# 「マグロは、おふくろ。」すしざんまい木村社長が語る寿司と人生（#639）

- Show: Hapa英会話 Podcast
- Published: 2026-10-14
- Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/814040014_492b3084af70.html
- Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/65a19d6398c1070016f3e0f8/e/6abf0ce6461e70fab382571c/media.mp3
- Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary.

Sushizanmai's president Kimura sat down to discuss everything from his experiences in Los Angeles more than fifty years ago to the behind-the-scenes story of how the California roll was born, why he calls tuna his "mother," and the customer-first philosophy that anchors his business—all framed by the opening of the chain's first overseas location in LA's Koreatown. Half a century of sushi-making life is packed into a single episode.

## What this episode answers

### Why did Sushizanmai choose Los Angeles's Koreatown for its first overseas location?

The deciding factor was proximity—LA is the closest major city to Japan across the Pacific and is reachable on a single nonstop flight. Kimura also chose Koreatown specifically because fifty-plus years of business with Korea convinced him that Korean customers have an even sharper eye for freshness than Japanese customers, so earning their approval in that competitive neighborhood would prove the restaurant's genuine quality.

### How did the California roll come to be?

About fifty years ago in LA, Kimura couldn't obtain nori, so he improvised by torching discarded salmon skin until crispy and rolling it in place of traditional nori—a creation he named "Tiger Eye" for its cross-section pattern. Later, after discovering large avocados near Tijuana and pairing them with low-fat yellowfin tuna and mayonnaise, he wrapped everything in an inside-out roll with rice on the outside instead of nori, and the California roll was born.

### What differences exist between American and Japanese sushi preferences and dining styles?

After a year of operation, customers who can appreciate the subtle flavor differences in tuna have started to appear, which Kimura finds encouraging. Americans eat more loudly and cheerfully than Japanese customers, and Kimura actually wishes Japanese diners would approach meals with the same energy.

### What does tuna mean to President Kimura?

Tuna is like an "okufuro" (mother) to Kimura—a presence he must cherish that simultaneously looks after him, having taught him the values of treasuring people, sharing food, and the joy of eating.

### What is Sushizanmai's business philosophy and brand direction in the United States?

Kimura's consistent policy is to "build a restaurant loved by customers rather than fixate on brand," with the core philosophy being that everyone works together putting the customer first, because there is no future for them without customer happiness.

## Article

## Why Sushizanmai Chose Los Angeles's Koreatown for Its First Overseas Location

The main reason Sushizanmai selected Los Angeles for its first international venture was geography: across the Pacific, LA is the closest major city to Japan, reachable on a single nonstop flight. For President Kimura (木村社長), that proximity matters enormously for hands-on management. The specific choice of Koreatown came from fifty-plus years of business dealings with Korea, which gave him a firm conviction: Korean customers have an even sharper eye for freshness than Japanese ones. If the restaurant could earn their approval in that intensely competitive neighborhood, it would be proof of genuine quality. After roughly a year of operation, Kimura says the reality has not diverged greatly from his expectations—though he did find that getting the business up and running, including navigating permits and licensing, was more complex than the day-to-day operations themselves.

## The Untold Story of the California Roll—From Tiger Eye to Avocado

President Kimura played a direct role in the birth of the California roll. More than fifty years ago, a senior colleague took him to a sushi restaurant in downtown LA, where they were turned away with "We don't have nori, so we can't make nori rolls." Nori was scarce: with fewer direct flights from Japan at the time—most routes stopped over in Anchorage—seaweed was so precious that friends hand-carried it from Japan.

Stuck without nori, Kimura noticed some discarded salmon skin lying around. Loath to waste it, he torched the skin with a burner until it was crispy, then used it in place of nori in a tuna roll. The result was "crispy, with the salmon fat coming through beautifully." The cross-section resembled a tiger's eye, so he called it "Tiger Eye."

Later, Kimura went fishing in Southern California with the same colleague, where they caught mostly yellowfin tuna (キハダマグロ)—a pale, low-fat variety. At a market near Tijuana, they found avocados as large as a child's head. Splitting one open and eating it with yellowfin and mayonnaise, Kimura thought it was delicious. Because nori was still hard to come by, he wrapped the filling inside-out with the rice on the outside, using avocado both inside and around the exterior. The California roll was complete. "The idea of putting avocado in sushi wouldn't normally occur to you," Kimura explains. "But because yellowfin is low in fat, the richness of the avocado works perfectly with it."

## American Attitudes toward Sushi and Japanese Hospitality

Kimura acknowledges that "American customers still don't fully know the real depth of Japanese-style eating," but after a year of business he is genuinely pleased that some guests have begun to appreciate the subtle flavor differences between grades of tuna. On distinctly American creations like spicy tuna rolls and rainbow rolls, his view is generous: "As a category of inside-out rolls, they have their place—food culture grows from there."

On dining atmosphere, he finds that "Americans eat more brightly and cheerfully than Japanese people—I actually wish Japanese people would eat with more joy and energy." The hospitality style at the LA store remains Japanese for now, but Kimura acknowledges there are things worth learning from Americans in return: their smiles, their energy, their rhythmic movements.

## Tuna Is "Okufuro" (Mother)

Asked what tuna means to him personally, Kimura answered without hesitation: "Okufuro, I'd say—like a mother." Tuna is something he must cherish, and at the same time something that looks after him. "Through tuna, I've been taught so many things: the spirit of treasuring people, the joy of sharing food, the pleasure of eating." Just as a mother is always the one you can return to no matter what happens, tuna holds exactly the same place for him.

## Business Philosophy and Outlook for the United States

When asked about his management philosophy, Kimura was modest at first—"I don't really have one as such"—but then said plainly: "There is no path forward for us unless our customers are happy. Everyone works together as one, putting the customer first—that is why we exist." When customers keep coming, his team can smile; and that smile, he says, is something customers give to them. On brand strategy in the US, his answer was equally simple: "I don't want to fixate on brand. I want to build a restaurant that customers love."

## Takeaways

- The California roll was invented by President Kimura himself more than fifty years ago in LA, born of necessity when nori was unavailable—he substituted torched salmon skin, then later paired avocado with low-fat yellowfin tuna in an inside-out roll.
- After a year of operation in Koreatown, American customers are beginning to appreciate the subtle differences in tuna flavor, giving Kimura real confidence that authentic Japanese sushi culture can take root in the US.
- "Customer-first, not brand-first"—Sushizanmai's overseas expansion is anchored in the same single-minded philosophy that drives its domestic operations: the restaurant exists solely to make customers happy.