship stores, depicts the people of Edo celebrating the twenty-sixth day of the seventh month in Japan’s old lunisolar calendar, a Buddhist holiday when people would pray to the moon. The print vividly illustrates the culture of Edo’s townspeople as they gathered for a special occasion, including food stalls for sushi, tempura, soba noodles, and sweets along with fireworks, a man dressed in an octopus costume, and people wearing beautiful kimonos. Just like in the ukiyo-e print, “Kura Koedo” will feature food stalls for sushi, tempura, and skewered rice dumplings amid a “fireworks” display. The three food stalls will offer freshly prepared, made-to-order dishes that customers can order from their seats. Customers will be able to enjoy authentic food-stall performances in a space that seems to have been transported from the Edo period.

Limited Edition Items at Kura Sushi Global Flagship Store Ginza

*Some dishes will no longer be sold once the planned quantity is reached.

Store Overview

Contacts

For media inquiries regarding this press release:
Public Relations Department, Kura Sushi, Inc. E-MAIL：prhq_kurasushi@kura-corpo.co.jp