Ojisan’s Fish Express
Tuesday, February 10, 2009

From his 1985 Chevrolet brick truck, Sachio Fujisaki has been selling fish out of the truck for over 23 years. Many of his customers are wives of Japanese businessmen. Word of mouth has kept his business successful, despite this summer’s gas hike.


Photos | Mario G. Reyes
As a 20-something-year expert, he can tell the freshness of his products by the color of their eyes and condition of the gills.

Red snapper from Japan are among the most popular fish selected.

After purchasing the fish, he packs them with ice.

The truck travels to West Los Angeles on Mondays and Thursdays, Gardena/Torrance on Tuesdays, and Palos Verdes on Wednesdays and Fridays. At each stopping point, a continuous flow of customers enters his truck for shopping.

Sachio Fujisaki’s workdays start early. He wakes up at 4 o’clock in the morning at his Marina del Rey home and heads to the International Marine Products fish market in downtown Los Angeles. It’s dark and awfully cold. There, Fujisaki purchases a box full of fresh fish—black cod, snapper, tuna, shrimp, clams, sole—from all over the world.

Fujisaki Fish does not have a store. The Kagoshima, Japan-native has been driving around his 1985 Chevrolet brick delivery truck in West Los Angeles and South Bay for over 23 years to sell his products. Many of his clients call him “ojisan.” Ojisan loves his job. He says talking to his customers keeps him young, but his right hand suffers arthritis due to daily lifting.

“I want to retire soon, maybe when this car dies,” said Fujisaki, with a smile. “But my customers tell me not to. They said, ‘Ojisan’s fish is better than in Japan.’”

Fujisaki dreams of traveling around the country where he has lived for the past 42 years. “I haven’t even been to the Grand Canyon. Too busy.”

He used to play golf, but the arthritis prevents him from doing so. Lately, Ojisan is hooked to sea fishing.

Until his retirement day, Fujisaki keeps driving.

“The business has been good to me. I owe that to my customers.”