Ohayo Café: Saying good morning to Montreal with Japanese yoshoku

Montrealers know Hiroshi Kitano as the purposeful solo chef in the kitchen at Kitano Shokudo, his soulful Japanese bistro in the heart of the Plateau.

But what they might not know is that twenty years ago, he left his home in Ise City, Mie prefecture on the southern Japanese island of Honshu with a dream to play basketball in America.

Now the co-owner of the light-filled, brand-new Ohayo Café right next door to Kitano Shokudo, Hiroshi’s passage to Montreal—and away from basketball—makes perfect sense.

“We found the best place for me and my family to live,” he says. “We’re super happy here.”