Sushi Chef | Cultural Nomad | Builder of Places

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About

My name is Toshiya.
I am a Japanese sushi chef, traveler, and cultural nomad.

I was born in Kitakyushu, Japan, a working-class port city in the south.
At 17, while still in high school, I began backpacking across Japan.
That same year, 9/11 happened. Watching the world change in real time, I realized something simple and irreversible:

The future is not guaranteed.
A safe plan is not always the right plan.

I let go of the life I had imagined and chose the unknown.

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Leaving Japan

At 20, I moved alone to New York City, then crossed North America by Greyhound bus, traveling for two months through the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Eventually, I arrived in San Francisco, a city that would become my second home.

There, I met my sushi master and trained under him for nearly seven years.
I worked as a sushi chef, co-founded a ramen restaurant with a friend, and lived deeply inside California’s culture — organic food, hippie philosophy, experimentation, and freedom.

San Francisco shaped my hands, my taste, and my way of thinking.
It will always be part of who I am.

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Becoming a Nomad

At 26, the urge to move returned.

I left the U.S. and traveled through London, Barcelona, and Rome, eventually settling in Malta, a small island near Sicily.
Once again, sushi became my passport.
As a native Japanese chef, I was able to work anywhere I went.

Then, in March 2011, everything changed.

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3.11 — The Question That Changed My Life

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami shook more than the land.
It shook my values.

Like a scene from a Haruki Murakami novel, reality suddenly felt unreal.
I sold almost everything I owned and asked myself one question:

What do I actually need to live?

The answer wasn’t comfort or security.

It was movement.

I packed a small bag:
my sushi tools, a laptop, a few clothes.

I left Malta and became what I now call:

A Sushi Chef Without Borders.

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Cooking Across the World

I traveled across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas, cooking sushi in places like:

Thailand, Burma, Laos, Indonesia, Hungary, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Dubai, Mexico, and beyond.

Everywhere I went, I asked the same question:

Why import ingredients from the other side of the world
when the land beneath our feet already has everything we need?

Slowly, the answer revealed itself:

Locality. Sustainability. Respect.

I stopped trying to reproduce “Japanese food” exactly as it exists in Japan.
Instead, I focused on evolving Japanese technique through local ingredients.

This became the foundation of my style —
Japanese precision with a global, Californian spirit.

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Returning to the Source

Before building anything permanent, I returned to Japan.

I visited masters of traditional craftsmanship:
Katsuobushi makers in Makurazaki, Binchotan charcoal artisans, and other food craftsmen whose work is built on patience, humility, and time.

Working alongside them reminded me that technique without philosophy is empty —
and philosophy without craft is just talk.

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Belize: Building a Home

In 2016, I arrived in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize.

Belize felt right.
A young country, rich in culture, diversity, and local ingredients — yet with space to grow.

In 2017, I opened Jyoto Japanese Restaurant, Belize’s first authentic Japanese restaurant built around local sourcing and respect for place.

From there, the journey expanded:
• Ramen 501 – Fresh, local ramen in downtown San Pedro
• Jyoto Downtown – A small, traditional-style sushi counter
• Sky Sushi Bar – Sushi in the jungle of San Ignacio
• Ten Sushi – An evolved concept of sky sushi, reopened June 2025
• Koi Sushi – Opened December 2023 in Placencia, expanded space and added lounge December 2025
• Sushi Bus – A converted school bus turned mobile sushi bar (@sushinomadz)

Each project is not just a restaurant, but a chapter —
an experiment in how Japanese food can belong to its environment.

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Today

I now live and work across three towns in Belize, running four distinct restaurants, traveling with my sushi bus, and sharing the road with my cat, Tamago 🐈.

You can follow our journey through him here:
📸 @sushicatbelize

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Philosophy

I don’t believe food is about perfection.
I believe it’s about connection.

Between land and technique.
Between culture and people.
Between where you are and where you’ve been.

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Final Words

Life is travel.
Traveling is living.

Food is my way to listen, adapt, and build bridges.

Let’s meet somewhere on this planet —
over sushi, a story, and a smile.

Bon appétit & cheers,
— Toshiya

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

ask me!

Interests

Cooking, Traveling, Art,Anthropology....and connect all !!

• arts
• culture
• books
• dining
• cooking
• japanese food
• drinking
• clothing
• reading
• traveling
• backpacking
• anthropology

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Living life !

Teach, Learn, Share

"You have a choice, to be a Traveler or Furniture "

by toshiya tsujimoto

Countries I’ve Visited

Azerbaijan, Belize, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Guatemala, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Azerbaijan, Belize, England, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Laos, Malta, Mexico, Myanmar, Spain, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States