From the dish pit to three sushi counters on Maui.

He spent years learning the craft and working his way up the line, from the sink to the sushi bar.

In the middle of the pandemic he took the leap instead of stepping back, and opened his own food truck.

Ten months later his first restaurant opened at Wailea Gateway in Kihei: Oao Wailea.

Three restaurants under one name. Oao Wailea for a night out, Oao Sushi Go in Kahului for fast, quality sushi, and Hachi by Oao on South Kihei Road, reopened with an all-new menu.