Shoma Hayashi was born in Osaka in 1990 as the son of a local sushi chef. He grew up eating oshi-sushi and inari for breakfast, and fish broth ara soup for dinner. He looked up to his father and knew from a young age that he wanted to become a sushi chef himself.

Once in high school, he started working at the fish market and began his apprenticeship at a sushi restaurant in Kita-Shinchi. He was later invited to join a sushi restaurant in Germany where he also worked as a private chef. It was during these years that he internalized the way of omotenashi, or Japanese hospitality.

After returning to Japan, he met Rikito Hama and Nijiho Takai. The two young chefs were both working at Rousen Saeki, a branch of renowned Sushi Saeki, and had ambitions to eventually own their own restaurant. In 2023, the three teamed up to open Sushi Hijiri. “What keeps me going is when the guests tell me how delicious our sushi is,” he said.

Rikito Hama was born in Oita on the island of Kyushu in 1992. His father was a former sumo wrestler and ran a chanko nabe restaurant. Growing up, he loved food and became interested in the world of sushi. After finishing culinary school, his skills won him a spot at Sushi Saeki where he worked at a number of their branches, and also met his wife Takai. Since opening Sushi Hijiri, his dream is to make the restaurant a success, and expand their reach to outside Japan.

Nijiho Takai was born in Osaka in 1998. Raised by a mother who loved to cook, she naturally chose to pursue a culinary career. She worked at sushi restaurants in Osaka and South Korea before joining Rousen Saeki where she met Hama. Now that she’s a mother, she appreciates that she has a team to run a restaurant with. “Sushi allows me to express myself,” she said. “I love watching the guests enjoy our sushi right in front of us.”

VISION
The team at Sushi Hijiri is committed to evolving the traditional cuisine of sushi through collaboration. “It’s our strength that we can provide three different styles of sushi. Each one of us can play to our strength and offer the best overall experience,” Hama says.

“Sushi Hijiri is just our starting point,” Hayashi says. “Eventually, we would love to expand abroad but our priority is here and now.”