I personally don&#x27;t think that years spent washing rice will improve the taste of the food, but it may give the chef an appreciation for what he&#x27;s doing.<p>The biggest difference between sushi joints is quality of fish. Everywhere in Japan can get fresh fish daily. The best I&#x27;ve had outside Japan was in Tenerife at the fish market in Santa Cruz. A lot of foreign places skimp because they don&#x27;t care and neither do their customers. In Japan you wouldn&#x27;t want to be known as &quot;the guy who makes crappy sushi&quot;.<p>In the same vein, does the Japanese tea ceremony produce objectively better tea? Probably not, but it&#x27;s a ritual.