Sushi truck rolls into the Oakhurst foothills

Saturday, January 27, 2018
Oakhurst sushi truck rolls into the foothills
Matsumoto Samurai's Kitchen is Oakhurst's only sushi food truck. Yuji Matsumoto is the owner of Matsumoto Samurai's Kitchen.

OAKHURST, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's not even noon, but the owners of Matsumoto Samurai's Kitchen know their customers have an appetite.

Matsumoto Samurai's Kitchen is Oakhurst's only sushi food truck. Yuji Matsumoto is the owner of Matsumoto Samurai's Kitchen.

Matsumoto said,"I looked around and said, 'Oh there's no food trucks in Fresno. LA, there's a bunch but here I didn't see any.' so I said, 'Why don't we do a food truck here?'"

It's only been open two weeks and already winning over customers from across the Valley.

Matsumoto has a long history of working in the sushi business. He opened the first sushi school in the U.S. in 1998 and is a sake expert. He says one trip to Oakhurst years ago changed the course of his life.

"Three years ago my friend introduced me to this city and I fell in love and I planned to move up here. Leave the busy life of Los Angeles. I love nature here and the people are very nice. I love it."

He and his wife make everything from sushi, to poke bowls, to teriyaki bowls in the commissary kitchen in Fresno and haul it up to Oakhurst to sell.

The commute and effort are worth it.

"We've been running out of food at least within two hours. You can only carry so much in this small truck," Matsumoto said.

Customers have an appetite for his food and his story. Matsumoto was born in Japan and says he wants to bring that food to everyone. A passion for Japanese food in the mountain that's spreading.

Matsumoto Samurai Kitchen is open Wednesday through Sunday across Oakhurst.