Uobei Shibuya Dogenzaka branch

Let’s face it if you’re a cheapo that doesn’t like sushi then you’re in the wrong city. No where in the world is sushi so good, so fresh, so cheap and so correctly pronounced than in Tokyo and Japan. So I have no shame in publishing yet another Tokyo Cheapo sushi recommendation on our humble little site.

Every dish is 105yen – but is it still good?

The short answer is yes. I’ve eaten there twice now, and whilst they always seem to be mysteriously “sold out” of Tuna and have (the presumably cheaper) Mebachi or big eye tuna (目鉢まぐろ) as an alternative, I’m always surprised at how good everything despite the super cheapo friendly price of 105yen per dish (albeit there are a select few special dishes for a little more).

But don’t take my word for it, note the 3.1 star rating on the usually rather strict tabelog community. To put this number in perspective one of my favourite eateries in Tokyo and popular on tabelog has a rating of 3.7 stars (cheapo disclaimer, I can only afford to eat there once every two years, plus now it seems you need to book two months in advance).

Fun and games

Let me be honest, I confess the main motivation for publishing this post today was sadly not to share with you another great cheapo recommendation, it’s actually because I wanted to share with you the prank video a friend of mine recorded whilst we dined there recently, but let me get to that in a minute.

Uobei is a fun place to have dinner. It’s branded (in Japanese) as “Kaiten sushi with out the Kaiten”, and you’ll see in the video below why. There’s no rotating conveyor belt, instead all orders are delivered via some hi-tech mechanical delivery system. You place your order on the touch panel display in front of you, and moments later it zooms out to you on one of the three “sushi lanes” in front of you. As you’re scoffing down your cheapo meal, you’ll notice a constant stream of fresh fish zooming past as it is delivered to your fellow patrons nearby.

Uobei is worth a visit just for the novelty.

And without further ado, here’s a video from of the flying sushi.

by Chris Kirkland