Midmorning With Aundrea - December 11, 2020 (Part 3)

(Part 3 of 4) Sushi has never been more popular, but the closing of many traditional Japanese eateries has left the market dominated by mega-chains that use robots to prepare it, destroying the art of crafting it by hand.

The raw-fish-and- rice delicacy known as sushi has rarely been more popular.

But the traditional japanese restaurants that helped put sushi on the map... are starting to disappear.

We get the cold facts, from lucy craft in tokyo: when we stopped by last january, chigusa sushi was still hanging out its cotton shingle, as it had for 85 years& &beckoning the famished to a tiny counter, to feast on delectable morsels gathered at dawn from the seafood market& reito no maguro& "we take pride i our tuna, chef haruo gakuhari told us.

"we neve serve frozen fish - only fresh."

Chigusa was where locals savored a sense of community, as much as the handcrafted jewels of salmon roe and raw tuna& lucy craft: "ho has the sushi business changed over the years?"

Gakuhari sot, in japanese, w/vo 94/341 "in the ol days, there were 30 sushi shops in this part of tokyo," he said "now, we're th last one."

But this summer, as the pandemic raged, chigusa's elderly staff finally called it quits, among dozens of local sushi eateries closing for good in 2020.

Eating chigusa's lunch are brutally efficient mega- chains like "kur sushi"& here customers seat themselves, using screens that operate by simply pointing, without actual contact&next, patrons scan a digital code with their own smartphones, to download menus, and order food, which is whisked to the table.

Paying via self-checkout, customers consume entire meals without ever coming into contact with restaurant staff.

Kura sushi has dumped the sedate etiquette of the old sushi counter, for a raucous carnival...with a shooting gallery...prizes, and an endless series of games.

Lest diners get bored, novelties like cheese cake and onion rings, are constantly added to the menu& if this seems like the mcdonald's of sushi, it's no accident& kura sushi, which has launched in the us, aims to double in size, to 1,000 locations by 2030& sales are higher, than before the pandemic& clip 47, 4:26 sekai de ima& "we aim to be on par with global fast food chains," said spokesman hiroyuki okamoto.

Even before coronavirus, soaring fish prices, a manpower shortage and competition from the big chains had wiped out more than half of traditional sushi restaurants, according to a government survey.

And with most owners at or near retirement, the pandemic is accelerating the demise of neighborhood sushi.

Unrepentant, the big sushi chains argue they are the true heirs to japan's sushi tradition& back in the 19th century, sushi was sold from outdoor stalls& a cheap and filling snack for the masses& clip 57, 1:30 ware ware wa, donate de mo& the chain's spokesman said, "we want to b accessible to everyone, so we charge just a dollar a plate."

Handcrafted sushi is becoming a luxury& offering dramatic d?cor and wine pairings, sushi m places its chef center-stage& "some sushi chefs they practice in the mirror to see what they look like from the customer's perspective" food writer melinda joe calls this "performativ cuisine&" "it's not like th customer is always right as we think in the u.s. you are meant to enjoy the piece of sushi exactly as the sushi chef has intended it to be served."

Artisanal sushi, needless to say, is priced accordingly -- $200, for the tasting menu at sushi m.

Lucy: "i talked t another food critic, he was saying we're going to see dirt-cheap theme park-style discount volume places, and then we'll see the kind of place we're in right now, which is catering to the quote-unquote one-percent."

Melinda: "that'sth trend.

It's certainly something that we're seeing already happening."

For most japanese, sushi is becoming a commodity& not fashioned by craftsmen -- but cranked out, by robot.

"if everyone i only eating at thes kind of cheap sushi places, no one really starts to learn about the beauty of the artform of sushi."

A real life treasure hunt.

We'll have the story next on mid