Sushi is not just very popular in Japan, it starts gaining popularity in America and Europe also. More and more sushi-establishments are opened here.

Japan knows then thousands of sushi-establishments nowadays. The training to be a sushi-chef (Itamae) takes years. The pupil starts working in the sushi-establishment when only 15-17 years old and has to do all kinds of chores. After a couple of yours he may help prepare the rice. After that he learns to cut the fish and finally how to make the sushi. He has to watch the Itamae work and learn from this. Only when he knows everything there is to know, he can open his own sushi-establishment.

The most popular kind of sushi- "Nigiri-zushi"- is from later origin: it developed at the beginning of the 19th century in Tokyo (then called Edo). No fermenting process was used, the rice got it's taste by adding vinegar. A piece of fresh fish was put on top of the rice.

Sushi originates from a way of conserving fish. Layers of rice and fish were piled up in a jar, which was then firmly shut. This way, the fish could be preserved for a long time. When the fish was eaten, the rice was thrown away. Later, methods were developed to speed up the fermenting process. The rice now got a sharp-sweet taste and could be eaten too. Sushi made that way still exists and is called "nare-zushi".