In what year was conveyor belt sushi invented?

Conveyor belt sushi was invented in 1958. Japanese restaurateur Yoshiaki Shiraishi opened the first conveyor-belt restaurant, Mawaru Genroku Sushi, in Higashi-Osaka that year.

Shiraishi reportedly developed the idea after seeing beer bottles moving along a conveyor at an Asahi brewery. He spent about five years working out the belt’s design and operating speed, aiming to solve staffing problems at his small sushi restaurant. The system carried plates past customers, reducing the need for servers.

The concept became much more widely known after Genroku Sushi appeared at the 1970 Osaka World Expo. Early restaurants mainly arranged customers facing the belt, but tables positioned at right angles later made the format more suitable for groups. The Japanese term kaitenzushi refers to this rotating-sushi style.