Japan solo dining chain surges in popularity in China; hours long wait times lead to scalpers

Sushiro, Japan’s solo dining sushi chain, has surged in popularity in mainland China, causing waiting times to exceed five hours and people to pay scalpers for queue spots to cut waiting time.

Photo: SCMP composite/RedNote A new solo dining trend among Chinese people is boosting the success of Japanese diner brands such as Sushiro.

The conveyor belt sushi chain opened its first mainland shop in Guangzhou in southern China’s Guangdong province in 2021.

Its popularity boomed when the brand opened its first shop in Beijing in 2024.

It was reported that there was a queue of up to 1,500 tables.

The solo-dining restaurant, above, comes complete with a blind to screen off strangers.

Photo: mp.weixin.qq.com/ When Sushiro entered Shanghai in December 2025, there were already 700 groups of people waiting before its first opening.

Some reportedly queued for 14 hours and spots in the queue were scalped for up to 300 yuan (US$45).

Some people said online that they would even pay for a special trip to Sushiro while travelling abroad, just to save the trouble of queuing.

The brand had 171 outlets in the Greater China area by the end of 2025.

What distinguishes Sushiro from other conveyor belt sushi restaurants was its playful ordering system.

People do not need to wait for sushi plates to parade past them, but can order on a table-side tablet and the sushi will arrive shortly via the belt.

Also on offer are foldaway digital menus for ease of ordering.

Photo: mp.weixin.qq.com/ This automatic serving mode is increasingly favoured by those who want to avoid the hassle of communicating with strangers.

On Dazhong Dianping, a customer review site operated by Meituan, many people described Sushiro as the “best choice for solo dining”.

Some also branded Sushiro as “heaven for I-person”. ‘I-person’ and ‘e-person’ are popular Chinese online slang terms for introverts and extroverts.

China’s first and second-tier cities have seen solo dining thrive in recent years.

Many solo dining restaurants are drawing lessons from their counterparts in Japan.

The solo-dining eatery above is less sophisticated with partial screens offering a modicum of privacy.

Photo: mp.weixin.qq.com/ Eating alone used to be a bold gesture to overcome the gazes of other people and the stereotype was that it meant being lonely.

Now more people see solo as a norm. “I cannot describe how cool solo dining feels.

No more need to compromise with other people’s tastes or dietary habits and no unne

原文链接: 南华早报