CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO

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This is one of my favorite restaurants on the island.  When we have visitors, we like to take them to this restaurant since it has an unique atmosphere.  Every time we go there, it’s packed with many customers.  We never had to wait for a long time though.

Sushi comes out fairly fast after you order, so that’s also nice.  It’s also very kid friendly and that is a big plus for us since we now have two little ones.  It has an extensive menu where you find Japanese and Okinawan food, so if you go to Yoshihachi with someone who is not a big fan of raw fish, he/she can always find something that he/she can eat such as chicken teriyaki, tempura, etc.

I like sushi rolls better than nigiri sushi (regular sushi).  Traditional Japanese sushi restaurants usually don’t serve Americanized sushi rolls like California roll and Philadelphia roll, but Yoshihachi serves rolls like sushi restaurants in the States, which I love about this place.   The owner worked in the States for 12 years, so that’s why he knows what kind of sushi are popular in the States.

The walls of Yoshihachi are filled with number of pictures of famous people that the owner of the restaurant has met.  It’s fun to look at them.

Prices:  California Roll – 630 yen, Chatan Roll – 840 yen

Payment: Dollars or Yen

Hours: Dinner only, 4:30-10 p.m.; Closed on Tuesdays

Phone: 098-936-2359

Address: 587-2 Kuwae, Chatan

Google Maps Coordinates: 26.3250426874, 127.76954761399998

Directions:
From 58, turn onto 23 (south of Kadena; north of Lester).  Drive to a junction which is under a pedestrian overpass.  Take a right here.  Drive about several hundred meters and the restaurant will be on your right.  It has a red lantern outside.  Parking is available in a designated parking lot on the same side of the street further down on the right side.

If you want to read more about Yoshihachi, here’s a very helpful review on Japan Update website.

36 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t know what all the hype is about this place. We were there for an hour and a half and over an hour of that we were waiting for our food. The food was good, but it wasn’t even busy and we had poor service. The sushi was good, but definitely not worth the wait. I would recommend GyoGyoMan on route 85. They have great service and food. The menu is extensive and they have specials on sushi and beer on Sundays. I have noticed that it is a “go-to” place for the Okinawans when they get off of work.

  2. This is actually one of our favorite places. I love their asparagus and the rolls are to die for. The shrimp tempura roll comes out warm and it’s just tasty, I also order a calashimi (?) roll. They serve blowfish as well if you’re feeling extra adventurous. We tried Zen once and not only was I disappointed in the rolls (I need a fork and knife to eat some of theirs and that is ridiculous) but I had to find our server in such a tiny building because he forgot we were there. Someone made a comment that the rolls were small – I find them to be pretty normal sized and they don’t require a fork and knife to eat.

  3. I would review this restaurant on how the food tasted and the atmosphere but after trip in a cab all the way there, we found out that they are DINNER ONLY. There are no longer lunch hours. I guess we’ll try our luck some other time. Every website that has reviews on this place said they were open for lunch, my mistake for not calling ahead.

    • Brandon, thanks for letting us know and sorry you had to find out the hard way. I double checked and apparently their hours have changed – I’m updating the post above to reflect the new dinner-only hours.

  4. I love yoshis. I don’t know why the above commenter is so worried about the menus, seems like you just like to complain, SX. Worry less about the menus and try to focus on the food. Which is not mediocre. Maybe you’ve just been eating too much cocos.

    That being said, I highly recommend sitting at the bar if possible. Yoshi loves to talk! He speaks Spanish, English, and Japanese. If you ask him to make you something that’s his favorite, he’ll do it. Don’t come here if you’re looking for Americanized “sushi”. Come here and order a spicy tuna roll, order a mango juice, and talk to the chef. He will tell you what to order. I recommend getting the katsudon. It’s breaded meat with rice, very good. Everything here is excellent.

  5. I’m not very picky but the condition of the menus makes me question the cleanliness and care of the facility and food. The menus were very torn and stained. For as much hype and “famous people” that eats at this restaurant, this place was way below my expectations. And the service was great but the sushi was only mediocre.

  6. We enjoy coming here regularly. Hamachi nigiri is wonderful. Just a heads up though Yoshi was giving 100 yen to the dollar but looks like its changed. As of this week the exchange rate for using USD was 70 yen to 1 dollar at Yoshis.

  7. Yoshis is so good! My husband and I first went there a few weeks ago because of hearing how great it was. He doesn’t eat sushi and was still very happy with his shrimp tempura, teriyaki chicken and gin tonic. I had a few of the rolls and salmon nigiri. It was some of the best sushi i have ever had. We used to go to Kami sushi but everytime i would get salmon it was stringy and didnt seem fresh. Not bad but definately mediocre in comparison. Yoshis is our new go-to sushi restaurant.

  8. The above negative comments don’t know what they are talking about. Sushi is something a pure body can handle. If your body does not know what to do with a pure product it will likely try to get rid of it. You need to train your body to eat in a pure way and then try sushi. If you are used to deep fried crap this will blow right thru you. I am sorry to be crude, but it is like fiber to a meat eater. Your body does not know what the hell to do with it! ANYWHO… On to the show…
    I lived here from 1997-2000. I lived and loved for Yoshi’s. I have many many many pictures of my dear love of my favorite restaurant in the world Yoshi hachi’s. I have his business card in my wallet. I went out in a Typhoon for this food!! When I win the lottery I will charter a jet and pick up my friends to go back to Yoshi’s. I am applying for jobs back to Japan to get back to Yoshi’s. If anyone wants to know any of the best places to eat ANYTHING in this US and then ALL the best places to eat in Okinawa contact me or take me. I will help you find your way.

  9. Sorry to hear all the negative comments, I think this place ROCKS! Probably my fav sushi in town, the fish is so fresh, it seriously tastes “creamy”….like it would melt in your mouth. We always check out new places, but go here at least once a month. The prices are slightly high, but that is usually with beer and wine. You get what you pay for in my opinion. For those of you who had a bad experience, I say try it again, maybe it was just a bad day….we have never been diappointed. There is a reason some of the world’s most famous people HAVE to eat at this place when they visit Oki! I think the walls speak for themselves 🙂 If you don’t enjoy sushi, eat someplace else!

  10. This place is not a favorite of ours either, for all the reaons that Keri mentioned above.
    We prefer Kitakaisen for groups or work functions, because there’s something for everyone- both as far as price and food is concerned. They also have a private room for parties.
    But our favorite family restaurant has become the Okinawa (Kami) Sushi Bar, on the 2nd floor of the Chatan Bowl-American Village. The restaurant is just over a year old now and the service is pretty good…although some of the waitstaff still have a hard time with taking orders in English. Not to worry, the menu is in both languages and has pictures! The views overlooking the ferris wheel and Christmas lights are quite lovely…you may even see an entertaining parade of costumed youth walking by, on the sidewalks below.

      • Thank you! The fastest response to a foodborne illness is 24 hours, and without testing to show the link from your illness to the restaurant it’s considered slander. My family owns 4 separate restaurants, I do not like reading something so stupid or offensive leveled against a small business by an insensitive… “Contributor”.

  11. I will say this about Yoshi’s: It is not my favorite sushi place on island because the sushi always seems to be on “the safe side”. However, in my experience, it has always been consistently good in both food and service. Because they offer other dishes besides sushi and sashimi, and the sushi is predictable, I like to take visiting family members and friends to Yoshi’s for dinner.

  12. Keri>I see your points. About fugu, your comment made me smile. No restaurant (at least in Japan) would serve fugu without a proper training as they could go out of business if anyone gets even sick form it, so I know that it’s safe to eat it at a restaurant. Which sushi place in Okinawa is your favorite?

  13. I have been to Yoshi’s a handful of times over the last 6 years and I’ll be honest: I don’t love the place. I find it slightly overpriced, the sashimi tastes “fishy” and the place is always PACKED with Americans. I also think the service is terrible, likely because the place is so busy. I know so many people love Yoshihachi’s, and I’m not knocking you guys. If you enjoy the place, I’m not judging. I just don’t get it. I feel like if I’m going to go out to eat in Okinawa, I want authenticity, not a tourist trap. I want good food at decent prices and I want said food in less than an hour. If I want kitschy stuff on the walls and Americans on all sides of me, I’ll go to Chili’s.

    BTW I know several people who have tried the Fugu and none of them have died yet 😉 It is always entertaining to see people try it! I don’t know anywhere else to get it other than Yoshi’s.

  14. fish head>Wow, you tried FUGU!! You’re awesome. I didn’t know that Yoshihachi served fugu, but even if I knew, I don’t know if I have the guts to try and I’m Japanese… You can eat sea urchin, too… I can’t take that one, either, but my mom loves it. You are a hard core fish head. I miss sushi at Yoshi’s.

  15. we have been going to Yoshi’s since we got on island and we are big fans. They are kid friendly and the fish there has always been fresh tasting. They have the best sea urchin (Uni) I have ever tasted.

    We even tried fugu too (poison blowfish) but didnt get the tingling sensation on our tongues. It was only 1500 yen for the sashimi portion. I’ve read online that most places will charge 5000 up for this, so I’m not sure if I got the correct fugu

  16. They take reservations. Whenever we go to Yoshi’s we phone the day before and book a table. Be warned though- if you are 10 minutes late then they’ll give away your reservation. The phone number is 936-2359.

  17. We like the sushi here, but we went this past weekend and had to wait a long time for our food, and it wasn’t even that busy. There were tables that got there after us that we served before us, so I have no idea on how their serving works, plus every time I have here, they always forget one of my rolls (and we only order 4-5 rolls, so there’s not a ton of stuff for it to get lost in). But, I do love the Yoshi roll and the softshell crab roll (can’t get that at KitaKeisen). I will eat here again, but will go earlier to try and anticipate having a long dinner – we were there for 2 hours and we got there at 6:30pm, it was good stuff though!

  18. Joy>Thanks for your comment. I am glad to hear that my article was helpful to you! You do live in a super convenient location. You’re close to everything and everyone!

    Lan> Good work! I will also pass the message to her by e-mail.

  19. Hi Joy,
    LOVE that you love your neighborhood! If you’re ever interested in sharing what it’s like living in your neck of the woods, please consider filling out a questionnaire through the “To Live” section of Okinawa Hai!. Myself and other readers really enjoy hearing about living in different areas of the island.

  20. we are new to the island and are lucky enough to live just three short blocks from this fabulous rest. thanks for the tip! this is my new favorite place and we don’t even have to pack the kids in the car, we can just walk up the street! moving tip: we LOVE this neighborhood too! Chatan Cho. There are a million shortcuts to camp foster, where my husband works.

  21. We have been going to Yoshi’s since we were on the island last time. It is an all time favorite. Have never had any problems with the wait or the sushi and love the atomosphere. The fish is some of the freshest I have had on the island.

    In the picture Yoshi is the chef to the right, and he did have a restaurant in California for many years. He will speak some Spanish to you if you sit up at the bar. I highly recommend sitting at the bar sometime as well because you are able to see how the sushi is made and can also get talk to Yoshi sometimes.

  22. I love yoshihachi but I find that the wait to get sushi is too much for me and my wiggly 2 yr old. Plus, there’s not much room to walk around if we need to entertain him. So, we do takeout there and are much happier enjoying great sushi at home. Plus Benj can have mac and cheese instead.

  23. We love this place too! It is very yummy. The prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is fun.

    A friend of mine brought her camera there and Mr. YoshiHachi himself took some great pictures with her family and a sword he pulled off the wall. Cool!

    Has anyone tried the sweet potato roll that he is advertising? It sounds delicious.

  24. I love this place!! I love that I don’t have to get sushi and my husband can eat all the sushi he wants! The Chicken Terriyaki is so awesome and they have tempura vegetables! I also recommend the potatoes with bacon. I’m getting hungry thinking of this place!! We get our children the fried chicken and cheese cake. That way they aren’t causing problems while we enjoy our food, but it is kid friendly if you bring toys they can play while you eat (or bring something to color). Word of advice is to get there close to 5 and no later than 5:30. Especially if you are in a large group! We went with my parents at 5:45 (so there was 4 of us. We got a babysitter for the kids.) and it was already a 45 min. wait!!