Ahmed Bishara clasps a vinegared rice ball in his hand and quickly pastes wasabi on a slice of raw salmon on the cutting board before him. He puts the rice ball on the salmon, turns it upside-down and presses it tightly into shape with his palm and fingers. The entire process takes about 10 seconds.
Bishara wets his hands and tackles his next piece of nigirizushi (hand-pressed sushi), this time using a slice of kanpachi (amberjack). After three minutes his time is up. He arranges the 18 nigirizushi on his cutting board and awaits his teacher's verdict.
Bishara is one of six non-Japanese students who enrolled in Tokyo Sushi Academy's sushi diploma course during July and August. The academy, located in Shinjuku Ward, is the only school in Japan devoted solely to the nation's most well-known dish. It also boasts Japan's only sushi-making course in English.