Jiro Ono, the legendary founder of the 10-seat sushi bar Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo’s Ginza district, turned 100 on Monday. So is he finally ready to hang up his knife and call it a day? Not quite. Speaking on “Respect for the Aged” day last month, Ono said he planned “to keep going for about five more years.” On the day, he was presented with a certificate ahead of his 100th birthday by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. She asked him about the secret to his health.
Jiro Ono Says ‘the Best Medicine Is To Work’
“I can no longer come to the restaurant every day… but even at 100, I try to work if possible. I believe the best medicine is to work,” was his reply. In 2023, the superstar sushi master stepped away from the day-to-day management of Sukiyabashi Jiro, with the baton being passed down to his 66-year-old son Yoshikazu Ono. That doesn’t mean he has stopped going in completely. His hands, he says, don’t work so well, but he is still able to serve special guests.
Over the years, Sukiyabashi Jiro has become a hotpot for famous people, including the likes of Tom Cruise and David Beckham. In 2014, the Japanese government called to make a lunch booking for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the then-US President Barack Obama. You would have thought those two could have got in anywhere at the time. Ono, though, wasn’t about to make an exception for world leaders. “I said no as the restaurant was fully booked, then they agreed to come later in the evening,” recalled Ono.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
In 2011, the Japanese-language American documentary film Jiro Dreams of Sushi was released. Directed by David Gelb, it profiles Ono and his two sons. Film critic Roger Ebert described it as the “definitive” film about world-class sushi. He added, “Jiro exists to make sushi. Sushi exists to be made by Jiro.” Four years before the film was released, Sukiyabashi Jiro earned three Michelin stars. It held that status until 2019, with the then 93-year-old owner being recognized as the world’s oldest head chef of a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
