2020 has been a tough year so far due to the coronavirus outbreak. People have been advised to stay home and refrain from nonurgent and nonessential outings (as you’ve heard countless times by now).

Every year the Golden Week holiday is a welcome break for many workers in Japan. After the end of the fiscal year frenzy at work, it’s a great time to go on a trip or return home for a few days.

Unfortunately, the pandemic drove this year’s Golden Week plans to a grinding halt for many. For parents home from work, that meant spending quality time with their kids. That’s great right?

Well, the kids haven’t been in school for over a month, they’re not out playing sports or spending time with friends. Instead, they’re stuck inside the house with all that pent-up energy. Any parent would be at their wit’s end trying to keep the kids entertained and not let them get too out of hand.

Let’s go to the sushi carousel…at home!

Twitter’s Itami-san (@Itami9018F) shared a fun way to enjoy a sushi carousel at home with the kids. How was this magic engineered?

(Announcer’s voice): Japan’s favorite toy train system Plarail returns for the all-inclusive home sushi carousel set (does not include plates or sushi).

Itami-san’s parent proposed the idea and Itami-san made it happen for the kids.

The sushi conveyer belt system is pulled along by Tokyo Disneyland’s Western River Railroad locomotive along the blue Plarail track.

An assortment of train cars connected with rubber bands allow extra space for the paper plates which are taped upon the cars.

Because the plates are fixed to the cars on the track, it’s been advised to transfer your desired sushi to your own plate for consumption. Itami-san used the slow-speed Plarail, which allows for plenty of time to safely pluck the sushi of your choice from its moving car.

User Comments and Feedback

A number of users replied to Itami-san’s post, echoing praise for this surprising return to childish naivete and excitement:

It also seems that some users were inspired to take this home sushi carousel to the next level. Check out @hisa_916’s version:

It certainly does look like a great way to spend time with kids and make dinnertime a bit more enjoyable. Why don’t you try it out? And in case you do, one user replied to Itami-san’s post, warning not to use the high-speed Plarail because it made the plates fly off the tracks. So keep that in mind. Itadakimasu!