Kawamoto Store - Hilo

Kawamoto Store is an okazuya (Japanese-style delicatessen) located in Hilo on the Big Island, Hawaii. They serve local style Japanese food and it's takeout only. When you drive by their store, there is always a line because locals and tourist go there. The food is cheap and it taste very good! One of my favorites were the shrimp tempura because the batter tasted like shrimp chips, it had so much shrimp flavor in every bite. I also enjoyed the Korean chicken, which was a deep fried drumstick dipped in a delicious sauce. Other things I would recommend is the cone sushi, maki sushi, nori chicken, and fish cake.

They are 10 minutes from the Hilo airport so if you come for a day trip, this would be the ideal place for breakfast. They are open Tuesday - Saturday from 6am -12pm. You should go early for the best selection of food. You can also do a phone order which makes pick up quicker but some items might not be available at the time you call to place the order. If you plan to stand in line and order, the wait will be around 30 minutes. This will give you enough time to decide which items you want to eat and what items are coming out from the kitchen. For parking, there is free street parking along Kilauea Ave. They accept cash and credit cards.

For more information about Kawamoto Store, visit kawamotostore.com.

784 Kilauea Ave
Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 935-8209

Cone Sushi, Nori Chicken

Maki Sushi, Corned Beef Hash,
Shrimp Tempura, Korean Chicken

Deli Case

Nana Ai Katsu

Nana Ai Katsu is known for their tonkatsu. Their katsu is made fresh and I recommend doing a pre-order by phone so you don't have to wait as long for your food. The 100% Kurobuta kasane tonkatsu is the most popular and it has 7 layers of thin sliced pork. Everything I've ordered from them has tasted good and I eat it within 15 minutes of pick up so it's crispy. The portions are good for one person and the food is reasonably priced. If the bento is too much food, try something smaller like the giga ebi katsu burger or the premium spam katsu musubis (2 pieces per order) instead.

The shop is located in Kaimuki and are open for lunch and dinner. They have seating inside but they haven't opened it yet and so it's takeout only. There is metered street parking in front of the shop on Waialae Ave or you can park in the parking lot in the back and enter the shop from the back door. To see their weekly specials, follow them on Instagram, @nana_ai_katsu.

For more information about Nana Ai Katsu, visit nanaaikatsu.com. 

3585 Waialae Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 772-0146

Uzumaki Shiso Katsu Roll Bento

100% Kurobuta Kasane Tonkatsu

Giga Ebi Katsu Burger

Atsushi

@sushi is a sushi bar located inside Ohana Hale Marketplace. You can pre-order sushi sets for lunch or dinner if you don't feel comfortable with dine in because of the pandemic. The @sushi lovers set had 10 pieces of nigiri and 1 sushi roll; priced at about $40. It was a good amount of food and everything tasted delicious. For phone orders, I recommend calling the shop to see what is available first. I also recommend ordering 1 or 2 days in advance for the sushi sets to make sure they have enough ingredients. If you want to dine in and have their omakase, you should make a reservation 1 month in advance.

The parking lot gets buy during peak hours so account for some extra time to find a parking space. Their shop is in the middle near the stage. Ohana Hale Marketplace is closing at the end of March 2022 so plan accordingly. You can also follow @atsushibv on Instagram for updates. 

Ohana Hale Marketplace
333 Ward Ave., Ste 3-51
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 358-4593

@sushi lovers set

O'Kims

O'Kim's is a hidden gem in Chinatown. It's a tiny shop that serves up delicious Korean take out. The food is good and the monthly specials keep me coming back for more. My favorites are the kalbi steak and seaweed salmon. The prices range from $12 - $15 but they give a good amount of food. They are open for lunch and dinner.

For parking, there's metered street parking or the Chinatown municipal parking lots. As I mentioned before, it is a tiny shop so there's nowhere to sit and eat. They accept phone orders so you could order in advance and pull over on the side to pick up your food. They accept credit cards.

For more information about O'Kims, visit okimshawaii.com.

1164 Smith St
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 537-3787

Kalbi Steak

Confit Pork Belly Brulee

Seaweed Salmon

Spicy Tofu & Mushrooms

Snack Box by Pili Group - CLOSED

The Snack Box is a pop-up located inside PAD Hawaii in Kakaako. It's by Pili Group, the same people who created Lunch Box (not open to public). Snack Box offers salads, sandwiches, toast boxes, bento boxes and baked good. They opened earlier this month and they've been added new items to their menu every week. The food here is prepared with local ingredients and it's on the healthier side. Their specialty item is the salad jar. They put a mix of vegetables into a mason jar and you can shake it up yourself. I haven't had a chance to try their salad jar yet but my favorites so far are the turkey cranberry sandwich and the sprinkle cookies.

They have a small area next to the entrance of the store where you can sit and eat. If you plan to do take out and you're buying more than 1 item, I recommend bringing a reusable bag to hold your food. If not, you can also buy a snack pack from them.  If you buy a drink, remember to bring the mason jar back for a refill on your next visit. You'll get a discount.

The parking lot that used to be next to this building is block off for construction so your only option is street parking. They are open from Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00AM - 2:00PM. You can also check their facebook, instagram, or twitter pages for updates.

691 Auahi St.
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 240-1096

Turkey Cranberry Sandwich

Sprinkle Cookie

Apple Caramel Scones

Mamaki Iced Tea

Olena Lemonade w/ Fruits

Lechon Bento Box

Makoto Sushi

I consider this place a hidden spot because you don't see their signage unless you drive into the 2nd level parking structure of Aiea Shopping Center. It's a small shop but they offer a variety of sushi rolls and bentos. Their menu items have unique names and when you ask the owner/staff "what is that?" they'll be happy to tell the ingredients. There are tables outside the shop but I don't recommend hanging out there for too long. I started smelling some not so pleasant stuff so I took my order to go. It's a great place to come for lunch if you're in the Aiea area. They also have another location in Kaimuki by Times Supermarket.

99-115 Aiea Heights Dr
Ste 227
Aiea, HI 96701
(808) 722-9711

Top Secret

Bento #2

Nippon Bento & Catering

They are located on the bottom floor of the Remington College building in downtown Honolulu. You'll see their big yellow sign in the corner as you walk down the stairs. I don't know if this place is Japanese or Korean but I know they're the only ones in downtown who have ox tail soup available everyday. The ox tail soup is about $7.00, it comes with 2 scoops of rice, kimchee, and tsukemono. If you don't want ox tail soup, that's fine because they have a huge variety of bentos. There will definitely be one combination bento that you'll like. They also have other items like beef stew, curry, saimin, wonton mein or udon. This is the perfect place to eat if you're on a budget or you need to pick up lunch really quickly.

For more information about Nippon Bento & Catering, visit www.nipponbento.com.

1111 Bishop St
Ste 07
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 256-2205

Ox Tail Soup

Sushi Kahuna - CLOSED

This is a nice little shop in downtown that serves up some really good Japanese food. They have a small menu and they also have daily specials posted on a white board in front of the shop. Their prices are reasonable with the amount of food they give. All of the fish that they use is really fresh.

212 Merchant St. Ste 4
Honolulu, HI 96813

California Roll

Chicken Katsu Bento

Salmon Ikura

Deluxe Chirashi

Udon Salad