I'm telling you, I've been eating sushi in the US of A since before most yuppies were even a tingle in their daddies' pants. It's not new to this country. I ate it in BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA in 1973.
Was that part of some hazing ritual?
During the late 1970’s, Japanese businesses started expanding to the United States, and more and more sushi restaurants opened to serve the Japanese businessmen living locally. Besides catering to the local Japanese, sushi chefs in the United States tried hard to introduce sushi to Americans, but it was difficult to persuade people to try eating raw fish. Soon, the California roll was invented, and sparked a new trend towards fusion sushi. The California roll was the perfect introductory sushi for people unfamiliar to raw fish. More and more Westerners started to eat raw fish and many adaptations were made to the Edo style sushi to adapt with western culture