Takahiro Hirai was born on Kyushu Japan’s southern-most island where both parents were active in Japanese politics. Taka’s father is a descendent from a samurai family whose family crest is used as a leitmotif to unify the design of the Taka Restaurant dining room. Taka studied economics at a university in Tokyo and upon graduating came to the United States to perfect his English. While is the states, he worked at well known sushi restaurants in Miami Beach and Nantucket before moving to New Jersey in 1997. Here he joined the staff of Kessler’s Catering in Elberon where he made sushi for large events and soon after with the help of Kessler’s owners, he opened TAKA Restaurant in March of 2005.