Legendary Sushi Chef Jiro Ono Turns 100: ‘I Have No Regrets’

By Ryo Kato / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

12:10 JST, November 23, 2025

Master sushi chef Jiro Ono turned 100 on Oct. 27, but this legend of Japanese cuisine is not hanging up his apron just yet.

Born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1925, Ono moved to Tokyo when he was 25 and started on his path to becoming a sushi chef. In 1965, at age 39, he opened Sukiyabashi Jiro, a sushi restaurant in Tokyo’s Ginza district. For almost 75 years, Ono has stood behind a counter greeting customers and making sushi by hand.

“The years have flown by,” Ono said. “I love sushi, so I’ve tried to keep improving my skills little by little. Customers praise me when I serve them something a little different.”

Ono’s deeds in the kitchen have been widely acclaimed. His restaurant earned three stars in the Michelin Guide Tokyo for 12 consecutive years since the 2008 edition. Ono also became famous overseas after being featured in a documentary by a U.S. director. In 2014, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and then U.S. President Barack Obama dined together at Sukiyabashi Jiro. Ono was selected as a contemporary master craftsman in 2005, and he was awarded the Medal with Yellow Ribbon in 2014.

Ono’s approach to sushi has remained consistent through his entire career. Of the motivation that helps him come up with new ideas, Ono said, “How can I make my sushi taste even better?” He cited his distinctive octopus sushi as one example of the creativity that sets him apart from other chefs.

“I massage the octopus for about an hour before using it,” Ono explained. Massaging the octopus to break down the fibers before boiling makes the meat more tender and releases a delicious aroma. The octopus must be massaged for about an hour so it becomes tender enough to be easily bitten.

French chef maestro Joel Robuchon was a close friend of Ono’s and visited his restaurant several times. Robuchon disliked eating octopus, but he raved about Ono’s octopus sushi.

Ideal temperatures

Sushi is a simple dish featuring toppings placed on vinegared rice. Ono is especially meticulous about ensuring his sushi rice and toppings are served at precisely the right temperature. This is a time-consuming process.

In the past, sushi was typically served chilled. However, Ono broadly divides sushi into three categories that should be served at different temperatures: Silver-skinned fish should be chilled; clams and conger eel are among those that taste best at room temperature; and Japanese tiger shrimp is in the group that should be warm.

The vinegared rice is also not served cool. Ono cooks the rice and allows it to cool before he prepares the sushi, but he then warms the rice to about body temperature. He gently shapes and forms the rice so it is firm on the outside but soft in the middle. “When I was thinking about how to make sushi more delicious, I felt having it at body temperature was the best by far,” Ono said.

Getting the right balance between rice and topping is crucial. Ono selects a topping that matches the rice and then prepares the sushi. For sushi that is eaten in one bite, Ono believes it tastes better when the rice disintegrates together with the topping into the diner’s stomach.

Take abalone, for instance. Raw abalone is chewy and remains in the mouth after the rice grains have already been eaten. For this reason, Ono boils abalone in water and sake to soften it before using it as a topping.

The nori dried seaweed used for gunkan maki battleship rolls and other sushi is grilled over charcoal at Ono’s restaurant to bring out the umami and aroma. Grilling the nori improves the flavor, aroma and melt-in-the-mouth texture. “I don’t think many other sushi restaurants do this,” Ono said.

These techniques and attention to detail were explained in a 1997 book about Ono’s restaurant and elsewhere, and have widely influenced other sushi establishments and sushi chefs.

‘You can do anything’

Ono’s ability to continue making sushi for so many decades stems from his determination to match — and then surpass — the skills of the owner of the sushi restaurant where he cut his teeth in the industry.

Ono has been unable to come to the restaurant every day since last spring, so his 66-year-old eldest son, Yoshikazu, is now the main chef behind the counter. However, Ono still goes to the restaurant to make sushi when regular customers and other guests visit.

“It’s amazing that my father came up with so many ideas as he sought to make sushi even more delicious,” Yoshikazu said. “He has stuck rigidly to his policy of serving only sushi that he thinks tastes good. He said, ‘If you’re going to do something, aim to reach the top level.’ He never settled for second-best.”

Ono is proud of his career. “I’ve tried everything I can, and I have no regrets,” Ono said. However, after hearing that the oldest person in Japan is currently 114, Ono reportedly has set himself the goal of living to that age. And he has some words of encouragement for today’s working generation.

“If you diligently do your job, age becomes just a number. My peak came when I was about 60,” Ono said. “If you set your mind to it, you can do anything.”