SAKAI, Ibaraki -- A sushi restaurant constructed by this east Japan town as a base for interaction with inbound tourists and others has opened its doors.

Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera Sakaimachi, which commenced business Jan. 15, was established by the Sakai Municipal Government and is operated by Tokyo-based Onodera Food Service Co. At a commemorative ceremony on Jan. 14, Sakai Mayor Masahiro Hashimoto said, "This is a major project addressing inbound demand in our town. We hope to make it a restaurant that will bring the town out into the world."

The restaurant is a one-story wooden building spanning 294 square meters, and seats 75 people. It was built using earthquake-resistant construction methods and features a ceiling that resembles waves. The total construction cost was approximately 450 million yen ($2.89 million).

Onodera Food Service Co. is a member of the Onodera Holdings group, which has successfully bid for the high-price bluefin tuna offered at the first auction of the year at the Toyosu market in Tokyo for five consecutive years. The restaurant in Sakai is the fourth branch of the Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera restaurant chain in Japan, after establishments in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, and offers a limited set menu as well as tuna from the first auction.

Sakai once prospered as a hub of water transportation along the Tone and Edogawa rivers. There used to be more than 20 Edo-style sushi restaurants in the area, but the number later decreased to about five. The town aims to promote "Sakai's attractive food" and increase the number of people involved in the town not only from overseas but also from within Japan.

Shinji Nagao, president of Onodera Holdings, said at the ceremony, "We aim to make the restaurant one that people want to visit on important occasions. We would like to cooperate with the town so that the entire town can be enlivened."

(Japanese original by Yasutaka Horii, Koga Local Bureau)