At 100, Japan’s legendary sushi chef Jiro Ono reveals his health secret

Jiro Ono's restaurant earned three Michelin stars in 2007, making him the first sushi chef to achieve this. It kept the rating until 2019, when he was recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest head chef of a three-Michelin-star restaurant at 93 years and 128 days (Image: AP)

Jiro Ono, often called a sushi legend, recently turned 100 and declared that he is not ready for retirement yet. For the uninitiated, he held three Michelin stars for more than a decade and was recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest head chef when he was a little over 93.

When asked about the secret to his health by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, Ono didn’t bat an eyelid and replied, “To work.” He added that he plans to keep going for about five more years. Even though he is not able to visit his restaurant frequently—even at 100—he tries to work whenever possible. “I believe the best medicine is to work,” he said.

Born in Hamamatsu, Japan, in 1925, Ono started as an apprentice at a local inn’s restaurant when he was seven. He later moved to Tokyo, became a sushi chef at 25, and opened his own sushi bar, Sukiyabashi Jiro, in Ginza in 1965.

Ono’s life has been dedicated to mastering the art of sushi. In a 2012 award-winning film that featured his craft when he was 85, he shared, “I haven’t reached perfection yet. I’ll continue to climb, trying to reach the top, but nobody knows where the top is.”

What also distinguishes Ono is his passion for serving regular clients. On one occasion, he even declined the Japanese government when it tried to reserve a table for then-U.S. President Barack Obama and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2014. Since the restaurant was fully booked, arrangements were made for later in the evening.

Ono later recalled that Obama enjoyed his sushi. Ono’s son Yoshikazu, who now serves as head chef at the Ginza restaurant, told the Associated Press that Obama was particularly pleased with medium-fatty tuna sushi as he winked at them.

His restaurant earned three Michelin stars in 2007, making him the first sushi chef to achieve this. It kept the rating until 2019, when he was recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest head chef of a three-Michelin-star restaurant at 93 years and 128 days.

In 2020, Jiro Ono’s restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro was removed from the Michelin Guide because it stopped accepting reservations from the general public. Now, Ono serves sushi only to special guests, as he shared that his “hands don’t work so well.”

While he aims to live longer, he told AP, “I cherish my life so I get to work for a long time.” When it comes to his lifestyle, he doesn’t drink alcohol, walks regularly, and eats well. He is now one of almost 100,000 people in Japan who are over 100 years old, according to government figures.

(With inputs from the Associated Press)