All Fermi answers
Fermi #59 · Question 3

How many plates of sushi are eaten at conveyor-belt sushi restaurants in Japan each day?

Explore the official answer and the simple reasoning behind this Fermi estimate.

3QUESTION 3 OF 3

Answer & explanation

The official answer, with Fermi’s reasoning step by step.

Answer & explanation

Official answer

12,000,000

plates

How to estimate it

Fermi’s official “Napkin math”

Start with Japan, about 125 million people. How often does someone go for conveyor-belt sushi? Maybe every few months, call it 4 times a year, and about 10 plates a trip.

Japan population
125,000,000
Visits per person per year
× 4
Plates per visit
× 10
125M × 4 × 10 ÷ 365
≈ 14 million

Rounded assumptions may give a slightly different estimate. The official answer above is the game’s reference value.

Source calculation & reference
Japan conveyor-belt sushi sales, 2024
≈ ¥831.8 billion
Average spend per person per visit
÷ ¥1,940
Plates eaten per visit
× 9.9
Per day (÷ 365)
≈ 12 million

Reference cited by Fermi: Fuji Keizai conveyor-belt sushi market survey (2024) · Maruha Nichiro conveyor-belt sushi consumer survey 2025

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