Hallmark’s Ryan Paevey ended the weekend by celebrating the birthday of his best friend and “little brother,” Hitoshi Yuhara, also known as Toshi Y, the owner of Shiku Sushi Bar in San Diego.
Paevey and Yuhara met as childhood friends when the Hallmark actor attended a private school with Yuhara’s sister. The sushi chef’s mom was a volunteer at the school as well, making it much easier for the youngsters to become friendly with each other.
In a podcast episode with “Hearts of Stars” host Jen Silliman, Paevey and Yuhara opened up about how they first met. Yuhara explained that the “Two Tickets to Paradise” actor was drawn to his mom and the extracurricular activities she was involved in at school.
When they were finally introduced to each other, the pair quickly bonded over their similar interests, leading Paevey to often spend more time at Yuhara’s house than his own.
Ryan Paevey Expresses Gratitude for ‘Little Brother’ Hitoshi Yuhara
To celebrate his friend-turned-family’s birthday, Paevey posted old photos of him and Yuhara on Instagram on Sunday, May 3.
The adored actor captioned the post with a meaningful message for his dear friend, writing that he had “no memories of being alive” without Yuhara by his side.
“Happy Born Day little brother!!! My best friend my whole life… have no memories of being alive without you around. Been through every major and minor life event together. I am so proud of you, and so lucky little you decided I might be an okay choice for a friend…. man would my life have sucked otherwise,” Paevey wrote.
“Oh and I’m pretty sure he’s doin a bunch of lives on Tiktok today, so l’d be super grateful if everybody could go spoil my best friend,” the actor continued. He deserves it. :).”
Ryan Paevey’s Birthday Message Leaves Toshi Y in Tears
Yuhara jumped in his pal’s comments to say how “grateful and proud” he is to be able to have Paevey in his corner, adding that he began to tear up while reading what his best friend had to say for him on his special day.
“Dude this one made me tear up (on livestream)… I am so grateful and proud to call you my big bro. I can’t imagine my life without you man. You have been a part of every milestone in my life and I can’t thank you enough for everything you do for me every day,” Yuhara wrote. “40’s are gonna be a good decade for us. Can’t wait to see what adventures we face together!”
During their “Hearts of Stars” podcast episode with Silliman in 2025, Paevey opened up about what bonded him to Yuhara and his family as a young kid.
“She’s a giver — kind of like me — so there’s always food. She taught me how to fold cranes; origami is like a big thing,” Paevey said of Yuhara’s mom. “I lived there for, like, a long time. That just became the thing . . . I was never home unless I had to [be].”
Paevey added that he and Yuhara would find themselves having fun by simply doing “make-believe stuff” as kids — something they both found comfort in as they realized their friendship was a special, lifelong connection.
