Natto Alert: 6-Course Natto Day Dinner Coming to Kaimukī Shokudo

Editor’s note: This event is sold out—so we asked other restaurants to offer new natto creations on July 8 and 9. Click the link below to see the full roundup.

SEE ALSO: 11 O‘ahu Eateries Will Have Special Natto Dishes This Weekend

Natto fans, you’re natto dreaming: Honolulu’s annual Natto Day dinner is back, this time with six courses of izakaya classics mounded, stuffed and mixed with your favorite slimy bean. For the first time since 2019, this glorious celebration is a sit-down dinner—at a brand-new izakaya with a familiar name.

Kaimukī Shokudo is a grown-up version of Kapi‘olani Boulevard’s OG Shokudo Japanese Restaurant & Bar. A Japanese breakfast and soba spot by day, at night it transforms into a modern, mellow izakaya with classic dishes that hit the right notes. A visit last week yielded a nitsuke simmer of fresh, melting buri, a crunchy-cheesy mentaiko mochi spring roll and an agedashi eggplant so good I picked up the bowl and drank the broth. Then I asked who the chef was.

SEE ALSO: Kaimukī Shokudo Is the Izakaya This Neighborhood Needed

It turns out the menu is crafted by Yuya Yamanaka, chef of the former Paris Hawai‘i (now transformed into Nature Waikīkī). Yamanaka was the opening sous chef at Clown Bar in Paris, lauded by The New York Times and Eater and chosen by France’s Le Fooding as the best bistro in the country for 2015. Recruited to Hawai‘i, he later crafted the high-end Mexican-Japanese omakase menu at Buho’s Fukurou sushi bar and the amazing oxtail soup at Westman Café. So I shouldn’t have been surprised at the answer to my question at Kaimukī Shokudo. The man is expert at far more than French-Japanese food.

Our 2023 Natto Day Dinner on July 10 will be a natto-rich showcase of Honolulu’s newest izakaya:

Photo: Lauren Horita

•  Hamachi oroshi with dried ume natto
•  Spicy tuna uni natto handroll
•  Natto yamaimo chijimi (Korean-style pancake)
•  Neba-neba soba
•  Saba kamameshi with ikura and natto
•  Vanilla natto honey toast

Yes, natto honey toast!

Tickets are $80 per person and include all food, tax and tip. Drinks are on you—the two-week-old izakaya has a full menu of well-crafted cocktails, some sake and other alcohol. If you bring your own, the corkage fee is $20 a bottle.

Buy your Natto Day Dinner tickets online.

Finally, these Natto Day dinners have only one rule: You must love natto. There will be no menu substitutions.

2023 Natto Day Dinner at Kaimukī Shokudo

Where: 1127 11th Ave.
When: Monday, July 10, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Tickets: $80 a person including food, tax and tip but not drinks
Drinks: Full bar or BYOB; corkage fee is $20 a bottle
Parking: Municipal lot behind the restaurant

More natto news: We have early word that

1.  Ethel’s Grill will have natto items for takeout on Saturday, July 8. Follow @ethelsgrill_kalihi for updates.
2. MOA Hawai‘i, a wellness organization that has participated in our Natto Day takeout dine-around events, will have a Natto Mini Exhibit ($3 admission; hot natto sundae and vegan option available for $5) and DIY Natto Kits with all ingredients, recipe and video link for those who want to make their own. Natto Kits are $15 for non-members and $12 for MOA members; the $3 admission to the exhibit can be applied toward the kits. Call (808) 952-6900 by Thursday, July 6, to reserve a Natto Kit. 600 Queen St. C2, @moahawaii