Japan solo dining chain surges in popularity in China; hours-long wait times lead to scalpers

A new solo dining trend among Chinese people is boosting the success of Japanese diner brands such as Sushiro.The conveyor belt sushi chain opened its first mainland shop in Guangzhou in southern China’s Guangdong province in 2021.Its popularity boomed when the brand opened its first shop in Beijing in 2024. It was reported that there was a queue of up to 1,500 tables.The solo-dining restaurant, above, comes complete with a blind to screen off strangers. Photo: mp.weixin.qq.com/When Sushiro entered Shanghai in December 2025, there were already 700 groups of people waiting before its first opening. Some reportedly queued for 14 hours and spots in the queue were scalped for up to 300 yuan (US$45).Some people said online that they would even pay for a special trip to Sushiro while travelling abroad, just to save the trouble of queuing.The brand had 171 outlets in the China" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="21724" data-entity-type="location">Greater China area by the end of 2025.What distinguishes Sushiro from other conveyor belt sushi restaurants was its playful ordering system.