From taste-testing new menus alongside her parents to sharing unforgettable memories with chefs, Sushi Taro has become a second home for junior Amira Yamazaki. Open for more than four decades, the family restaurant has remained a lasting part of both her childhood and identity.
Recently, Sushi Taro received national recognition after being named one of just 82 restaurants in the United States to receive the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO) certification of authenticity as a ‘Japanese Food and Ingredient Supporters Overseas.’
“It feels amazing [to earn this certificate,] especially because Sushi Taro has been a part of my life for so long,” Amira Yamazaki said.
Since its opening in 1986, Sushi Taro has maintained its legacy in the heart of Washington D.C. for the past four decades. The restaurant’s longstanding family ties—along with its continued dedication to cultural tradition and quality—make the certification especially meaningful for the Yamazakis.
“The restaurant means a lot to my family,” Amira Yamazaki said. “The Yamazaki name, coming from our immigrant background, [has the history of my] grandfather moving to the United States with nothing to start a restaurant that would represent all Japanese people.”
Amira Yamazaki’s father, Jin Masahito Yamazaki, followed the Japanese tradition of ‘shokunin’ with his brother, continuing his father’s legacy by taking over Sushi Taro in 2000. Throughout all of those years, the restaurant has maintained the quality of its dishes.
“I think [what makes] Sushi Taro so great is that we keep [our dishes] very original,” Amira Yamazaki said. “Washington D.C. obviously has a lot of different cultural restaurants and Japanese places, but Sushi Taro keeps everything authentic and the ingredients very real.”
It took years of trial and refinement for Sushi Taro to become the restaurant it is today. Along the way, the Yamazaki family gathered extensive feedback, carefully selected suppliers and established the identity that would set the restaurant apart.
“Food critic Tom Seedman instituted Sushi Taro,” Jin Mashito Yamazaki said. “He’s retired now, but this means our restaurant has always been far from regular. For 30 years, our restaurant has been traditional, and we plan to keep it that way. We are the most authentic Japanese restaurant in Washington D.C.”
A defining part of Sushi Taro’s identity is its emphasis on preserving traditional, Japanese ingredients and techniques—the restaurant’s key reasoning for winning the authenticity award.
“We continue to be as authentic as we have always been,” Jin Mashito Yamazaki said. “Nowadays, there are many ‘Japanese’ acclaimed restaurants that aren’t true to traditional Japanese food practices. This certificate just adds another title to our well-preserved, authentic business.”
By strictly importing from Japan, Sushi Taro maintains its high-quality sashimi and remains culturally true to its Japanese roots. The restaurant is also a favorite among many McLean students, and the years of effort invested in perfecting Sushi Taro are evident in every dining experience.
“My favorite part about my experience at Sushi Taro was the attentive service and the exceptional freshness of the food,” junior Emilia Chin said.
The restaurant’s success and recognition would not have been possible without the hard work of the Yamazaki family.
“There is a lot that goes into it to make sure this is the best experience for all of our diners,” Amira Yamazaki said. “Earning this certificate represents that while Sushi Taro is still maintaining consistency in what the customers love, and that we’re still growing as a restaurant, which feels really great to me because the award is especially prestigious.”
Design by Amelia Cho
The video showcases Sushi Taro’s seafood supply chain, tracing its journey from Kyushu Island, Japan, to Washington, D.C., where the restaurant is located. Maintaining such high-quality seafood requires careful sourcing and close attention to every step of the process.
