Overview
Kojima's Sushi and Japanese cuisine is a long-running Japanese restaurant in Upcountry Maui, located in Makawao/Pukalani. It appears to be a dinner-focused neighborhood spot rather than a destination omakase room: the official site describes casual dining with indoor and outdoor seating, ample parking, and BYOB service. The Google Places record matches the same address, phone, and website, and shows it as operational. (kojimassushi.com)
For a traveler, the main appeal is that this is one of the more established Japanese options in the upcountry area, with a broad menu that goes beyond standard rolls to include sashimi, nigiri, bentos, tempura, katsu, butterfish, and desserts. The place also seems oriented toward relaxed dine-in dinners and takeout, which matters in a part of Maui where evening choices can be narrower than in the resort areas. (kojimassushi.com)
Cuisine & Specialties
This is a Japanese restaurant with a sushi-forward menu, but it is not limited to sushi bars and rolls. The menu includes classic appetizers, sashimi and nigiri, specialty rolls, cooked Japanese entrees, and sweets. It also has a noticeable local-Maui overlay: ahi poke, ahi tataki, seafood sunomono, and desserts like shave ice and lilikoi sorbet sit alongside more standard Japanese items. (kojimassushi.com)
- Overall menu style: sushi, sashimi, nigiri, specialty rolls, and cooked Japanese entrées with some Hawaii-local ingredients and island-friendly desserts. (kojimassushi.com)
- Notable dishes/specialties with support: Dynamite appetizer/bowl, Rainbow Roll, Spicy Tuna, Spicy Hamachi, Haleakala Roll, Kojima’s Roll, Chicken Karaage, Ahi Poke, Ahi Tataki, Miso Butterfish, Tun’s Kojima Bento, and Shave Ice Sundae. The site’s own customer quotes also single out the dynamite bowl, rainbow special roll, spicy tuna roll, and pineapple upside-down cake with homemade ginger ice cream. (kojimassushi.com)
- Drink posture: BYOB is explicitly allowed for beer, wine, or sake; the restaurant says it does not permit hard liquor or mixed drinks, and drinks on the menu are mostly tea, soda, juice, Perrier, coffee, and hot chocolate. (kojimassushi.com)
- Price range / spend expectations: Google lists it at price level 2, but the menu suggests a moderate spend for Maui: rolls are often in the low-to-mid teens, specialty rolls around the low 20s, and entrée sets roughly the low-to-mid 30s, with sashimi dinners near $39. That fits a casual-to-midrange dinner rather than cheap takeout sushi. (kojimassushi.com)
- Dietary usefulness / limitations: There is clear vegetarian usefulness via edamame, tofu, vegetable rolls, salads, and sides; Tripadvisor also tags vegetarian-friendly and vegan options. On the other hand, the menu is seafood-heavy and BYOB rules narrow the beverage options on-site. (tripadvisor.com)
Notable Features & Ambiance
The setting reads as small, casual, and not fussy. The official site says there is indoor and outdoor seating, while secondary review sources describe a tiny, no-frills, open-air space in a strip-mall setting with a few inside seats, some outdoor tables, and no real view. That combination suggests a relaxed neighborhood dinner stop rather than a scenic or luxe sushi room. (kojimassushi.com)
- Service model and seating: table service, dine-in, takeout, reservations listed on Tripadvisor, and online ordering on the official site. Google/website information also points to wheelchair accessibility and ample parking. (tripadvisor.com)
- Atmosphere and decor: descriptions repeatedly point to a cozy, casual, small-format place; one official customer quote calls it “cute,” while a review describes it as “tiny” and “no-frills.” (kojimassushi.com)
- Amenities / practical features: BYOB, indoor and outdoor seating, takeout, ample parking, and a dinner-only schedule. Soft drinks, bottled water, and desserts are sold on-site. (kojimassushi.com)
- Best fit: a low-key sushi or Japanese dinner, family meal, date night, or an upcountry dinner stop after exploring Makawao/Pukalani. (kojimassushi.com)
- Weaker fit: visitors looking for a high-end omakase experience, cocktail program, dramatic ambiance, or a scenic resort setting may find it too casual and too strip-mall in feel. That is an inference from the repeated “casual,” “no-frills,” and open-air descriptions. (kojimassushi.com)
History & Background
The official website says the restaurant has been “proudly serving the people of Maui with aloha since 1985,” which signals a long local run. Tripadvisor’s listing text adds a conflicting note that it was “a new authentic Japanese Restaurant” opened in Maui in June 2012, which appears inconsistent with the site’s longer history claim and may reflect old listing text or a legacy profile rather than the current business identity. The safest reading is that the restaurant has established local roots, but the public web record contains some age/history drift. (kojimassushi.com)
Review Sentiment Snapshot
What People Love
The strongest positive pattern is freshness and breadth: reviewers repeatedly praise the sushi, nigiri, tempura, and specialty rolls, and several comments specifically call out the rainbow roll, spicy tuna roll, dynamite bowl, and ahi-based items. Service also draws a lot of praise in the better reviews, especially when people mention attentive staff and a welcoming owner/sushi chef. The official site’s quoted reviews reinforce the same themes: good food, kind service, and a comfortable place for family or date night. (kojimassushi.com)
Common Gripes
The main downside signal is service inconsistency, and that appears reasonably well supported across multiple sources. Some reviewers report slow takeout, inattentive or inexperienced service, or generally poor hospitality; one older review even complains about the owner yelling at staff. Price is the other recurring caution: several reviewers describe the food as expensive for the portion or quality, though this criticism is mixed rather than universal because many other reviewers think the food is worth it. (tripadvisor.com)
Practical Visitor Tips
- The posted hours are dinner-only: Monday through Thursday 4:30–9:00 PM, Friday and Saturday 4:30–9:30 PM, and closed Sunday. If you want a quieter visit, arriving early in the dinner window is the safest bet based on the small size and limited evening-only schedule. (kojimassushi.com)
- BYOB is a major part of the experience. Bring beer, wine, or sake if you want a fuller drink pairing, but do not expect cocktails or hard liquor service. (kojimassushi.com)
- This looks like a place where takeout is a real option, but at least one review documents a very long wait and cold food, so timing may matter more for pickup orders than for dine-in. That caution is supported, but it is not universal. (kojimassushi.com)
- Parking is repeatedly described as available, though one review notes that daytime parking can be tighter because the restaurant shares a small strip-mall lot with other businesses. (kojimassushi.com)
- If you care most about sushi quality, the dishes most often praised across sources are the rainbow roll, spicy tuna, dynamite items, nigiri/sashimi, and tempura. (kojimassushi.com)
Verification Notes
- Official name and contact details align across sources: Kojima's Sushi and Japanese cuisine, 81 Makawao Ave #114, Makawao/Pukalani, HI 96768, (808) 573-2859, kojimassushi.com. Google, the official site, and secondary listings all point to the same restaurant identity. (kojimassushi.com)
- There is some suite/address formatting drift in public listings: some sources show Ste. 114 and others simply #114, but this looks like formatting variance rather than a different location. (kojimassushi.com)
- Operational status is confirmed as open/operational by Google Places and the official site’s current hours. (kojimassushi.com)
- Tripadvisor’s historical blurb saying the restaurant opened in June 2012 conflicts with the official site’s “since 1985” claim, so that age detail should be treated cautiously. (kojimassushi.com)
Sources
- Google Places / Google Maps business record —
https://maps.google.com/?cid=10643951417759913542— retrieved 2026-03-31. Useful for baseline identity, operational status, rating, review count, price level, and posted hours. - Official site homepage: Kojima's Sushi and Japanese Cuisine —
http://www.kojimassushi.com/— retrieved 2026-04-01. Useful for the restaurant’s self-described positioning, hours, BYOB rules, seating, parking, contact details, and on-site review quotes. - Official menu page —
http://www.kojimassushi.com/menu— retrieved 2026-04-01. Useful for menu structure, notable dishes, prices, dessert and drink options, and BYOB restrictions. - Tripadvisor listing for Kojima's Sushi Bar and Japanese Cuisine —
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60637-d3319342-Reviews-Kojima_s_Sushi_Bar_and_Japanese_Cuisine-Pukalani_Maui_Hawaii.html— retrieved 2026-04-01. Useful for recurring traveler sentiment, tags for BYOB/reservations/vegetarian options, and the conflicting historical blurb. - Birdeye listing for Kojima's Sushi & Cafe —
https://reviews.birdeye.com/kojimas-sushi-cafe-146821545025123— retrieved 2026-04-01. Useful for corroborating address, review volume, and specific comments about service, outdoor dining, and atmosphere. - Restaurantji listing for Kojima's Sushi and Japanese cuisine —
https://www.restaurantji.com/hi/makawao/kojimas-sushi-/— retrieved 2026-04-01. Useful for a compact summary of menu categories, atmosphere, and practical visitor fit, plus a secondary view of hours and review patterns.
