My first encounter with japan was when I was 27 years old. I came to Japan for my vacation and visited Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. I immediately fell in love with the country as it has great food, high-quality fresh produce, superb scenery and a diverse culture.

My motto is “stay positive,” because you can only be productive and perform at your best if you always have positive thinking; you are never afraid to go out of your comfort zone and try new things. If you fail, you always need this positive thinking to start all over again until you reach your goals.

I am proud that I was able to run kitchens from a stand-alone restaurant to a five-star hotel, including staff from many different cultural backgrounds, and that I was able to bring them together to achieve a common goal.

I would like to make Pullman Tokyo a market leader, establish the Pullman style in Tokyo and make Kasa one of the city's dining destinations, rather than just a standard hotel restaurant.