In 1968 a young Japanese sushi chef had a vision to create a modern sushi restaurant, one that used a unique contraption known as a "kaiten" (literally translated it means revolving). In December of the same year, his vision materialised and Tobu-ten was opened. At only 23 years of age, Fumio Saito started a new trend in sushi bars that combines serving traditional sushi with modern technology. Tobu-ten was the first of the many sushi bars in Japan which used a revolving conveyor belt to serve sushi.
This new concept caught on fast in Japan and appealed largely to the masses. Traditionally an expensive cuisine, sushi was made available to everyone at affordable prices. The use of modern machinery made this possible. The success of Tobu-ten saw the opening of more outlets in the Prefecture of Tochiigi, concentrating in a town called Utsunomiya. Not long after, Mr Saito's kaiten sushi became a household name in the Kanto region of Japan.
In July 1979, Mr Saito's group of kaiten sushi shops was reborn. With a capital of ten (10) million yen, GENROKU-SHOJI was established. Realising the need to increase the speed of sushi production, Mr Saito always dreamt of a machine that could produce sushi rice balls at a fast rate.His wish soon gave robot makers in Japan an idea to create such a machine. Before long, a robot was invented, one that would once again revolutionise the sushi industry. Known as the sushi robot, this machine can produce 1,000 rice balls (Gunkan) in one hour. Today, the latest model can produce double the quantity within the same period. Traditionally, these rice balls were made by hand and were time consuming. With the introduction of the sushi robots in 1980, Saito's little army of mechanical arms once again set the way to bring sushi within the reach of everyone.
In 1984, a landmark decision was made by Mr Saito to embark into a franchise agreement with Genroku Co. Ltd. This venture was to end 6 years later. This marked a new era in Mr Saito's empire. In 1990 Genki Sushi Co. Ltd was established. This new name also came with a new corporate image with the face of a young boy as the corporate identity.
This symbol has now become synonymous with quality sushi at affordable prices throughout Japan.
Due to its enormous success, Genki Sushi was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1991. With public support and effective management, the company expanded further throughout the isles of Japan, opening in Tochigi, Fukushima, Gunma, Chima, Hokkaido and Tokyo. In 1992 Genki Sushi's plan to move into the international arena was marked with the opening of an outlet in Hawaii, USA. A year later, a franchise agreement was signed between Genki Sushi Japan and Genki Sushi Singapore Pte Ltd. This hailed the beginning of Genki Sushi's expansion into South East Asia.
Today, Genki Sushi Japan has 150 outlets in Japan and Hawaii, with another 31 outlets operated by its franchisee Genki Sushi Singapore Pte Ltd making a total of 181 outlets worldwide.
Under the franchise agreement with Genki Sushi Co. Ltd in Japan, Genki Sushi Singapore Pte Ltd, incorporated in 1993, operates Genki Sushi outlets outside of Japan. Owned by entrepreneur, David Ban, the first Genki Sushi outlet was opened at Hitachi Tower in 1994 with the first of its kind conveyor belt sushi concept to be launched here. Since then, its regional expansion has been rapid with Genki Sushi outlets simultaneously being opened in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and subsequently in Bangkok and New York.
