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Yuki Chidui chases her dream and becomes first female sushi chef to own restaurant

Chef Yuki Chidui is active on social media and loves sharing pictures of her delicious creations.

CHIYODA, Tokyo — Nighttime in Akihabara! Tokyo's bustling district is the home of electronic stores, maid cafes and anime. In a place where Japanese animation seems to come to life, it won't surprise you to find a real character inside this Akihabara restaurant.

Yuki Chidui is a trailblazer in Japan. She made history in 2010.

"I am the first female sushi chef that runs a restaurant in the world," said Chidui.

For a long time, all the sushi chefs in this country were men. Generations of men were preparing, creating, and serving Japan's famous raw fish and rice.

"This has always been a man's job," said Chidui. "There was zero chance for women to become a sushi chef. No one had broken into that industry."

Yuki Chidui went to art school and studied textiles, dying, weaving and graphic design but couldn't find the perfect job. So, she decided to chase a dream.

"I heard about becoming a sushi chef at this restaurant. I started as an intern. I love sushi and want to express myself artistically through sushi," said Chidui.

It was not an easy path for Yuki Chidui.

"The reaction from others was the most difficult part. I was treated as a strange person to choose this as my job," said Chidui.

Chidui said her family always supported her dreams.

"Especially my mother," said Chidui. "She was in the fashion industry and did some cuisine. She would help me how to dress and how to wear my hair and how to look clean as a chef. She's always been a great supporter."

But she once faced scrutiny from male customers.

"Men who are sushi chefs used to come to my restaurant. They would watch me like a hawk and judge how I was doing. That was pressure on me," said Chidui.

As I visited sushi restaurants across Japan, I learned why men dominated the industry for so long. In Aomori, a male sushi chef said women were not considered good at making sushi because their hands were too hot, saying you must have a low body temperature to preserve the freshness of the fish.

"If the hands can't do a good job, it's not because of the hands, said Chidui. "It's because you don't have enough training."

Yuki Chidui has carved out success in an industry once dominated by men.

"I do bring a theme every time, like a seasonal theme. I try to put that theme on the sushi," said Chidui.

Her sushi has an artistic flair.

"I look at sushi as an art," said Chidui. "For example, tuna sushi is just white and red, two simple colors and the same as Japan's national flag. When I was studying graphic design, using 2-to-3 simple colors result in a nice art piece. But that requires a lot of research, sketching and background studies. It's the same. You need strict selection of the fish and many process of getting ready and effort. That helps the art piece when you create a masterpiece," said Chidui.

Yuki Chidui is active on social media and loves it when diners take pictures of her sushi which include creations of tuna, shrimp, octopus, squid, scallops, gizzard, and freshwater eel.

"When customers have a great reaction and take a photo and say, this is wonderful and put it on Instagram, that's the moment I feel very happy."

Yuki Chidui wants to have a connection with the people who at her restaurant.

"There's an expression in Japan - one time, one meet," said Chidui. "This comes from the tea ceremony. This will be the only moment we meet here. But it's also ironic because the sushi must be fresh and there's a very quick moment to make it. I must create many of those within one night. That's a very difficult thing for me to think about and use my brain," said Chidui.

"It's a once in a lifetime meeting," said Chidui. "I want the customer to feel that. It takes a lot of process to prepare sushi. It's unusual to have any cuisine in the world where you have direct hands on the food. I normally say I'm holding the soul of the sushi in my hands. I want the customer to feel that energy."

Chidui has since created a sushi school at the restaurant where she is the principal and trains new female sushi chefs.

The area of Akihabara has energy fueled by the people who come here for electronics, anime, and great food. These days, it's served by a character who has shown the world that a woman can serve sushi just as good as a man.

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