Twenty-year-old Reina Hashiguchi is studying at Tokyo Sushi Academy in Shinjuku because she dreams of opening her own sushi restaurant in Japan.
To do so, however, Hashiguchi must overcome the prejudice that sushi chefs should be men, a belief that stems from the assumption that women's body temperatures fluctuate more than men's and affects the quality of the dishes.
"I've heard that some sushi restaurants are run by women but the competition is tough," Hashiguchi says. "When I'm at work, I get asked (by customers) why I'm trying to become a sushi chef two or three times a week. I don't think anyone would ask me the same question if I were a man."