In an alternate reality, Masaharu Morimoto would be fielding questions from sports journalists. He might even be talking about his transfer from Japan’s top-flight baseball league to Major League Baseball in the United States.
But a severe injury to his shoulder in high school put the possibility of becoming a professional baseball player — ideally for the Hiroshima Carp — to rest.
So instead of talking baseball, Morimoto is in his new restaurant located in Pontocho — Kyoto’s storied dining and nightlife alley overlooking the Kamo River — discussing what pushed him to become a sushi chef and why he made the move from Hiroshima to New York, becoming one of the most recognizable Japanese chefs outside of Japan in the process.