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Still, there was one dissatisfaction I couldn’t ignore.   No matter how many chairs I brought in,no matter how many tools I lined up on the shelves, there was a problem this room could not solve:   Location.   This classroom was not in what we call Edomae.   It wasn’t near Tsukiji.From here, it took about 30 minutes just to go there and back for ingredients.   Since the beginning, my vision for the sushi class had always come as a set: Learn real Edomae techniques Share them with overseas guests And eventually…run the class near Tsukiji,in the very area historically known as “in front of Edo”.   I wanted my guests not only to hear stories about Edomae,but […]

After that, the things in the room began to multiply.   A cutting board here.A set of bowls there.Towels, trays, utensils.A simple shelf to store soy sauce, vinegar, salt.   Every time I brought in a new item,the room felt a little fuller—not just physically, but emotionally.   It was as if each object carried a tiny piece of my hope.   This ladle will one day stir sushi rice for guests.This plate will one day hold their first hand-rolled temaki.This chair will one day support someone who has flown across the world to sit here.   I didn’t have a designer interior.I didn’t have a branding agency or a renovation team.   What I had was time, a rented […]

What I Learned from a Failed Family Food Tour This is the story of a painful failure with a mother and son, how it broke my confidence, and how that experience now shapes the way I welcome families and children in my sushi class. An Unforgettable “Failed Tour” Back when guiding was still a side job for me, and I was slowly building experience, I once led a food tour for a mother and her young son. Looking back, that tour became an “unforgettable failure” that still stings a little when I think about it. After the tour, I received a very harsh negative review from the mother. Up until then, I had mostly guided couples and received many positive […]

When I first stepped into the new room with my own key,it was… clean.Clean, but undeniably old.   The walls carried the faint memory of someone else’s life.The flooring had a few scratches, the kind you don’t notice in photos but can feel under your feet.   But this was all I had.And this was where it had to begin.   There was no counter.No knives.No guests.Just a bare room and a lease with my name on it.   Still, I felt strangely calm.   “You don’t need the perfect start,” I told myself.“You just need a real one.”   In theory, I could have obsessed over the details endlessly:custom-built counters, designer lighting, brand-new appliances.   But I knew better.I […]

Recently, a piece of news from the United States was reported in Japan with a mixture of surprise and fascination. “An accountant changed careers and became a plumber. His salary tripled.” At first glance, it might just sound like a quirky career-change story. But I believe there are at least two larger narratives behind why this news spread so widely: AI has started to threaten white-collar jobs. The rise of AI is turning our old assumptions about “which jobs make money” upside down. And for me, there was a third reason I simply could not ignore this story: I myself have gone through a very similar kind of shift in my own career. I worked in the accounting industry for […]

How to Choose the Best Family Sushi Class in Tokyo | Japan Family Trip Planning Guide How to Choose the Best Family Sushi Class in Tokyo Planning a family trip to Japan and looking for the perfect sushi-making experience for your child? This guide will help you choose a family-friendly sushi class in Tokyo that truly fits your family, so you can avoid regrets and create unforgettable memories together. A dad struggling to choose the right sushi class in Tokyo Your family trip to Japan is just one month away. Because your child loves sushi classes, you’ve picked up your phone and started searching for “the perfect sushi experience in Tokyo” to give them. But then—all the sushi classes that […]

When a family walks into my sushi studio in Tokyo—parents, kids, sometimes two teenagers still fighting off jet lag—most people see the start of a fun sushi lesson. I see something a little different. I see a father who has carved out one precious week from a busy life. I see children who will remember this trip long after they forget which shrine was which. And I see a few short hours that I must turn into something worth traveling across the world for. In many cases, I also know this: I might be the very first Japanese person this family has a real conversation with. That thought quietly shapes everything I do. 1. A 12-year-old boy in Boston Whenever […]

You love sushi.You already know how to shape basic nigiri from online lessons.You have a local Asian supermarket where you can buy tuna, salmon, and hamachi. Now you’re finally coming to Tokyo.On your list is a very special mission: “I want to buy my very first real Japanese knife in Kappabashi Kitchenware Street.” You imagine inviting friends and family to your home,laying out beautiful slices of fish,and serving a sushi platter that makes everyone say,“Wait… you made this?” If that’s you, this article is for you—especially if you’re a woman who loves sushi and is about to choose her first Japanese sashimi knife. Wait a second… most people don’t know they’re about to make a mistake When you walk into […]

You’re planning your first trip to Tokyo with your family.Your kids love sushi, and you’d love to give them a once-in-a-lifetime experience: making sushi together in Japan. You open Google and type: “sushi making class Tokyo with kids” Dozens of options appear.Some look like serious cooking schools.Some look like tourist traps.All of them say, “We are family-friendly.” So how do you actually choose a sushi class that: keeps your kids engaged, is fun for adults too, and becomes one of the best memories of your trip? As a sushi chef and guide who hosts families from all over the world, I’d like to share a simple way to choose the right class—plus a real story from one of my family […]

Of course, saying yes to that room meant something else, too. It meant rent—every month,even before a single guest sat down at my counter. It meant committing to a future that hadn’t arrived yet. Japan’s borders were still closed.Tourists were still absent.No one could promise exactly when things would return to “normal”or what “normal” would even look like. On paper, it was too risky a decision actually. But strangely, I didn’t feel crushed by the risk.I felt… awake. That second room became a kind of positive debt to my future self: “You’ve taken this on.Now you must grow into the person who can fill it.” I had walked away from the safety of a salary.I had survived a pandemic by […]