I was raised on a small island called Kozu Island.
The sea has always been part of who I am.
 

For many years, I made sushi in Tokyo.
But after visiting fishing ports across Japan,
I found myself drawn closer to the source.
To the waters where the fish are brought ashore.

Toyama Bay is often called “a natural sanctuary for fish.”
Nearly seventy percent of the fish species found in the Sea of Japan
are said to gather in these waters.

Every day, an astonishing variety of fish arrives here.

The fishing grounds are close.

The freshness is unmistakable.

A bay plunging more than one thousand meters deep,
beneath the three-thousand-meter peaks of the Tateyama Mountain Range.
The dramatic geography of sea and mountain
fills these waters with remarkable richness
and gives the fish their profound depth of flavor.

The crab.
The shrimp.
Their purity is extraordinary.

Within the shifting currents shaped by this rugged coastline,
life unique to these waters quietly flourishes.

White shrimp.
Genge.

Creatures found only in this sea.

In spring, firefly squid come close to shore to spawn,
glowing softly in the dark water.
It is one of the many moments
that reveal the mystery of this bay.
 

By this sea,
I knew I wanted to make sushi.