EVENT: Go Beyond Like a Pro Hero at Kura Revolving Sushi Bar
As a My Hero Academia fan it doesn’t take much convincing to get me excited about an event that features the series. That said, it’s pretty Plus Ultra of Kura Revolving Sushi Bar to add sushi to the hero rankings. Definitely a top-ten pro-hero move if you ask me.
Currently, Kura Revolving Sushi Bar has a promotion going on with My Hero Academia that’s fun for fans of the series or anyone who likes getting stuff while eating delicious food. Your task, dear hero (or villain, I won’t judge) is simple: go to the restaurant and get through at least 15 plates of sushi. Once that 15th plate is cleared you’ll get a random My Hero Academia themed prize consisting of a keychain, lanyard or can badge. There are also bigger giveaway prizes during a set time period, and while the T-shirt is gone, there’s still a shot at the tote bag from March 1 – 3. Be sure to check out the giveaway rules here.
At first, I thought that many plates of food were a bit daunting. I’d never been to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Not only was it pretty easy to reach the goal — especially since I wasn’t alone — it ended up being a great way to try a nice variety of sushi.
My biggest mistake was not leaving room for any other food since Kura Revolving Sushi Bar also has a full menu. I did save room for dessert, though, and both the Hokkaido Milk Creamy Tart and Japanese Style Soy Milk Donuts were a nice bookend to the meal.
My wife and I went to the Mall of America location on a weekday afternoon. Good timing, in my opinion, as it’s easy to see how the place could get slammed on a weekend. If you’re local to Minnesota it’s by the Moose Adventure Mini Golf, so feel free to channel your inner Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story before getting a bite to eat.
Once you’re able to be seated the staff greet you with a courteous “irasshaimase,” as per tradition in a Japanese restaurant as it means “welcome to my shop/restaurant.” Kura Revolving Sushi Bar’s got a real cozy vibe going as the conveyor belt constantly brings around plates for you to grab. If you’re like me and it’s your first visit, you’ll get a quick rundown of how the whole thing works.
The dishes are kept in a ventilated sushi lid called “Mr. Fresh” to keep the food fresh, and when you see something you want you grab the plate out of the sushi lid and, well, eat it! There’s also a touchscreen menu where you can order drinks and other food. For those who want details on the sushi ahead of time, the menu lists those plates for you to look at.
When you order off the menu the food comes via the express belt which is a secondary conveyor belt that is positioned above the revolving conveyor belt below. To my absolute delight, the drinks are brought to you via a drink delivery robot named KurB the Kurabot that plays a jingle.
Each finished plate goes in a plate slot that counts the number so you can see how close you are to getting that sweet, sweet capsule toy. To celebrate the My Hero Academia event the restaurant has the characters all over the place — namely Midoriya, Bakugo, Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki. Despite the show not being that old, it feels like a total nostalgia trip considering what’s going on in Season 6. Even my beverage delivery bot had the kids of Class 1-A on it, reminding you that you can get one of those prizes if you believe in yourself the way Deku believes in you.
I ended up getting a Todoroki keychain — no soba required.
Speaking of soba (not on the menu, sorry Todoroki cosplayers looking to recreate that iconic scene) the food was pretty tasty, but my favorite part was the fact that there were different kinds of sushi to try without having to commit to a full roll. Instead of having six or eight pieces, you get around two to four, which gives you the ability to sample multiple things. It’s the kind of place I’d bring someone who hasn’t had sushi before or someone who wants to try octopus, eel and other varieties of seafood. Whatever they don’t like, someone else at the table can eat, and if they do like it they can always grab another plate or try something new. For me personally, the spicy popcorn shrimp roll ended up being my favorite along with the salmon yukhoe — a new food venture I was very pleased with.
All and all, I’d definitely say this is a good spot to check out, especially with a group. The My Hero Academia promotion is really just an added bonus to a good meal with good company, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Kura Revolving Sushi Bar do more anime tie-ins like this. As Fat Gum once said (probably): go beyond, plus ultra (eating).
Dang, I really should go back with a Fat Gum hoodie.
Briana Lawrence is the Senior EN Features Editor here at Crunchyroll. When she’s not writing she’s taking care of her three butthead cats and playing Hades for the 100th time. You can check out her writings and her book series over at her website and give her a shout over on Twitter.
