Restaurant in Urban Honolulu, United States
Japanese grocery stop worth making in Waikiki.
Mitsuwa Marketplace on Kalākaua Ave is the practical call for Japanese food in Waikiki — a grocery and food hall format that delivers well-sourced options at marketplace prices, far removed from resort dining. No reservation needed. Go for a quick lunch or pantry run; skip it if you want a sit-down special occasion meal.
If you have been to Mitsuwa before, the answer is yes — come back. The Waikiki address on Kalākaua Ave puts one of Honolulu's few dedicated Japanese grocery and food hall experiences directly in the path of visitors and residents who rarely think to look for it. That's its core value: it functions as a neighborhood anchor for Japanese food culture in a stretch of Honolulu dominated by beach-facing resort dining.
For the explorer-type traveler working through Honolulu's food scene, Mitsuwa fills a gap that conventional restaurant lists miss. It is not a sit-down restaurant with a reservations page, but a Japanese marketplace format — groceries, prepared foods, and food-court-style vendors under one roof. That format means you can eat well for a fraction of what a nearby hotel restaurant charges, pick up pantry items unavailable at standard supermarkets, and get a read on what Japanese food in Hawaii actually looks like outside tourist menus.
The Kalākaua Ave location matters more than it might seem. Most of Waikiki's dining pulls toward surf-and-turf, Hawaiian plate lunch, or resort buffet territory. Mitsuwa is the outlier: a place where the focus is Japanese product quality rather than ocean views or luau atmosphere. If you are staying in Waikiki and want one meal that does not feel like resort infrastructure, this is the practical call.
On a second visit, what you notice is the consistency of the grocery selection and the reliability of the food hall as a low-pressure midday option. It is not the place for a special occasion dinner, but for a quick, well-sourced lunch or an afternoon pick-up run, it earns repeat visits in a way that most single-concept spots nearby do not.
For context on how Mitsuwa fits into the wider Honolulu dining picture, see our full Urban Honolulu restaurants guide. If ramen is specifically what you are after, AGU Ramen at Ward Centre is the more focused option. For a higher-end Japanese-influenced meal in the city, Alan Wong's Honolulu is a different tier entirely. Explore more of what the city offers via our Urban Honolulu bars guide, hotels guide, and experiences guide.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitsuwa Marketplace | Easy | — | |
| 1050 Ala Moana Blvd | Unknown | — | |
| Bread ＆ Butter | Unknown | — | |
| Duke's Waikiki | Unknown | — | |
| L&L Hawaiian Barbecue | Unknown | — | |
| Lucky Belly | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Mitsuwa Marketplace and alternatives.
Mitsuwa operates as a marketplace format, not a sit-down restaurant with a bar. Food options are available in-store — think prepared foods and grab-and-go items rather than table service. If you want a full bar experience nearby, Duke's Waikiki on Kalākaua Ave is the more direct option.
Wear whatever you'd wear to a grocery run. Mitsuwa is a marketplace on Kalākaua Ave, and the Waikiki surroundings mean shorts and sandals are the norm. No dress code applies here.
No booking needed — Mitsuwa is a walk-in marketplace. Show up, shop, and go. Weekends and midday hours in Waikiki can get busy, so earlier in the morning tends to be quieter if you want to move through quickly.
Not in the conventional sense. Mitsuwa works well for sourcing Japanese ingredients, specialty snacks, or prepared foods you won't find at a standard Honolulu supermarket — but it's a market, not a celebratory dining destination. For a special-occasion meal, Lucky Belly or Duke's Waikiki are better fits.
For casual Japanese-influenced food in Waikiki, Lucky Belly offers a more structured sit-down experience. L&L; Hawaiian Barbecue covers the local plate-lunch angle at a lower price point. If you're on Kalākaua Ave and want a full-service restaurant rather than a market stop, Duke's Waikiki is the most accessible alternative with a broader crowd.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
