Kura Sushi x hololive English Recap by hololive TODAY
The Kura Sushi x hololive English collaboration has been quite the sushi-filled experience!
Kura Sushi USA is a Japanese restaurant chain known for its revolving sushi on a conveyor belt. The dining experience at Kura is quite interactive, where customers grab plates straight from the conveyor belt, order specific dishes through a tablet, and at some locations are even served drinks by a robot!
For this collaboration, participating holoEN members include Myth's Ninomae Ina'nis, Promise's Ouro Kronii, and Justice's Gigi Murin. All three talents are featured in the collaboration merch lineup, which include a Bottle Set, Cooling Towel, and Hat. They even have their own limited-time menu items:
Ina's Spicy Crunchy Squid
Kronii's Tuna with Avocado Cream Cheese
Gigi's Salmon & Tamago Spicy Roll
Kura Sushi x hololive English Sponsored Stream
The trio hosted a sponsored stream covering the details of the collaboration, and the first half of the stream even featured a vlog of Gigi visiting a Kura Sushi!
She spoke with Kura staff at the restaurant, who taught her and the audience a bit about the chain, the ordering process, and even took her behind the scenes to show how the sushi is prepared in the kitchen. Toward the end of the vlog, Gigi found herself in front of over a dozen sushi plates, and we can only assume she finished it all (perhaps with the help of her manager?).
Watch the full sponsored stream here or below.
Our Visit to Kura and More Info on Hat Sales
Just last week, we visited our own local Kura Sushi for the Cooling Towel giveaway and we were able to grab two towels on our trip!
This was our second visit to Kura during the length of the collaboration, the first being the pre-event in April, when we attended for the collaboration Hat giveaway.
Speaking of the Hat, Kura Sushi will begin selling a limited number of collaboration Hats starting August 1, available only at select locations.
While the campaign is slowly coming to a close, this announcement serves as a small token of appreciation from Kura Sushi for the community’s support throughout the collaboration.
One thing we didn’t cover was the Bottle Set. Unfortunately, we were unable to purchase a set since we were told it sold out day one!
Sales for the Bottle Set started on July 1st, but at the time we were preparing for our trip to Los Angeles for Anime Expo 2025 and “hololive night” at the Dodger Stadium.
Although we missed the bottle set, you can check this post on Reddit reviewing the bottle thoroughly.
Quick Interview with Newton Hoang, VP at Kura Sushi USA
Following our visit, we wanted to know a little more about the collaboration between Kura Sushi and hololive English. We asked Newton Hoang, Vice President and Head of Marketing at Kura Sushi USA, a few questions:
Q: I think it was a little over a year ago that I shared the idea of a collaboration with hololive with you, in the comments of one of your LinkedIn posts if I remember correctly. I included some of my own knowledge about hololive, VTubers, and their rapid growth in the US, but I'm curious: how much did you and your team already know, or come to learn, about hololive and the broader VTuber space before going into this collaboration?
Newton: “We had actually been tracking hololive’s momentum for about a year prior to the collaboration—well before it officially landed on our radar through LinkedIn comments or industry chatter. We knew their U.S. popularity was about to reach an inflection point, so we timed the campaign intentionally to land right before that apex. We credit a lot of the campaign’s success to that foresight and timing.”
Q: I've seen a lot of social engagement for this collab, especially photos from fans visiting their local Kura Sushi locations. Also seen stories about long lines and day-one merch sellouts. From your perspective, how successful would you say the collaboration has been so far?
Newton: “It’s been incredibly rewarding to see the fan engagement—from day-one sellouts to the amazing photos and stories being shared online. The results have either met or exceeded our expectations, and we have nothing but respect and gratitude for the hololive community. We hope this partnership has not only deepened their appreciation for their favorite talents, but also left a lasting impression of the Kura Sushi brand that will carry forward beyond the campaign.”
Q: Would Kura Sushi be open to partnering with hololive again in the future? And if so, what are your thoughts on including hololive-themed prizes in your Bikkura Pon machines? Things like acrylic keychains, pins, or stickers could be nice. A good portion of the community was curious about this, especially since the official campaign name, "hololive English Bikkura Pon," included the Bikkura Pon branding.
Newton: “We’re definitely open and interested in future iterations. It ultimately comes down to timing and alignment across multiple moving pieces. The inclusion of Bikkura Pon prizes requires a much longer lead time, which unfortunately didn’t sync up with our calendar this time—hence why the activation was decoupled. And yes, the campaign naming was admittedly an oversight on our part. We’ve heard the feedback and we’ll be sure to fine-tune our messaging and execution moving forward.”
Closing Thoughts
As mentioned in our quick interview, we first connected with Newton over a year ago to suggest a potential partnership between Kura Sushi and hololive production. Seeing that idea grow into a full collaboration has been exciting to witness firsthand.
Covering this collaboration has been very exciting, and we’re looking forward to any future team-ups between Kura Sushi and hololive English!
