44- Eight Seats and a Small Beginning
By the end of 2022, the pieces were finally starting to come together.
In December, a friend asked me to cater his Christmas party.
It was the first time I stood in front of a group, not just as “Kenji the guide” or “Kenji the photographer,”
but as someone who was there to serve sushi with his own hands.
A month later, in January 2023, I signed the lease for the small room next door to my apartment—
the room that would become my first classroom.
On February 1st, 2023, I officially opened my sushi class to guests.
And in March, after passing my final exam at Tokyo Sushi Academy,
I received my diploma and graduated.
On paper, that is the timeline:
2022 December – catering.
2023 January – classroom secured.
2023 February – opening.
2023 March – diploma.
But emotionally、
the real “opening” happened one evening between those dates—
when I invited eight friends to gather in that small room for a trial run.