Arab News Japan

DUBAI: TakaHisa, Dubai’s award-winning Japanese restaurant, has opened a procurement facility within Toyosu Market in Tokyo, the world’s largest wholesale seafood market.

Located at Toyosu’s seafood auction zone, the facility will be a direct spot for sourcing, processing, and preparing seafood for same-day export to Dubai, allowing TakaHisa to source from fishers and ensuring authentic Japanese flavors for guests daily. 

Each morning, the TakaHisa’s team hand-selects seafood at auction, followed by precision techniques including ikejime, icing, and packing, all performed onsite, followed by airfreighting it to Dubai.

“This has been a long-held ambition,” says Takashi Namekata, founder of the TakaHisa Group. “Opening a dedicated facility inside Toyosu Market, with all the complexities of permission from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, is no easy task.”

“We can now speak directly with fishers and vendors, select the finest produce daily, and process it using traditional techniques like ikejime and shinkeijime, ensuring optimal quality from Japan to Dubai. We also avoid unnecessary waste, aligning with our mission of sustainable luxury dining,” he added. 

Each morning, TakaHisa’s team hand-selects seafood at auction, followed by precision techniques including ikejime, icing, and packing, all performed onsite. The speed of this operation is essential. Once prepared, the produce is air-freighted to Dubai the same day to ensure it arrives in peak condition for TakaHisa’s sushi and omakase experiences.

The expansion reflects TakaHisa’s commitment to sustainability as well as elevating Japanese cuisine in the UAE.