The super-popular Sushiro is fully booked every day — what’s the secret to getting a spot on the 30-minute waitlist?

▲ Each plate of sushi at Sushiro is priced uniformly at NT$40 (excluding limited or special items).

Text and photos / Badouyao

Since the opening of Japan’s “Sushiro (No Added MSG)” conveyor belt sushi chain, crowds have been non-stop. Badouyao had heard that the wait here is notoriously long, so they thought they’d try making an online reservation first. But all slots were fully booked within the 14-day opening period. Determined to get their hands on some nigiri sushi, Badouyao headed straight to the restaurant. However, the staff informed them that all walk-in reservations were already taken by 1 PM. Their only option was to wait for a no-show spot. But Badouyao suddenly had a strong craving for “salmon nigiri” and decided to wait it out.

Currently, reservations for “Sushiro (No Added MSG)” are made via the app and open 14 days in advance. However, if you can’t select a time slot, it means it’s fully booked. As of February 14th, all time slots are already taken. If you still want to eat there, you have two options: either rush to grab a walk-in reserved spot when the restaurant opens (though many people start queuing up early in the morning, and most reserved spots are taken by 1 PM), or do as Badouyao did and wait for a “waitlisted reservation.” When Badouyao asked how long they might have to wait, the staff said it was hard to estimate.

▲ The walk-in waitlist number Badouyao received at 1:47 PM was No. 22 in the second round (with 99 numbers in the first round).

But through Badouyao’s on-site observation, perhaps because it was a non-holiday, not only were there many people who missed their online reservation times, but there were also plenty of waitlisted customers who didn’t get called. So it was really difficult to predict how long one might have to wait to get a seat. Badouyao ended up with No. 22 in the second round. With 99 numbers in the first round, the number being called when they arrived was only 65. Ready for a “long haul,” Badouyao braced themselves, watching the ebb and flow of the crowd (many people left as soon as they heard they’d have to join the waitlist). Badouyao focused on scrolling through the“ETtoday News Cloud” appfor news. But what happened next was unexpected.Badouyao got their number at 1:47 PM, and they were called at 2:21 PM — less than an hour of waiting to get seated. That was incredibly lucky.

It turns out that Sushiro has mostly table seating, while individuals are usually seated at the counter. Also, most customers come in groups of friends, families, or couples. So if there’s just one empty seat at the counter, it gets called up very quickly. So if you want delicious sushi without a long wait, go alone.Just as Badouyao was paying and leaving, they noticed a sign posted above the number machine that read “No more walk-in reservations today.” When they asked the staff, they learned that there’s a limit on the number of waitlisted customers, as the restaurant doesn’t want anyone waiting until closing time without getting a seat. Once the limit is reached, no more walk-in reservations are accepted.

▲ Nowadays, if you can’t get a reservation, it gets canceled.

Also, a reminder: these days, if you miss your assigned number — whether it’s from the physical ticket machine or the online app — it will no longer be held for you and will be canceled outright. The spot will then be given to someone on the waitlist. So if you’ve made a reservation, make sure to arrive during your designated time slot and wait for your number to be called.