International Sushi Day or Sushi Day is an observance celebrated on June 18.

International Sushi Day was first celebrated on June 18, 2009, conceived by Chris DeMay, the administrator of the “Sushi” Facebook page. At the first celebration, the “Sushi” page had over 1.3-million fans who were engaged with page updates; that day, fans posted thousands of comments about celebrating the holiday. The event carried the tagline: “Every day should be Sushi Day, but like anything that is this amazing, it deserves a day unto itself.” The minimum requirement for the 1st Annual International Sushi Day: “Eat Sushi.” Over 21,000 people confirmed their participation in this event. As of the first anniversary, June 18, 2010, the “Sushi” Facebook page had over 1.75-million fans, making it one of the top 100 largest Facebook pages.

Sushi day celebrations typically include social gatherings during which participants create and consume sushi dishes, including sushi rolls, sushi, sashimi, and other traditional Japanese and sushi-related food items. This celebration lasts the entire day, with the focus of the celebration occurring during lunch and dinner meals.

There is some question over whether this date was the first “Sushi Day”, as the publisher of SushiDay.com claims to have created the first Sushi Day on November 1, 2006, but it was the advertising of the first June 18 celebration that popularized the observance.

In 2010, to make the holiday more official, June 18 was declared as International Sushi Day in Chase’s Calendar of Events, the most comprehensive and authoritative reference available on special events, worldwide holidays, civic observations, and more. International Sushi Day will appear in the 2011 edition of Chase’s Calendar of Events.