TL;DR Sliced wagyu…read more On a stick. ----- What you see is what you get! WagyuKushi is a food stall located outside of Don Quijote by Ala Moana. It serves delicious, thin-sliced wagyu skewers in several formats. I opted for the for plate lunch option, which comes with a large serving of furikake-topped rice, either tossed salad or charred romaine lettuce (I chose the romaine), and two skewers with a side of their special wasabi sauce. Be prepared to wait a while as they prepare the skewers. I'd say my order took about 20-25 minutes from when I ordered to when I was handed my plate. Other than that, my only real complaint is that you can't select a temperature option for your skewers. Their standard is to overcook the meat to ensure uniform doneness (and, I'm sure, avoid any food-related illnesses). Since the meat is marbled and fatty, it's still relatively tender and juicy, so it's not a huge deal. But just a heads up. The skewers were delicious, especially paired with the tangy wasabi sauce. I'm a relatively big eater and two skewers were sufficient, but next time I'll probably add one more to really feel full.

Probably like my 100th visit to this place!…read more I always order the Wagyu plate with all greens. The service is always quick and the workers are always friendly. The meat is always perfectly done, I love how thin they cut it. The best part is the sauce the plates come with. So bomb!

TL;DR Refined…read morebentos, musubis, and other Japanese dishes to go. ----- HIGOTO Japanese Eatery (HJE) is a solid option for takeaway Japanese food. I had HJE on my radar for a while and was finally able to stop in for lunch in the first week of July 2026. The restaurant is located in the same shopping plaza as the Kaimuki Times. In fact, it's on the ground floor next to Times. It's tucked behind some large concrete walls next to the parking lot, but just keep your eyes open and you should be able to find it. I ordered the Fish Lovers bento and a Cheeseburger musubi, both with the mulitgrain rice. The Fish Lovers bento was PACKED with offerings, including chikuwa, ahi katsu, shrimp tempura, miso butterfish, grilled saba (?), and grilled salmon, plus an assortment of wonderful side dishes. The Cheeseburger musubi included a beef patty topped with cheese, plus multigrain rice all wrapped in nori. I was a big fan of both my choices, and I would definitely order them again!

We went to this place late. Everything was sold out nearing closing time. But there were just a…read morecouple of bentos and musubis. So we bought what was there. I was so upset with myself, because I wanted to go here weeks ago when I found it by accident on Instagram, lol. Next time I will not forget. So the bento that was left was the chicken Kara'age. I wasn't expecting much since it was the last meal available. I decided to try it after organizing my clothing in my closet. Honestly I wasn't hungry, but it was approaching 5pm which was very late for me, lol. I nuked it a little to get it warm removing all the cold items out first then ate the side dishes first I thought mmm, not bad. But then came the chicken and I was mesmerized by the first bite. I thought okay take a few more bites then judge it. So I thought maybe I was starving, so I dipped it into the sauce it came with and my mouth started to have a party inside! The dip reminds me of Japan and the red rice is exactly how my Okinawan mom used to make it. Well, I'm sold and if this is the least wanted plate of the entire day I can't even imagine how spectacular the others must taste. The lady at the register was so kind and apologized several times for being sold out. I totally understand but she definitely meant the apology I can tell. Reminds me of Japan again and she was wearing a mask which is a Japanese custom these days. There is a little table outside for seating of three I think. This place is small but don't be fooled, I heard and seen the massive line this awesome eatery can get. Go early and the wait will definitely be worth it.

Texted my takeaway request for a Kasane Tonkatsu Bemto and a small Churry. A what, you ask? Not a…read morecurry...not a churro...but a mix of Japanese curry and Japanese (?) chili. You can call in or text, 8087720146, your order. I don't know of any app they might be affiliated with...or any online option. Unfortunately, they were sold out of the Churry and may offer it Friday. Their IG post stated availability only this Thursday and Friday. A bit disappointing but mitigated by the excellent katsu bento. The only quibble: they don't provide enough sauce. The thinky layered pork - mille-feuille style - was tender and the panko crust crisp. I haven't been to Nana Ai Katsu in a while and had forgotten just how fantastic their tonkatsu is...damn.

I'm going to start with the best part..the tonkatsu. Hands down, made with perfection. Very tender,…read morefreshly made, and the katsu sauce was on point. At this price point, it couldn't be any better. We also ordered the Takoyaki and that was pretty good too, just a little too much batter for my preference but that's just me. Staying at this price point is well worth the value of the food because you will basically serve yourself. Don't get me wrong, the lady who greeted us and took our order was super friendly and energetic, but staying at this price makes sense because not only do you seat yourself which is a no biggie, but we had to ask for water when we realized we weren't being served and had to get napkins. Only chopsticks are on the table you sit at. We sat near the little koi bucket and as the sign says, the koi really do greet you which was super cute. Respect the koi should you choose to sit there lol. Definitely multiple returns for me. Oh, and they do close at 2p so make sure to at least get there by 1p if you would like to take your time to enjoy the deliciousness. But check their hours because they have different times on certain days.

Finally got to try this place and we enjoyed it a lot !…read more There is parking right in front, also a map on the front door. Sometimes it can get busy so you might want to give yourself more time to find parking. We ordered the following Chicken skin gyoza - delicious Tako wasabi - also very good Curry udon - per my friend it was okay, something about it having a bonito taste in it that she didnt like Tendon w/ mini udon - very delicious wish there was more udon. The tempura on the bowl included- 2 shrimp, eggplant, sweet potato, kabocha, egg, and shishito pepper. Negitoro w/ mini udon - the fish was very good. Service was great! Will come back to get a bowl of the udon !

The first time I came here, I was just so impressed and everything was delicious! I was meeting up…read morewith friends for pau hana and I didn't realize most of the city had Friday off because of the 4th of July weekend. We were going to meet somewhere else, but I suggested here. Cheerful greeting when I came in. They have really good AC! Ordered a pitcher of beer, some edamame, and fried udon noodles. This is something I've never had and they are addicting! We had the tofu salad which was really good! I also loved the cream cheese stuffed fish cakes(?) soooooo good! For dinner I had the Nobeyaki udon which was really good and I loved the broth! Again, a really great place to come to! Mahalo Udon Yonpachi!

Great experience eating here for lunch. Staff were really nice and food was fresh and delicious…read more My friend and I were able to get seated right away. We arrived at 10:30am and then realized he just missed the breakfast menu option. But it's okay because their regular menu was enough for us. Ordered the pork miso soup. Worth it!!! So tasty and flavorful. They did not skimp on the veggies and thinly sliced pork in the soup. I ordered the tuna mayo, spicy ahi, and unagi. Food came fast and each. My favorite was the spicy ahi! The unagi was a nice thick piece and a perfect amount of spice ahi. Rice is cooked to perfection and everything was seasoned very well. There is a private lot connected to the building. They validate, I think the first hour is free and we must have stayed an extra hour, so paid $2.00 for parking, not bad.

Awesome little spot. Musubis were fresh and with high…read morequality rice and salts. Nori was awesome too!

SO impressed with Sakurajima. I always wanted to try their food after seeing social media videos! I…read morewas able to snag one of the last two daily bento specials and it was PERFECT for lunch. I don't want to eat too much heavy stuff for lunch and it was very carefully presented and curated in a way that was so artistic! I was very impressed with the variety of dishes in one bento and it's definitely something I would come back for. The portion size was perfect and just right! It makes a perfect lunch! I did not feel sluggish after and still felt very satisfied. So much different flavors and selections in one bento. I also saw that you can order food as well. I heard the curry is really good too. I want to come back and try their other foods on their menu :). Definitely one of my new favorite bento places. Service was kind and helpful.

I don't like udon. Something about the girth of those fat noodles makes me abhor the texture. Maybe…read moreit's the taste of the noodles to sauce ratio. I much rather eat saimin, ramen, soba, or somen noodles. Nevertheless, Sakurajima at Midtown seems to specialize in udon dishes, and since it was my turn to pay for our weekly lunch, I invited Alan and Sean to eat there. The reason I chose Sakurajima was that its predecessor was Hatsuhana in the Hilton Hawaiian Village, an excellent Japanese restaurant that closed in mid-August, 2025 after being in business at that location for over 40 years. Our regular group of 9 Yelpers plus Steven U. and Irene M. dined at Hatsuhana's Sunday morning buffet to celebrate Paul C's birthday about a couple weeks before they closed. The food was excellent. Anyway, getting back to the present and Sakurajima, Sean ate the chicken curry. I ate the fried shrimp curry. It was not memorable, but ok. Alan raved about the quality and price of their bento. Food prices are reasonable, parking is free and access to the food court is an easy escalator ride downstairs. Will probably repeat. .

Yohei Sushi Restaurant opened in 1990 in Kalihi by founder/sushi chef Kazuto Obara and his wife who…read morehad immigrated to Hawaii from Hiroshima in the 1970's. It was his dream to open his own authentic Japanese restaurant using his special omakase experience from Japan and one of the first authentic sushi restaurants in Honolulu. It was a concept of "bringing Japan's finest to Hawaii" with a desire to "build a bridge between the two cultures of Japan and Hawaii." In 2018, operations were taken over by Testsuya Matsuda. A 2nd location was opened in Kahala in Jan 2024 by Hiroshima Mazda, whose specialty is traditional Japanese sushi (or omakase). Yohei Sushi 's menu offerings include: * Teishoku (or set meal). Comes with miso soup, rice, Japanese pickles, cold soba noodles, seasonal side dish. Main entrees are sashimi, tempura, maguro, misoyaki butterfish, ahi steak, saba. Salmon, ahi belly, katsu, and more. * Sushi Bar. With miso soup. Menu offerings are deluxe & standard assorted sushi, maguro don, Chirashi sushi. * Noodles. Choice of udon or soba with various combinations, e.g., nabeyaki, tempura, tororo, tanuki, zaru, kitsune, tori, tukimi, kake, and ojiya udon. Also, combo meals of tendon/noodle, sushi/noodle; and donburi of unaju, oyako don and ten-ju. * Side order & ala carte. Includes sashimi, chawanmushi, ika, shinkomori, murokyu, soft shell crab, miuzuku, Hiyahakko, edamame, tempura. Ahi belly katsu, misoyaki butterfish, saba, seafood tempura, maguro temprta, ahi steak, salmon. We've had the following: * Tendon and Noodle. Deep fried tempura of shrimp and assorted veggies in a rice bowl with sauce & hot udon. Very filling and tasty! * Tempura Teishoku. This teishoku had 3 large pieces of fried tempura shrimp and assorted veggies, e.g., carrot, eggplant, green beans, pumpkin, that were light and non-oily. Our teishoku meals came with pickled veggies, cold soba, rice, and miso soup with lots of wakame and radish sprouts. Very flavorful! They also offered a complimentary birthday scoop of ice cream with a dollop of an as a topping, which was refreshing and paired well! * Maguro Tempura Teishoku. Hubby's choice of fried tempura tuna set, and he noted that there were 8 large tender pieces of maguro that was lightly fried and non-oily. Very delicious and filling! * Unagi nigiri. The unagi was so flaky, tender, and light and had the right amount of sauce. Loved it! The presentation of the meals was beautifully plated with real, authentic Japanese small dish bowls and plates. The food was of good quality and very flavorful! Customer service was excellent! Diners are greeted by staff upon entering and thanked when leaving. The old-time servers were very patient, attentive, welcoming, and gracious! Our food orders came out in a timely manner, and the servers, with smiles, frequently asked if everything was okay and if we needed anything else. Hours of operation are: lunch daily from 11a to 2p, dinner from 5p to 9p, closed Wed. Happy hour is from Thurs to Tues from 1:30p to 5p. Located in Kokea Center that looks like a run-down strip mall at Dillingham Blvd and Kokea St, the restaurant interior has a great ambiance as if you were dining in Japan, as it is comfortable and welcoming. It was amazing to see almost every table was taken by dining customers. Reservations are a must, as people are turned away. Good thing I called for lunch reservations at 12:15p on a weekday, which was tha last table available. And the restaurant was packed the entire time that we were there! Free parking in the private lot shared by other businesses, as well as metered street parking. Yohei Sushi has been successful over the past years in its presentation, flavors, taste, and customer service, and we hope to return to try different menu offerings!

TL;DR A terrific…read moreJapanese restaurant with high-quality set courses. ----- Yohei is a quintessential Japanese restaurant in the heart of Honolulu. The food is delicious, the presentation is on point, and the service is attentive and friendly. There are many great Japanese spots in Honolulu, and Yohei is certainly one of them. During my most recent visit, I ordered the Shrimp and Maguro Tempura Teishoku. I've never had tuna tempura before, so I decided to try it. The teishoku comes with several small side dishes, the tempura, doba, rice, and miso soup. It's a solid amount of food. Everything was oishikatta, and I left the restaurant feeling full. The tempura was airy, crunchy, and cooked to perfection. The soba noodles were chewy and springy, and the side dishes nicely complimented the main courses. I enjoyed it all! There are so many Japanese options in Honolulu, but I will certainly be back to Yohei at some point.

Tempura Man is tucked behind Aloha Mamacita near the parking structure in Restaurant Row, serving…read moremade-to-order tempura, udon, and gyudon Monday through Friday from 10AM-3PM. They just opened on Friday, May 22! Sad that I don't work nearby because if I did, I'd probably be here every day. I got the a la carte tempura. There were originally four pieces, but only two made it into the picture because I couldn't wait to eat them. The tempura was crisp, light, airy, and not too oily. It also came with a tempura salt I'd never had before that really enhanced the flavor. The owners were down to earth and provided great customer service. Such a solid lunch spot if you're in the area!

Finally nice to meet you Tempura man!! I had Tempura udon…read morewhich comes with 2 shrimps and one pumpkin tempura, hot kake udon and it's $11.50 very reasonable! Tempuras were made to order, very crispy and hot.