Although Chef Kawamura currently practices his culinary skills in a ramen restaurant, he began his career at a French restaurant in Japan. His uncle had some connections at a French restaurant near Haneda Airport. That was where Kawamura began his culinary training. The restaurant had more than ten trainees. As beginner without any professional knowledge or experience, Kawamura was not even allowed to touch any food at all. All Kawamura could do was try to learn chefs’ skills by simply watching their work while he devoted himself to washing pots and pans. In the demanding restaurant world of Japan, where it is considered to be the norm that “potboys spend their entire lives carrying water, whereas cooks spend theirs washing pots and pans,” it was nearly hopeless to hope for a promotion in the foreseeable future. Kawamura left that French restaurant after five or six years of training and worked at several other Western food restaurants in the same area.

It was in November of 1979 when Kawamura came to the United States. An acquaintance of Kawamura was opening a Japanese restaurant at the Kyoto Resorts International Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey and invited Kawamura to come on board as chef. Working at a Japanese restaurant was a whole new experience for Kawamura. From the proper way of cleaning fish to the distinctive presentations that reflect Japanese culture, Chef Kawamura learned the unique approach required in this new environment firsthand. After much deliberation, Chef Kawamura began entertaining customers by introducing dishes served on wooden boats and adding live flowers as an accent. Chef Kawamura came up with the ideas by thinking creatively in order to avoid being ordinary and predictable. Back then, these were very innovative presentations which American people had rarely seen before.