Michinoku

I have to say the sushi rice at this restaurant is the best I’ve ever tasted. Although the menu is not as large as other more «famous» Japanese restaurants on the island, they’ve got the most important thing right. The texture was perfect, mildly vinegar-​y and sweet. I killed my yamakake donburi. I’m leaving this place super happy and I think I’ll be coming more often.

We had lunch today for the first time at this small mom and pop quaint restaurant. What a great bargain for quality Japanese food. I had the Michinoku special, included a barachirashi bowl (cooked shrimp, unagi, shredded tamago and ikura over tasty sushi rice), sashimi, chawanmushi, oshinko, tsukemono and miso soup for $ 20. Wife had the $ 16 ikura and salmon donburi, came with miso soup, oshinko and tsukemono. Food was very good and include endless authentic green tea.
Served by an extremely polite and attentive waitress, who we believe is the wife of the chef/​owner. This was lunch and the menu seemed limited compared to what is probably offered for dinner. Sign said they are open from Tues to Saturday, closed Sun and Monday. We are definitely going back again. Great food option if you are going to Ala Moana to shop as we walked over from the shopping center.

We have two close friends we love to eat with because we share an appreciation of general late-​night favorites. We’re either armed with chopsticks and easy-​to-​drink Japanese beer or recovery food and extra large cups of water at the places you’d expect.
Said friends were interested in getting a teishoku dinner, so we made a reservation at Michinoku on a Friday night. To our surprise, it was almost completely empty when we arrived at 8:30 p.m. and it stayed that way until we left. It’s a little hard to find, tucked away next to the Korean market on Keeaumoku, so that could be part of it. It’s also close to more popular spots such as sushi ii ($$$) and Yakiniku Don-​Day.
We came for the teishoku but the highlight was actually the generous serving of flavorful hamachi kama and the melt-​in-​your-​mouth salmon nigiri. Our experience reminded us of some of our favorite Kapahulu spots — Mr. Ojisan (when it was in its prime) and the quaint, authentic vibe of Sunrise Restaurant.
Although the tab wasn’t terribly expensive, we’ll most likely wait for a special occasion to return. But when we do, we know what to order.

This hole in the wall Japanese restaurant is located next to Keeaumoku supermarket. Parking is free in front of the restaurant.
It is a small place. There’s a sushi counter that fits about 5 people and 5 tables of 2 or 4 people. The whole place is about a good size living room.
I ordered butterfish teishoku. It comes with miso soup, salad, chawamushi, pickled won bok and da-​kwan and butterfish. And it was yummy. My companion got some assorted sushi. The Hamachi sushi was pink color. I’ve never seen it pink. I’m used to seeing it white. Hmmmm…
Price is slightly higher than other Japanese restaurant.
There was only one server. She dressed in simple kimono. The restaurant was pretty full but she managed to serve all of us efficiently and so politely.
That’s what I love about these hole in the wall places. Service is always top notch.

Noticed this place when i visited the korean supermarket. Hidden at the end of the small alley with the market, the parking lot is shared. The atmosphere in the restaurant is small & cozy. Service is very friendly and quick. They have lots of teishokus to choose from & also fresh sushi made at the sushi bar.
I went at dinner & got sat down right away. A very friendly waitress took our order. Most of the dishes are $ 15 or more, but they were mostly meal sets so it was a good deal. The salmon teishoku i ordered had 2 large pieces of fish along with all the sides, it was super filling & i even had leftovers!!! They even have a different menu for lunch, definitely want to go back & try that out!

This past Friday I finally had the pleasure of going to Michinoku. I’ve tried to eat here about ⁴⁄₅ times within the past two months but they have always been closed (even during their «hours of operation»). This place is a gem if fate allows you to catch this place while it is open.
Michinoku is a small restaurant that can fit about 30 people and has a small sushi bar. The menu has a variety of options which consist mostly donburi-​sets, averaging about $ 20-​$ 30. The sets come with miso soup, salad, chawamushi, and takuan. The food here is very fresh and the atmosphere instantly transports you to Japan. When I went I got the «Michinoku Special» which was a barazushi set that came with a side dish of sashimi (maguro and hamachi). I actually preferred my dining partner’s unagi-​don instead because it came with hearty slices of warm unagi topped with a raw quail egg.
Being a poor college student $ 20-​$ 30 is really steep to be paying per person for a meal, so I can’t say that this will be a regular spot for me. However, if you are looking for a hole-​in-​the-​wall Japanese restaurant with fresh food and great service, Michinoku is definitely a place that you should consider going to at least once.

This place is next to a supermarket and is very hard to see from the street. It’s probably better to call ahead and find out the name of the supermarket and google map it.
The owners are Japanese so the stuff is authentic.
My favorite is the negitoro bowl — best value I’ve found on the island and never disappoints!

Had the negitoro don, again, will probably order it next time too, it was that good. Very good food, reasonable prices.

We stumbled upon this restaurant after having a huge craving for chirashi. Fresh fish, and was surprised that they had hotaru ika as well. While not my favorite chirashi, it still hit the spot.

My out of town cousin and I visited Michinoku because according to our aunty, Gayle C. (see her review below) it’s her favorite Japanese restaurant in the area. I came here years ago but too much time had passed to write a fair review.
This tiny sushi restaurant holds about 20 people. Luckily for us, the restaurant was only half full on a Tuesday at about 7:30 pm. Looking at the menu, we decided to text our aunty who said she always gets the butterfish or the chirashi. Who are we kidding, we both ALWAYS order chirashi. My cousin got the fancier one ($ 35) and I got the less fancy one ($ 25). I can’t remember what they were called (I know, color me unhelpful). The main differences was the fancy one had ikura and toro while mine had masago (I like this better). The portions seemed similar. What I liked best about chirashi here is it comes in a complete meal with miso soup, green salad, chawanmushi and other veggie sides.
The fish. Fresh, high quality, great stuff. I’d say it’s a tinge (just a small tinge) under the more widely known high end sushi restaurants. However, I’d still give it two fins up!

Really authentic Japanese food! Small restaurant with fresh sashimi. Most customers are Japanese which is a good sign! Love it!

This mom and pop restaurant serves up teishoku meals with good quality sashimi/​sushi. I like having all the accompaniments that come in a teishoku meal.
The mama-​san is very friendly and nice, which is one of the reasons I like coming here. She asks if you want water or tea (ocha kudasai!). I love hot tea with my meals. They have an assortment of donburi, with my favorite being hotate and ikura! Yum!
They’re located next to the korean supermarket on Koreamoku (Ke’eaumoku). There’s parking available but that area is always busy.

Great little Sushi Bar located right in front of Supermarket on Keeaumoku St.
Nice variety of fresh fish and outstanding service…

So delicious! Stopped here on a whim while attempting to go somewhere else around the area. I ordered the negitoro don and was not disappointed! The server let me know that it was a special night and that they were using special ahi as well, I think bluefin, SCORE!
This little gem is located just in front of the Korean supermarket off Keeaumoku. You can’t see the restaurant from the street, you need to drive into the parking lot to find it. All the sides were delicious as well and very high quality.
I’ll definitely be back!

My boyfriend and I were craving for sushi and found this place on Unilocal.It is tucked away in the corner of the building, immediately next to Keeaumoku Market. You could easy miss the sign: we passed the restaurant twice before asking a parking security guard where it was. When we walked in, it was this great little Japanese restaurant. The owners are a Japanese couple and welcomed us in.
We ordered the Sakura sushi set. It came with salad, miso soup, seaweed, pickled cabbage and chawanmushi. The seafood was fresh and we were stuffed. Great place to go for sushi.

Dying for some sushi after a grueling Organic Chemistry exam, I was in the area with my boyfriend and looked to handy dandy Unilocal for some Japanese. Came across Michinoku, hadn’t heard of it before, saw the picture of the Otoro-​Don and was sold!
Located right outside of a small korean market in back of Sorabol, Michinoku is a quaint little sushi restaurant with a small sushi bar and additional table seating. The menu is not very extensive but they specialize in their dons. I quickly ordered the Otoro-​Don and my boyfriend ordered the Sashim-​Don. All dons come with a few japanese sides, miso soup, salad and my favorite chawan mushi! Chawan mushi is something I have found to be quite hard to find so I was surprised it came with your meal. It’s basically a steamed egg custard with bits of seafood and mushroom cooked throughout.
Our food arrived quickly as it is a small business and the waitress was so cute and polite, very japanese. The Otoro-​Don came with a fairly large portion of otoro which is some of the fattiest and therefore most delicious parts of ahi, mashed up over rice with two slices of egg omelet and nori to top it off. $ 20
The Sashimi-​Don came with 3 pieces of maguro, 2 pieces of tako, 2 pieces of salmon, 2 pieces of hamachi and a shrimp with rice on the side in addition to the set. $ 28. Not a vast amount of food for the price, but sashimi is pretty pricey in general so I understand. Not a good option if you’re going out for the night with your guy, the portion is much too small for a man.
Overall Michinoku’s quality of fish is really good and definitely fresh however I do think they are a bit pricey for just dons. I do realize you pay for the quality though, so I would definitely make a visit back!

Well deserved 5 stars for this hidden gem.
This hidden «mom & pop» sushi joint hit the spot for me. My friend brought me here for a belated birthday dinner. At first I was a bit curious to where he was bringing me as we drove through an alley known for strip clubs.
He made reservations to avoid the wait. We were prepared to eat as we brought 2 bottles of sake. They so not serve alcohol so bring your own liquor! In a positive note, they will chill your liquor and even serve your sake in a cute sake chiller!
If you come here, you should know your sushi as everything on the menu is in Japanese! Even the waitress talks to you in Japanese! Very authentic!
Food overall hit the spot!

I found a new FAVORITE! I called Michinoku for reservations on a Saturday night and surprisingly they had a table for 4 at 7pm. I say surprisingly because this restaurant is very small — only seats about 20 people max in there. It’s located on Keeaumoku Street by the Korean supermarket. There’s sufficient parking in the private lot so parking shouldn’t be a problem.
We were seated right away when we arrived at 7pm :) From looking at all the photos on Unilocal,I knew that I wanted to order the negitoro don. Negitoro dons are so difficult to find in Hawaii! When my food arrived, I was shocked at how much negitoro they put in their donburi! I must say that I had a smile on my face the entire time eating there! The negitoro just melts in your mouth and they give a very very generous amount of food and side dishes.
As for the menu items, they have a very straight forward menu. My mom got a combo of a donburi & cold soba and my grandma got the butterfish teishoku. Everyone enjoyed their meals!
I’ll definitely be coming here much more often! Still want to try more of the nigiri & chirashi bowls. I just need to remember to call ahead for reservations.

As usual, the sushi cravings were in full swing. So the BF graciously volunteered his expert reservation-​making services *sarcasm*. We were lucky enough to get a reservation that night. I say lucky because we arrived to an already packed house. This little hole-​in-​the-​wall can hold about 20 people or so, so reservations are probably a must.
Our search to find Michinoku was a little challenging. Heading down Ke’eaumoku, the sign doesn’t exactly jump out at you. At night, look for the large blue sign that says «Super Market» — it’s to the left of that.
Going to the «Super Market» before you head in might be a good idea especially because the drink menu is minimal and the restaurant allows you to bring your own alcohol.
Sushi…oh the sushi…
While you have your pick of Donburis and Teishokus, we decided to go with the Nigiris. I think you can tell a lot about a sushi restaurant by the Nigiris and let me tell you, they did not disappoint. The fish was so fresh and the portion size so large I could barely fit it in my mouth. Add to the fact that they use fresh Wasabi… perfection!
Definitely a place worth trying.

I found Michinoku using Unilocal’s search to find a Japanese restaurant that was close to home & not too expensive. Michinoku did not disappoint in any way. When I called to make a reservation, a Japanese person politely took my reservation even though I was calling at 5:15 for a 5:30 reservation. We arrived at 5:25 and were promptly seated, given menus, and served water & green tea.
Because it was my first time at this restaurant, I ordered the Michinoku Special for $ 20 which included miso soup, salad, sashimi, kobachi, chawanmushi, barazushi topped with ikura, shredded egg, and had bits of shrimp & eel. Making a reservation is strongly recommended because by the time we left, every seat was taken and people were waiting outside. See my many pictures!