Sushi Making

 

Presenting the ten pieces of sushi we each made.

February 26, 2026

We went with the students after class today to a Shinjuku restaurant for a sushi making lesson. Good thing we didn't eat much for lunch because we got to eat everything we made. Two are lean tuna (akami), two are fatty tuna (chutoro), three are salmon, two are flounder and one is called Japanese omelette.

The first step was grating the wasabi root with the metal grater. The sushi chef taught us the specific way to pick up the sushi rice in our dominant hand and how to roll it carefully into a ball without crushing the grains of rice. With our other hand, we picked up a piece of fish and applied a small dab of wasabi paste. Then we placed the small ball of rice underneath, making sure to create a small hole in the bottom of the ball. Then we placed the fish on top and formed it into the shape of a rising loaf of bread.

When we formed them all, the sushi chef came to each of us and placed a dab of mayo on one of the salmon pieces and caramelized the top with a torch. One of the restaurant workers was documenting everything for their Instagram page!

Karl getting the hang of shaping his pieces. 

The sushi chef brought around this seventeen pound chunk of tuna for us to hold. This piece is worth $400!

The sushi was delicious. When everyone was done eating, the sushi chef suggested a wasabi eating contest. These three students agreed to the challenge. They each ate their piece with that much fresh wasabi and held it down! It didn't seem like an appetizing way to finish a meal, but you can see it on Itamae Sushi's Instagram page.

We took a tour of the Meiji Shrine yesterday in the rain with a Shinto priest. His name is Ito, and he explained all about the history of the Shinto religion in Japan. Shintoism has no founder. There is no sacred text. There is not a strict moral code. There is a reverence for nature because they believe that spirits or divine energies inhabit all natural things such as rain, rivers, rocks, trees etc.

Ito gave us a presentation in which he described how Japanese people pick and choose what types of ceremonies they want to hold. Only one percent of the Japanese population are Christians, 46-56 percent are Buddhist and 48-67 percent live a Shinto life. It is common for many Japanese to have a blend of Shinto-Buddhist practices. But we were surprise to learn what percent of the population have Christian marriages! While we were at the shrine, we saw a baby blessing group and a wedding party arrive.

We also got to observe a blessing ceremony where a Shinto priest prayed for our safe travels and for the University of Puget Sound. We were not allowed to take pictures, but a priest chanted, two other priests played flutes and two young girls dressed in red dresses with flowers in their hair danced.