{"id":19456,"date":"2026-05-08T23:41:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T23:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/19456\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T23:41:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T23:41:07","slug":"helms-design-district-welcomes-japanese-izakaya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/19456\/","title":{"rendered":"Helms Design District Welcomes Japanese Izakaya\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hayama by WATAMI opened on May 1 <\/p>\n<p>Serving Japanese comfort cuisine,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hayamaxwatami.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Hayama by WATAMI<\/a>\u00a0is rooted in warmth\u00a0from\u00a0the menu to\u00a0its\u00a0interiors.\u00a0Restaurateur\u00a0and executive\u00a0chef Frank \u201cToshi\u201d Sugiura\u2019s bobblehead collection\u00a0is on display throughout the\u00a0restaurant,\u00a0complemented\u00a0by wooden elements throughout\u00a0that evoke a laidback, homelike feel ideal for long, communal meals over shared plates.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"Hayama by WATAMI bar\" class=\"wp-image-298446\" style=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CR1A7572-1200x800.jpg\"\/>Credit: Brooke Olsen<\/p>\n<p>Hayama by WATAMI\u00a0marks WATAMI\u00a0Group\u2019s\u00a0first U.S. location, following up the Japan restaurant group\u2019s 500-plus eateries across Asia. In Culver City, the\u00a0menu is composed of cold and hot appetizers; rice,\u00a0soup\u00a0and salad;\u00a0yakitori; and sushi. Highlights from the array of Japanese staples include Hayama fried oysters, pork belly-wrapped soft-boiled egg, flame-grilled\u00a0Kabayaki\u00a0eel skewers and various sashimi.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom the beginning, WATAMI knew we wanted to work with chef Toshi for his unique ability to bring Japanese comfort cuisine to life through an American, and distinctly Californian,\u00a0lens,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0WATAMI\u00a0managing executive director Shoya Watanabe. \u00a0\u201cJust as important was the enthusiasm of his family to help shape our shared vision. As a family-founded company ourselves, it was important to partner with a family that is equally involved and passionate. \u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1200\" data-id=\"298448\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"Hayama by WATAMI food\" class=\"wp-image-298448\" style=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CR1A8043-960x1200.jpg\"\/>Credit: Brooke Olsen<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1200\" data-id=\"298450\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"Hayama by WATAMI food\" class=\"wp-image-298450\" style=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CR1A8426-960x1200.jpg\"\/>Credit: Brooke Olsen<\/p>\n<p>Sugiura\u00a0\u2014 the primary Japanese caterer for the Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 home games \u2014\u00a0leads Hayama by WATAMI with his daughter,\u00a0Ichigo.\u00a0\u201cAt\u00a0the heart of everything we cook is the desire to nourish our guests, not only with food, but with the comfort and sense of community that comes from sharing a meal together,\u201d\u00a0Sugiura said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The izakaya\u2019s plates find an esteemed partner in the sake-focused beverage program, which spans imported Japanese varieties that span\u00a0classic styles to premium\u00a0Daiginjo\u00a0expressions. Diners who prefer to pair their food with cocktails can consider from a curation of Japanese sours.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1200\" data-id=\"298451\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"Hayama by WATAMI food\" class=\"wp-image-298451\" style=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CR1A8623-960x1200.jpg\"\/>Credit: Brooke Olsen<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"298449\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"Hayama by WATAMI food\" class=\"wp-image-298449\" style=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CR1A8082-1200x800.jpg\"\/>Credit: Brooke Olsen<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center is-style-altfont has-secondary-color has-text-color has-link-color has-xs-font-size wp-elements-a392843e06eac12cec56e735f4f8219f has-lg-margin-top\" style=\"letter-spacing:1px;text-transform:uppercase\">Scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n<p>Hayama by WATAMI is\u00a0located\u00a0at 32329 Helms Ave. in Culver City.\u00a0It is open daily from 5 to 10 p.m., except for Wednesdays, and plans to expand to lunch service in the near future.\u00a0Reservations are availanble on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/resy.com\/cities\/culver-city-ca\/venues\/hayama-by-watami\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Resy.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hayama by WATAMI opened on May 1 Serving Japanese comfort cuisine,\u00a0Hayama by WATAMI\u00a0is rooted in warmth\u00a0from\u00a0the menu to\u00a0its\u00a0interiors.\u00a0Restaurateur\u00a0and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19457,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2418,15534,8,17,2445,15535],"class_list":["post-19456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-japan","tag-dodgers","tag-helms-design-district","tag-japan","tag-japanese","tag-japanese-food","tag-new-restaurants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}