Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 5, 1995 TAG: 9503080004
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BECKY HEPLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Consider the product of Japanese cuisine and Southwest Virginia mindset: tangy seaweed wrapped around vinegared rice with pickled vegetables to add crunch, and - because Japanese chefs cook for the eyes as well as the stomach - a Pop-Art color combination coming from the pink of deli ham and orange of American cheese.
Call it Bubba Sushi.
While vegetarians and those who insist on raw fish in their sushi are horrified by such a creation, it's actually rather tasty, especially when dipped in soy sauce and slathered with wasabi, the horseradish sauce whose cool green color belies its ability to create a firestorm in your nasal cavities.
Kayoko Oshima had neither Nobel Prizes nor gourmet acclaim in mind when he and his wife, Ryuji, opened Kayo's Oriental Shop just off U.S. 460 in Christiansburg last October and created this makisushi for Westerners. The sociable fellow just wanted a place where people with an interest in or a connection to Japan could meet, sip green tea and become friends.
The story begins with Oshima's retirement in early 1994 from his job as a salesman for a large medical supply company in Tokyo. The city had become too dirty, too crowded and too crazy for Oshima and he wanted to spend the rest of his life somewhere else, he said through his youngest daughter, Wakako.
The Southwest Virginia connection came by way of Wakako's college choice. She is a political science major at Radford University. On trips to visit her, Kayoka and Ryuji were entranced by the natural beauty and friendliness of the people here. It seemed the place to be, so they moved here in the spring and opened shop.
The business they started is a combination gift and lunch shop. Most of the gifts, fabric arts and origami objects, are made by their oldest daughter Machiko, who still lives in Japan. There are other Japanese crafts as well such as books, ceramics and dolls.
The restaurant is designed primarily for take-out, but there is a small dining space for those who want to eat on site. The menu is small and Oshima planned it around everyday Japanese foods, but also with an eye to things that Westerners might recognize, such as Yakitori chicken, a type of Japanese barbecued chicken, vegetable curry and tempura.
Oshima sells individual dishes as well as "bentos," Japanese box lunches. He and his wife share the cooking duties. While the menu might change from time to time, Oshima said, it won't be expanded because he wants to keep that part of the business manageable.
In addition to the restaurant and gift shop, Oshima also acts as a liaison to bring exchange students from Japan to America. Again, it is all part of his interest in local culture and his desire to enlarge the network of contacts between his old land and his new. Obviously, old salesmen never die. "I want to know more American people and have many American friends," he said.
The Oshimas are coping with the differences in cultures quite well. The biggest hurdle is the language. They are fortunate to be able to depend upon their daughter to serve as translator. They are also finding big differences between the cuisines.
Oshima knows accessibility is the key to bringing cultures together. Plus, any cook worth his salt always adapts the recipes to use the ingredients on hand. Hence the makisushi features deli ham instead of fish in this land-locked region. Oshima has also discovered cheese, not a widely used foodstuff in Japan, and now offers his yakisoba, a baked noodle and vegetable dish, topped with the dairy product if desired.
It's an intricate dance with many complicated steps to open a restaurant that caters to and yet expands the tastes of its customers. Doing it in an unfamiliar language only steps up the tempo. Still, Oshima understands a fundamental concept in this performance.
"American food, taste is more robust, compared to subtle flavors of Japanese food," Oshima said. "Still, our tongues are the same."
Kayo's Oriental Shop is open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Sarturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***