I assume readers on the west coast and Japan are very familiar with this concept. I am very familiar with the concept, having first seen it when I first met m wife-to-be back in the early 1970's, but this restaurant has a "new" wrinkle -- or at least "new" to all of us out here in Texas.
Folks who enjoy sushi on the west coast are very familiar with the revolving conveyor belt that brings sushi selections right past your table (or the bar if that's where you are sitting). At your leisure you take the plate you want. You stack your plates, and the tally is based on the number of plates. In some restaurants, there are different colored plates designating different prices.
In this Kula restaurant, about 20 minutes from our home, the concept is the same: the revolving conveyor belt.
The "new" wrinkle: there is a second conveyor belt on an upper level that brings personalized orders. At your table, there is an iPad (a tablet) from which one selects one's choice. When one selects one's choice by tapping on the table, one's order is conveyed directly to your location, and it comes at "warp speed." That's a bit of hyperbole but compared to the lower conveyor belt, the upper conveyor belt moves much, much faster. But it can, because it is going as far as it needs to go to get to your location and then is stops right in front of you.
Interestingly, the personalized orders are priced the very same as the orders on the lower conveyor.
So, one sits there for as long as one want, interrupted only once by the hostess for one's drink order, and then one your own. Of course, the hostess can be summoned at any time.
In addition to all this, there's a "reward machine" at each table (not seen in this picture). After so many plates are taken off the conveyor belt, one receives a red plastic ball that opens up to reveal a cute little "cracker jack" gift which delights everyone at the table.
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