As a son of a butcher and next-door neighbor to his hometown’s only sushi restaurant, from an early age chef Hisashi Udatsu was exposed to two of the premier Japanese culinary contributions to the world. He fondly recalls "My parents' house is a small meat shop in Kunitachi, Tokyo. The adjoining sushi restaurant wasn't big, but it was warm and homely, and the scent of sweet and sour vinegared rice and the scent of sweet omelet that stimulated my salivary glands seemed to invite me. Losing to the temptation of the scent, I would sneak past my parents' watchful eyes almost every day and escaped the house to visit the sushi restaurant."

So it came as no surprise that as a child, young Hisashi told his friends that he wanted to become a sushi chef one day. At age 14, Udatsu enrolled in a culinary high school and upon graduation started working at a sushi restaurant in Kanda, Tokyo - two early stops in his career where he learned the fundamentals of sushi.         

When Udatsu turned 26, he sought to fine-tune his craft at Ginza’s Michelin 1 star Sushi restaurant, where he was promoted to the number two chef in just a few years. For his omakase, Udatsu continues to leverage his strong relationships with the suppliers and source the best fish from the new Toyosu fish market. For his shari, he uses two types of Iio brewed vinegar with which he prepares two distinct batches of sushi rice. This allows him to meticulously blend and contrast the taste profiles of each piece of fish and rice. An expert in sake as well, he can pair his creations with a rotation of seasonal sakes sourced directly from many of the hidden gem sake houses in Japan.

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With these efforts, Udatsu Sushi  has become a space ”that is not just about sushi, but also a place representative of the city of Tokyo;  where people from diverse backgrounds can interact and deepen their mutual understanding of each other.” Since its opening in the spring of 2019, Udatsu Sushi has become a dining destination for artists, entrepreneurs, fellow chefs, and luminaries from all over the globe.