Travel Influences: Daisuke Utagawa

Daisuke Utagawa is responsible for two of my favorites restaurants in Washington, DC: Sushiko and Daikaya. When I’m missing Japan, I know where to get my fix of Japanese cuisine.  This summer, I met Daisuke for an Omakase dinner at Sushiko and I was not only taken by the food but his travel stories. He actually gave me some amazing travel tips for my Liguria trip.  I asked him to be part of my Travel Influences series and he graciously agreed.  

About Daisuke Utagawa Travel Influences

1. What was your first trip abroad as an adult? What were your impressions?

This is a tricky one. My first overseas trip as an adult was moving to USA (for the second time) from Japan as a Sushi Chef.  My first visit to the US was in 1969 as a kid.  I left the US when anti Vietnam war sentiment was raging (George McGovern was running for the president), and hippie culture was the norm.  I returned to the US in 1983 and the popular culture was completely different, “business / corporate / currier” was the main focus of most people.

My first trip out of the US I think, was to the British Virgin Islands. There, aside from obvious things such as amazing sea and scenery my impression was how different the cuisine was to that of the US. Even though available groceries locally are very similar to what one can find in US, what people did with it was totally different, especially home cooking. Growing up in Tokyo, I was pretty familiar with Chinese and European cooking, but this was something really different, and it made me started thinking about a cuisine as crystallization of a local culture.

2. How does travel inspire the menus of your restaurants? 

Although my restaurants are Japanese restaurants, I learn a great deal from experiencing how other culture relates to the local cuisine. I’m always looking for different thought processes in creating dishes; algorithm, if I’m permitted to call it that. This algorithm is formed by the long process of environment and people arriving at the particular local cuisine. I also have fun trying to figure out the people by what and how they eat. Bringing all that back and juxtapose it to the Japanese cuisine helps me to have deeper understanding of my own cuisine. And incorporating the algorithm – or thought process- to our cuisine where it fits is also fun.

3. You grew up in Japan and travel back there often. What are you must-see places?

• Must “see” places and must “eat” places are often the same for me hahaha. So let me stick to must “see” places.  Saihouji (Temple) in Kyoto. This is one of the most special places on earth for me. It is amazing how a man made garden can really show essence of nature/universe in such a profound way. If you go there, try to empty your mind as much as possible. The temple has 30 minutes mandatory meditative calligraphy session before entering the garden. This helps doing just that.
• Tsukiji fish market. Foodstuff creeping in, haha. The workers in the market are really bothered by tourists, as this place is really meant for professional fishmongers only. Having said that, I still recommend “civilians” to go and check it out before its relocation. One can feel the soulof Tokyo at Tsukiji.
• Marukoma Onsen at Shikotsuko Hokkaido. This is a hot spring spa by Shikotsu Lake in Hokkaido. There is a Japanese saying “inochi no sentaku” which roughly means cleansing of life. I do just that there.

4. From a culinary perspective, which place (Aside from Japan) inspires you the most? Why?

• Burgundy France. The winemaking philosophy of the good wine producers of Burgundy deeply resonates with what I believe in in terms of cuisine and drinks. They are living this philosophy, not just talking about it. (actually most don’t talk, they just do) I have tremendous respect for them.
• Genova /Liguria Italy. How people in Liguria have a deep understanding of the sea and the mountain, and how they approach the ingredients to make dishes.
• Hong Kong. One of the most dynamic food cities in the world. The long history of Hong Kong residents’ obsession with food has created amazing eateries. One table a night private restaurants, food stalls that serve most delicately and expertly prepared dishes, and hidden dim-sum restaurants that use exotic ingredients that are no longer available. And much much more in a small island. I always find something incredible when I go to HK.

  

5. Please share your favorite travel tips.

• To visit Saihouji (Moss garden in Kyoto), normally one must go through an arduous process of mailing them a request to visit together with self-addressed and pre-paid post card and wait for few weeks for reply. But there is sort of a back door….. Hire a local taxi for a day to hit the notable spots in Kyoto, and ask the driver if there is any way to get in to Saihouji. There are usually few slots open due to cancellation, and the drivers have connections. Since Kyoto is a bit spread out, its good to hire a cab for a day to see the sights and hit good eateries anyway.
• Normally arriving in Tokyo from the US, one wakes up very early, say about 5am and very hungry. This is the best time to go to Tsukiji market and hang out a bit and then tuck in to one of the food stalls by 6am.
• I like to drive in Europe, so I would fly in to Geneva and rent a car there. The rental cars in Switzerland are usually cheaper, and in better condition. They also have better selection.
• f you like skiing in Europe and are tired of smart places in the Swiss, Italian and French Alps? Try Austria. Skiing is great, accommodations are warm, welcoming and family oriented, great food, and not as expensive as the rest.
• For outdoor oriented people who are also passionate eater, try Hokkaido. Hokkaido is good for both winter and summer. In the winter, the best powder snow can be found in Hokkaido. In the summer, hiking / camping is amazing. Together with abundant amazing seafood, farmed products and hot springs, it’s a big wonder for me why more international travelers don’t go to Hokkaido. I mean where else can one have an epic day skiing on powder snow all day, then soak in a mineral natural hot springs, then dine on most amazing sashimi? Oh, and Nikka factory in Otaru sells factory only whiskeys that are just amazing…

Big thanks to Daisuke Utagawa for taking the time to answer my travel influences interview (and for the lovely Italy travel tips). We followed his foodie advice in Camogli and had an unforgettable dinner!  Check out his restaurants, Daikaya in Downtown DC and Sushiko in Chevy Chase, MD.