A Home Away From Home at Hinone Mizunone

Loyal customers feel akin to coming home when they visit Hinone Mizunone and its wide range of Japanese cuisine located on South King Street.

According to Eiki Tamaki, operations manager at the restaurant, customers enjoy the “homestyle Japanese comfort food,” and the heart and soul that go into preparing each dish. The eatery gets its name from one of its can’t-do-without staples — rice. Hinone translates to “sound of fire” and Mizunone translates to “sound of water.” Together, the name captures the essence of cooking in the traditional manner, and that process filters through to the food.

“When you cook the rice in the old fashioned pot, all you can hear is the fire and the water,” says Tamaki. “I want everybody to feel like they’re eating at home when they’re here.”

The Maguro (Ahi) Sashimi ($11) offers large pieces of fresh fish, perfect as a pau hana pupu.

For $3 more, diners can make the offering into a meal that includes two sides, a pickled vegetable, rice and miso soup. “It’s one of our most popular dishes,” Tamaki says. “We try to have (the ahi) delivered daily, or at least every other day. The pieces are pretty fat, too!”

Stop by Hinone Mizunone and take advantage of its rotation of daily lunch specials priced reasonably at $8.50 and include a “set” of two sides, a pickled vegetable, rice and miso soup.

Hinone Mizunone