With the yen reaching a 20 year low against the dollar, prices in various industries across Japan are starting to skyrocket. From fuel to food to energy, it seems there's no escape from the price hike, and with a number of global factors (namely the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) only exacerbating the problem it looks like we won’t be seeing the end of the tunnel anytime soon.

Taking a big hit from the inflation is arguably Japan’s most popular sushi chain, Sushiro, which announced on Tuesday that they will be increasing their prices of dishes offered at stores nationwide. The revisions will be effective from the 1st of October this year, and will see the end of the chain’s competitive 100-yen (before tax) sushi range.

Since the establishment of its first store (originally known as “Sushitaro”) back in 1984, Sushiro has climbed to the top of Japan’s conveyor belt sushi ladder. As of September 2021, the brand had 610 active restaurants in Japan alone, but has also been steadily branching out internationally with a number of stores located in South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The popularity of the chain over the last 38 years can more likely be attributed to the affordable costs of the dishes offered in store, the lowest of which are priced at 100 yen before tax.
In the press release announcing the price revisions, it is explained that the brand has been able to provide sushi at such an inexpensive range due to a diverse selection of ingredients and an innovative implementation of modern technology in store. Whilst these measures have worked well in keeping prices low up until now, with a shortage of fishery resources and the weak state of the yen the cost of sourcing ingredients, logistics and labor is rising. Because of this, the company has decided to make a number of changes so that Sushiro can continue to provide quality sushi with the value of its customers, employees and business partners kept in mind.

As a part of the changes, Sushiro restaurants will be categorised into suburban, semi-urban and urban restaurants depending on their location. This categorization will be reflected in the prices of dishes available in stores.
Whilst the details of price revisions are yet to be announced for semi-urban and urban restaurants, the company has listed what the price changes will be for suburban stores.
Below we have highlighted those changes in price (tax included):

Yellow dish – Currently 110 yen, will be revised to 120 yen
Red Dish – Currently 165 yen, will be revised to 180 yen
Black Dish – Currently 330 yen, will be revised to 360 yen

Despite the changes Sushiro is fully committed to its continuance of providing customers with high-quality, tasty sushi at affordable prices in accordance with their brand mission: “Tasty Sushi for All. Tasty Sushi for the Heart.”

On a more positive note, the brand will be releasing special limited-time dishes one after the other up until the price revision date in October. Make sure to keep an eye out on the official website for these special campaigns.