Recently, Ishibuchi-san and his team went to Bangkok for a collaboration event at a local sushiya. These sorts of events are becoming more common as the exclusivity and unbookable nature of many top restaurants in Japan has attracted international attention. For many foreigners, the only opportunity to eat with top Japanese chefs may be through such an event. This is certainly a way to cash in on this exclusivity with wealthy customers who have zero price sensitivity - to wit, some of these collaborations I've seen in NYC have charge 2-4x the normal course price of a meal with these chefs, with ingredients that are unavoidably of lesser quality for logistical reasons. On the other hand, international collabs are an opportunity for many chefs to reach a new audience, honor their students and friends, and promote their craftmanship to new audiences.
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For the Bangkok event, Ishibushi-san debuted several neta prepared with Thai flavors, and for a limited time offered these completely original creations as okonomi when he returned to Osaka. I don't remember what all five were, but I had enough stomach space to try two this past November: kohada in a sujime that included copious amounts of makrut lime leaf, and buri zuke in lemongrass oil. All I can say is wow. These are absolutely non-traditional sushi flavors, but in many ways fit exceptionally well in the format of a sushi meal. Vegetal and aromatic notes are typical of many seasonings associated with sushi (shiso, ume, negi, etc) and the "Thai" additions primarily added fragrance that enhanced the natural flavors of the fish rather than changing or "flavoring" them. A truly brilliant innovation, and a sign of deep respect for the opportunity to serve sushi in a foreign country. Less