Hello everybody! I hope you are enjoying autumn so far, and I'm starting to see some beautiful, colored leaves in the trees around Aichi. If you have any great spots for admiring fall foliage, please tell me when you come to Bridge!
Today, we'd like to give some love to someone in Japan who recently reached an amazing milestone. Jiro Ono is a very famous sushi chef in Tokyo, and he has decided to keep working even though he just turned 100 years old. He celebrated his 100th birthday on October 27. Before his birthday, he spoke with the governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike. She asked him how he stayed healthy for so long. He said that his secret is to keep working, and he believes working is “the best medicine.” He said he cannot go to his restaurant every day, but he still wants to keep working for about five more years.
Jiro Ono was born in 1925. He began working in a restaurant when he was only seven years old. When he was 25, he moved to Tokyo and worked at a sushi bar. He became a qualified sushi chef in 1951. In 1965, he opened his own small sushi restaurant called Sukiyabashi Jiro in the Ginza area of Tokyo. It had only 10 seats, but he worked very hard for many years to make his sushi better and better.
Ono’s restaurant became very famous. In 2007, it earned three stars in the Michelin Guide, which is one of the highest honors a restaurant can receive. In 2011, a popular documentary called Jiro Dreams of Sushi was made about his life and his work. In the film, he said he is still trying to reach perfection, and that no one knows where the “top” is. Even at 100 years old, Jiro Ono continues to inspire people with his passion, hard work, and love for sushi.
Wow! Do you love your job enough to continue doing it until you are 100 years old? Let's talk about Jiro the next time you come to BRIDGE. Have a great weekend.
If you liked this post, please click below.
