In 1977, he moved to Los Angeles and worked at Japanese restaurants "Mitsuwa" and "Oshou." In 1987, he opened his own restaurant "Matsuhisa" on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. It was in the Matsuhisa he came to know Robert De Niro, who encouraged him to open a restaurant in New York. By 1994, he laid the foundation to a new restaurant chain, as he opened the first "Nobu" in Tribeca, New York in a joint venture between Robert De Niro, Drew Nieporent, Meir Teper and himself. In 1995 he received the James Beard Foundation Award and was nominated for it several times in the following years.