The owner of the Sushi Bar Zipang in Calgary, Naoya Umino, shares his life stories and his opinions about Japanese cuisine.
After moving to Canada in 1991, Umino went to a high school in Edmonton, and he moved down to Calgary and study business management at SAIT in 1995.
Back to 1989, when Umino was still in Japan, he said that was the first time he studied how to cut fish.
“I started cutting fish when I was 13 year old.
“I travelled back to Japan in summer when I was 15. I worked part-time in a couple of restaurants for three months to earn some extra money.”
That was when Umino learning the restaurant business, and enhancing his sushi knowledge from local master Hiro Hiyakutake.
Umino has been a sushi chef for nearly 26 years. He recalls the reason when he first started.
“To be honest, I was hungry,” he said with a laugh.
“At that time, sushi was expensive in Japan,
“So when I came back to Canada, I came up with an idea of having a sushi restaurant in Calgary.”
While he attending high school in Edmonton, his parents sent him back to Japan each summer to further his skills in sushi restaurants.
“My mom was an owner of Kimono shop in Japan, and my dad worked in Home Company.
“I was the only one who pursuit my career as a chef because I want to do something different.
“Plus, I was hungry.”
According to Umino, he wants to bring the atmosphere of home cook to his customers.
“To me, the cuisine of sushi is an art, and some sushi chefs are artists.
“But I don’t consider myself as an artist.”
Umino related that what he is trying to do is to make customers feel like something close to mom’s cook.
“I serve fresh sushi, sashimi, and traditional cooked Japanese cuisine.
“What I love about my job is the instant reactions I get from the customers when they try my dishes.
“Within 15 minutes, I can change their mind, whether they have a bad day at work or bad traffic day.
“If I can change your mood in positive way, that means a lot to me.”
“The price is a little more expensive but totally worth it,” said Jessica Shen, a customer.
“Food is amazing and sushi is so fresh.”
Umino said that eating sushi is like tasting wine.
“Take a breath and smell the sushi to make sure you can smell the sweet from vinegar in the rice and the fresh from the fish.
“If you have to chew it down, it’s bad sushi,” he laughs.
When Umino opened Zipang in 2004, the differences between Western and Asian culture have always challenged him.
“I want to keep the authentic taste from Japanese food,
“I didn’t adjust anything except for the portion.”
Asian people eat less and they are more picky, compares to Westerners.
“I had to set up everything in my mind to find the suitable value for them.
“If they spend around $25 for their lunch, they have to be full or 80 per cent full, and the same thing for dinner.”
Talking about pre-made sushi, Umino thanks to pre-made sushi companies and convenience stores because they created the foundation of sushi in Western countries.
“Without them, I can’t be where I am today,”
According to Umino, pre-made sushi is a different market with different target customers.
“I don’t mind pre-made sushi.
“Do I buy them?- Only I was drunk, I guess.”
Umino said that he is a workaholic.
“I work all day long. My work is pretty much the same every day. I start at 11 in the morning and I work till 9p.m., then I travel back home, all the way from the south to the north.”
Umino related that being a workaholic made him forget all of his hobbies.
“I’m a control freak, who attempts to dictate how everything is done around me.
“Sometime, I wish I could do everything by myself without needing too much staff.
“But I cannot.”
In August, 2016, Umino had a heart surgery and he stopped working for few months.
“I was in the hospital, thinking about my life, and I decided to step back a little bit and relax.
“Anything to do with my kids right now is my hobby.
“I spent my weekend walking with my children and my dogs,
“I also love tasting new ingredients.”
Umino called himself as a “friendly” guy .
“I’m a very friendly and open-minded guy, and I love talking with customers who sit in the bar.
“But if someone had disrespectful manner, I could turn from a nice guy into a bad guy.”
At this stage of his career, Amino said that he is happy with what he has archived.
“As a chef, I want to challenge myself more,
“Every day I tell myself that I can do better than yesterday,
“And that is my self-motivation.”