‘It’s always happy hour!’ at Shirokiya Japan Village Walk — ’nuff said

The new Japan Village Walk, a 65,000-square-foot wonderland of street food, fast food, delicacies and more from Shirokiya, the Japanese-owned wonderland of shopping, opened two months ago at Ala Moana Center.

Now that I’ve visited, I’m wondering what took me so long to get there. Because, dang, the beverages are cheap, the food is plentiful and varied, and the audience is enthusiastic, making for an entertaining visit. Check it out.

The experience

The Village Walk was set up to mimic the experience of a city market in Japan. Lanterns and artificial cherry blossoms hang profusely from the ceiling. There are rows of vendors housing 32 food kiosks and tables to seat 900.

The “village” has a buzz about it, with groups of friends grabbing a table, splitting up to find their grinds, then sharing a drink or two as a stream of eaters pass by.

I sat down near a couple of 30-something-year-old guys who were extremely pleased to be enjoying pau hana, as a break from their usual family-man duties. Grinning from ear to ear, they talked story about their jobs, kids and future plans, with obvious affection for their home life, but equally clear appreciation for the bargain beer.

You can get a wide variety of food here, from sushi to ramen, yakitori, okonomiyaki, tempura and desserts. Outliers include hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza and pasta. Some of the specialty vendors serve pricey gourmet items, including wagyu beef, hotpot and Japanese-Mediterranean combos. As a bargain-hunter, I was most pleased by the street-food vendors and somewhat puzzled by the high-end dishes. I’d rather have table service if ordering certain dishes, but I can see that it’s exciting to have so many options.

The food

I’m all about the fish if I’m going for a Japanese-influenced meal, so I made a beeline for Toyo Sushi. This izakaya vendor has a good variety of classics, from chirashi to grilled saba, salmon and butterfish. You can also get rice or buckwheat somen here.

The first thing that caught my eye was a generous bento including saba (mackerel), a bite-sized piece of (fried) chicken karaage, furikake-sprinkled rice and hijiki (made with shoyu-flavored dried seaweed) — labeled at $8.95, but offered at a 20 percent discount because it was getting later in the evening.

I also ordered a jam-packed chirashi sushi pack, $16.95 (and also discounted). It included ahi, ebi (shrimp), tamago (egg), scallops (I know!), hokkigai (clam), unagi (eel) and saba, along with copious amounts of roe and white rice.

The fish was fresh and the rice was … acceptable, though somewhat sticky from being packed in plastic for a few hours. All the offerings were great with beer and sake.

The drinks

The slogan at Japan Village Walk is “It’s always happy hour!” And that promise holds very true here, with draft pints starting at just $1. Kirin on tap is $2, and that gets my vote.

I had a Kirin draft and a generous pour of the house sake, Sho Chiku Bai, just $3, and walked away feeling a pau hana glow for just $5 — say what?

If you’re feeling more flush, you can have a pour of the premium sake, Karatamba, at $5. Asahi Super Dry is $4 a pint. And Vintage Cave wines are available by the glass; ask for pricing.

The verdict

For me, this is a quintessential pau hana spot — whatever food you want, most of it quite affordable and beverages at a steal? Let’s go!