Conveyor belts in sushi restaurants are useful for on-demand food-and overestimating how much you want to eat-but now they have proven to have other uses.
When Julia Franco was visiting the sushi restaurant Sushi Sumo in Los Angeles, she decided to put her phone on the conveyor belt while shooting. The results are incredible and are called “movies” by some of the 12 million viewers.
On July 21st, Franco shared the video on TikTok, simply writing: “Put my phone on the sushi conveyor belt.”
After she put the phone upright on the conveyor belt, smiles, waves and overwhelming peace signs followed.
The customers noticed one by one that the mobile phone was slowly approaching them, which aroused their joy. They laughed and talked and nudged their companions.
Once the phone even fell down, only a man safely supported it and allowed to continue shooting.
Although those who notice and pose for the camera bring contagious joy to the audience, a woman who does not notice the phone interaction becomes the center of praise.
A woman eating alone handed the check to the waiter and thanked her
One TikTok user wrote: “When it comes to the woman in pink suspenders, when the waiter walks up to her, it looks like it’s part of the movie.”
“This is too cinematic,” another user commented.
“I like everyone’s comfort and friendliness,” another person pointed out.
Franco’s video itself is impressive, but this is not the first time a sushi conveyor belt video has gone viral on the Internet.
In 2018, American YouTuber Tkyo Sam, who shared life abroad, also shared a video using a sushi conveyor belt as a shooting tool—this time in Japan. However, unlike Franco, the reaction caused by the video on the Internet is not so easy to accept.
In the video, Sushiro’s diners readily accept the camera, often smiling and waving at the camera, or in the case of a young man, jokingly turn it off.
This video captures the independent dining pavilion in the restaurant, freezing time in trivial conversations and moments, or in the words of TokyoSam, this is a “beautiful segment of Japanese life”.
Critics celebrated how the video captured the “independent little bubble world” and called it “fascinating” and “calm”. However, not everyone is like this.
Many people called this an invasion of privacy. In response, Akindo Sushiro banned their cameras on the chain. “From the perspective of hygiene management and the privacy of visitors visiting us, this is not allowed. We will consider adopting strict countermeasures, including legal measures,” the restaurant chain said in a statement at the time.
However, TokyoSam explained his reasons in the comments on the video and pointed out, “When I filmed the video, everyone was satisfied with it. No one came to me and asked me to delete the video.”
“When I got the camera back, the staff was very friendly to the whole situation. I said thank you and left. Everyone was smiling. After that, we all went out to eat ice cream and high-five,” he wrote.
Weekly newspaper Julia Franco has been contacted for comment.
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