24 – Why My Sushi Class Is Private

The great sushi bars are always small.

They have only 8 seats at the maximum.

That realization shaped my future.

From that night on, I knew:

My own sushi class would have to be small and personal.

As a guide, I had already chosen to focus on private tours instead of big group tours.

I wanted to actually talk with my guests, to hear their stories, to remember their names and faces—

not just march in front of a group with a flag.

The same was true for sushi.

I didn’t want to stand behind a long line of people and just “pump out” nigiri.

I wanted to look my guests in the eye, hand them a piece of sushi I had shaped for them,

and feel the distance between us shrink.

So the direction of my business became obvious:

Small groups.

Private experiences.

Time and space for real conversation.

For practical reasons, yes—one person can’t handle a huge crowd.

But also, for deeply personal reasons:

I want to enjoy the conversation.

I want to really know the people in front of me.

I want them to feel, even for a couple of hours,

that this sushi counter, this kitchen, this experience…

is theirs.

That Christmas party didn’t just test my skills.

It quietly decided the shape of the sushi class I would one day build—

intimate, personal, and unapologetically private.