My first time to the Big Island and was advised to go here for dinner. It did not disappoint!! I loved that we got seated way in the back to the private area. The restaurant was crowded so obviously it's a good place to eat. I was waiting for my friends to arrive and surprised them with the Boat! I had them order proteins not knowing I ordered already. They live on the Big Island but I guess never ordered the boat as they were sooo surprised and happy when they saw it. I loved the atmosphere and the service was amazing. We had 3 different servers check on us. I did eat a little of everything my friends ordered but the boat was pounded first. I will definitely come back on my next visit which is very soon!! read more

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We arrived 30 minutes after they opened (11:00 AM) and it was already crowded on a Saturday. It was our first time here. The staff was friendly. We both ordered the bento box lunch special and an order of a Philly roll. I had the one item box, shrimp/vegetable tempura. My husband got the two item box, the katsu chicken and the shrimp/vegetable tempura. Food was delicious! Great service as well. read more

Sakura - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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It is not really a Japanese food, for a Japanese person... Their miso soup doesn't taste like real miso.

Food is on point which makes up for the service. Great location, chill and laid back little spot. Good for lunch, dinner, date night, family dinner, friends night out... read more

Sakura - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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One of the best meals I had on the island, Had better nabeyaki though on the mainland. But the spider roll and the dragon roll were pretty tasty. read more

Sakura - Half eaten spider-man roll and dragon roll - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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Called in for a pickup order (Sakura Boat) about an hour before closing. The order was ready quickly. Everything was packed nicely, they even put some cardboard on the bottom of the bag to support the 2 miso. The sushi & sashimi were good. Thick slices. Ambience inside at pickup was nice & mellow. read more

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Pretty good sushi, fresh and made well. We ordered the Captains Boat which was about 35 pieces of sushi, chicken teriyaki, beef teriyaki, tempura vegetables, and 2 miso soups for $60. The meal was very good. The server was very nice, she was a local and told us about growing up on Big Island when we asked her about beaches. She was super great to talk to. Her customer service was great! The negative 2 stars was because: 1. The cleanliness of the booth we sat at was bad, the window wall that separates the booth from the other booth, was filthy and I almost couldn't eat after noticing it. 2. Our server gave us the bill, and not even 3mins later, the front hostess came and grabbed the tab. We looked at her and stopped her to say we had not yet had a chance to have a look and it, nor put a card in the jacket to pay...she then set it back down. 3. Front hostess kept hovering to pickup the bill, but we were still eating..OMG it was super unprofessional. 4. We are traditional, so when we get our table bill, we like to hand it back to our server, as a courteous way to tip and say thank you. The front hostess quickly grabbed our check again when we put a credit card into the jacket, and ran off to charge it. 5. We commented at the table that this was super rude. After the front hostess brought the bill back for signature, we held onto it until our server came back to thank her and tip her. The front hostess hovered the whole time, but we were not giving her the final signed bill, that courtesy belongs to the server. 6. My husband went to restroom after we paid and I waited up front (not even 3min went by). Within 3 mins, the front hostess had the busser clear our dishes, and she immediately sat another party of 2 down at our seat. No wiping down the table, just sat them there that quickly. That's gross. Food was good, server was great, front hostess rude, and seating area was filthy. read more

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Sakura is conveniently located in Kona town, in a center with very low tenancy so there is plenty of parking, which is a plus. The food is good, although not outstanding. The lunch specials nigiri plate is a pretty good deal, and the fish tasted fresh, and the proportion of rice to fish was good. Service is attentive,' although they're really just moving efficiently so you get in and out. Overall a decent, middle-of-the road restaurant that isn't a bad pick. read more

We ordered the Sakura boat and chicken oyako don. I give five stars for service - as soon as we walked in we were greeted, temperature checked and seated. The waitresses took very good care of us, our drinks were never empty and our dishes were taken as soon as we finished each course. We did not feel like we were a burden to ask for anything, cos some restaurants make you feel that way! Chicken oyako don - I grew up eating this dish so was super stoked to try their version. Was too sweet, barely any chicken and egg was undercooked for my taste. In my opinion it couldn't compare to my Japanese grandmas version of the dish. I wouldn't order this again. Sakura boat (pictured). Good, pretty straight forward. The boat makes it fun and feel special :-). Was enough food to satisfy two adults. Service 5/5 Food 3.5/5 read more

Sakura - Sakura boat $51 - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Great place! Very affordable and delicious food. I loved the dragon roll as well as the spicy tuna roll. We had great service with our waiter named Bryton. He was super helpful in explaining what the food was, and giving his recommendations as well. I would highly recommend this place to anybody wanting good quality sushi! So delicious and great service! also great location read more

Sakura - Valentine roll - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Great sushi the best I've had in a while ate so many I couldn't stop service was fast as well.

Great food..ordered the sashimi platter on point..thick cuts of fish..Age tofu and their sushi rolls were excellent..will be back next time on island.. read more

nothing too special compared to other picks on the island, but overall solid food! the restaurant is pretty fancy and gives that upscale vibe with their complex plating. if you haven't had a lot of japanese food, this would be a good place to try out a lot of options in a nice setting, but i wouldn't say it's outstanding or a must-visit. the chirashi and sushi was good, but i've had better quality fish at other places at a fairer price point. on the plus side, service is accommodating and will answer questions about the menu read more

Sakura - rolls - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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Taking a star off for the average noodles but otherwise really good chicken teriyaki and deep fried sushi with creamy mayo and sauces on top. Also really liked the tempura veggies and tempura shrimp appetizers. read more

Sakura - 13,17 and 19. All good and heavy on the sauce - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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Got sick after eating, not sure if it was too greasy or old food. the beef teriyaki was good. the sushi however had a weird texture and taste. read more

I ordered the Bento A lunch special with shrimp and vegetable tempura. It came with 2 shrimp, 1 zucchini, and 1 sweet potato. The portion was ok for the price. The tempura was good but the salad was soggy like it had been soaking in water and the rice was hard. The atmosphere was noisy and I ran into a coworker who said the same thing. I didn't try the sushi this time around but I may give them another try just for that. read more

Sakura - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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3.5 stars Japanese restaurant offering a wide variety of fusion sushi and other cooked dishes. We decided to get one of their boats. Pretty good value for what you get and I appreciated the presentation. We also decided to get their furikake chicken, which was the closest thing on the menu to karaage. It had too much sauce on it, which in turn took away from the crispiness. Service was fast and attentive. Though I found it kind of odd that for water refills, they take your cup to the back rather than bringing a pitcher out. read more

Sakura - Sakura boat - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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Food was good! The waiters are extremely attractive. Especially Ethan. Bryton had great service & went above and beyond! read more

Sakura - Look at him hard at work! - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

The food was great, even having it to go. The guy who took my order must've had supersonic ears because he got my order spot on, even when I could barely hear myself over background noise. Everything was packed so nicely. read more

While in Kona for 5 days this was probably the best place me and my wife ate dinner at. She had the chicken teriyaki and I had the beef. Both meals came out on hot plates with the food sizzling! The meal came with a small soup and salad as customary at many restaurants like this and both were delicious. The meals were both also accompanied with steamed rice in separate bowls. Overall it was a great meal cooked perfectly and the service was top notch. read more

The service was good and the food was alright. It was super casual and busy. We waited less than 10min for a table for two. We came here after a few other sushi choices were either closed or full for reservations. We had three rolls and a sashimi appetizer and most were flavorless and a little bland. Giving three stars cause the service was good and we were sat quickly despite the restaurant being busy. read more

Best COVID precautions I've seen on the island thus far: temperatures checks at the front door and plastic shower curtains separating each booth. Surprised they didn't ask to vaccinate me If their safety and health precautions are any indication, the people at Sakura are meticulous about their craft. Every item we had was tastefully prepared! "Salmon Poppers" for an appetizer was a great start to the meal. These come out so hot and gooey! The "Veggie Tempura Udon" was delicious. The shoyu broth is simple but quite clean and hearty. The fish cake tasted very real as opposed to like rubber imitation, and the inclusion of unique veggies like carrot flower and mini mushrooms made this a standout of our meal. Now for the sushi: in general I'd say they lean too heavily on Avacado and cream cheese. It felt like every single roll was the same and made it hard to pick out rolls. We really liked the "Sakura" roll since it was spicy. The "Big Island Roll" had cream cheese that tasted quite fresh and of good quality, but it filled my mouth more than the fish and was like taking a huge bite of just cream cheese. The "Christmas Tree Roll" was probably my second favorite since it had a good balance of flavors and textures (though I would have like this one tempura fried). Finally, the "Valentine" roll was rather bland. DESSERT! The Fried Tempura Cheesecake read more

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i don't understand why this place has such high rating. came here on a friday night for a party of 5. we ordered a variety of food and none of them were good: dinner combo with katu pork. super dried pork with super thick battered. the pork and the batter pretty much are separated. dragon roll and Fuji roll: no flavor. plain AF. Tempera ramen: the noodles is super soggy and all broken. katu pork sizzled plate: served on regular plate instead of the hot sizzle plate we ordered. and you must wonder why didnt we ask the server? because she was nowhwee in sight after she served our food. we tried to get other server but seems like they are very territorial about their section, aka the other server ignored us. we really want to support local businesses but the whole experience was just ridiculous. read more

Overall I thought this place was good and worth visiting if you're in the mood for sushi. Met a local friend here for lunch, he ordered as I hadn't been here before and got an array of sushi rolls and nigiri. Fish was very fresh, rice seemed to be seasoned appropriately and service was good. The girls working here appear to be mostly Chinese and some don't speak English very well so they had a bit of trouble understanding my friend's pigeon that ended up in small mixup. Odd too that I noticed they serve miso soup with a Chinese soup spoon. Anyway I enjoyed my lunch but can't speak to the non- sushi menu items. read more

Sakura - Yummy sushi - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

This place is on par with the best sushi restaurants in California. The fish is fresh, the sushi is well made, the rolls are good and they even have a Japanese beer I haven't tried before. Out of all the sushi restaurants I've been to this ranks in the top 5. The service is great, the chefs are nice there is nothing I can say that's bad about this restaurant. If I lived in Hawaii this would be my regular sushi place read more

Sakura - Sashimi deluxe - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Food was terrible. The tempura tasted like it was cooked in old rancid grease. The shrimp tasted bad. Beef Teri was fair. All 5 people in the dinner party got sick. Sadly disappointed. read more

Soup was too salty, and lukewarm. Sushi rolls were nut cut all the way through. Chirashi bowl while abundant of sashimi rice had no flavor!

The most amazing sushi i've ever had ! The volcano roll is so delicious i could eat a hundred! But the okinawa roll is TO DIE FOR ! I could eat a billion of them ! Service is always very nice and pretty fast Cute inside as well the food tho 1000000/10 Definitely worth it you have to try this place ! read more

We had our first meal on the island at Sakura. The owner of our Airbnb had suggested it, and not only was the food great but it was in the same plaza as a Safeway so we could get our groceries after as well. My husband is a Type 1 Diabetic so sadly when we arrived his sugars were high, and he could only enjoy a couple pieces of my rolls. I ordered the Sakura Roll (spicy tuna, spicy crab meat, avocado, tempura crumb, wrapped in pink soy-bean paper, with spicy mayo in the shape of a flower) and the Tropical Storm Roll (shrimp tempura, cucumber, avocado, inside topped with mango, fresh tuna, mango sauce, eel sauce, and wasabi mayo). Wow! They were both phenomenal and the presentation was wonderful. I loved this place! I wish my husband had a chance to try more. They also had a great lunch menu with good prices. read more

We call a few restaurants, this one is the only one that doesn't take reservation, and that is how we can get in. Other restaurants are pretty fully booked. Service is very attentive, food is good compared to other Japanese restaurants. Overall should be between 4-5 stars. read more

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So good! Go here! The sushi rolls were filling and fresh, the chicken appetizer was delish, and the fried banana ice cream to top it off made us sooo full.! I am not a tuna fan but the tuna in our roll was so fresh that I ate most of it. Lol that says something if ya knew me! read more

Sakura - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

If you are looking for authentic Japanese food, don't go here. Go to Izakaya Shiono. If you do go here, stick with the deep fried stuff like tempura or tonkatsu. Avoid nigiri sushi and stick with sushi rolls. The yellow tail jalapeno (try Sushi Sam's for the real deal) was horrible and unagi don was gross. Who puts daikon, parsley, ginger and wasabi on an unagi don? Seems like a popular place so what do I know. read more

This place is in the same plaza as Safeway. When you walk in the lighting is dim but cozy. I ordered hot tea, Haru Maki and Samurai sushi. Place is clean and organized. Food was prepared timely manner and good. read more

Sakura - Samurai sushi came with ginger and wasabi. But for presentation purposes, I put it to the side with my soy sauce. - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Best sushi in Kona! We went to another sushi place first night here, and unfortunately yelp steered us wrong! Don't look further. I'm a sushi snob, and you will enjoy your sushi here! read more

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I was able to be seated right away. Wait staff came and got my drink order, sushi was super fresh, the Kona roll and spider man roll were great. Took a little bit for the rolls to come out but the place was slammed so no rush on my end. Bill was $60 before tip for a large Sapporo, two pieces, 2 rolls and I was stuffed. read more

Sakura - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Sakura is one of the few places in town with consistently good food and service over the past 5+ years. This place is definitely our go to when we want lunch or dinner without a reservation and a great meal! read more

Food is good. Service is terrible. I love the ninja roll. My deal is with the servers though. For years they have openly flirted with my husband in front of me and placed their dirty hands on his shoulders whenever he spoke while giggling. The last time I ate there and ordered 3 rolls with our entrees she told me straight up "I think that's enough". Excuse me??!! I will roll out of this greasy booth and tell you when I've had enough. I don't care if I need a wheelbarrow to bring me to my truck after I eat. How about: clean more and talk less. I have so many other stories of bad service there from the waitresses, like purposely forgetting my chopsticks but giving my husbands his right in front of me. Bottom line: order to-go and spare yourself the awkward dine in experience. read more

We came in at around 7pm and the place was packed with parties of two to even parties of 10+. We were seating fairly quickly and was offered iced water and hot tea. Presentation of the rolls and sashimi was super pretty. Taste wise, the fish were pretty fresh. read more

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Happen to come across this restaurant on our way to Walmart. Such a surprise, great customer service and the food was delicious. They kept my hot green tea filled, which is great because i love that tea! read more

Sakura - This was salmon over a bed of light salad and rice. Salmon was very fresh and delicious. Very filling - Japanese Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

I went here with friends recently and we had a nice dining experience. The restaurant is small but excellent service. It's very casual and the prices are reasonable. They have excellent sushi and rolls which we enjoyed. I would recommend this place whenever you are in the area. read more

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