Kuru Kuru Sushi

This is always my go to place when I visit home (usually within the first couple days for sure!). They have great affordable sushi here and offer a lot of variety compared to their competition. They have some of the best spicy ahi here! And it comes in any form really. Nigiri, donburi, you name it. Also, definitely get the pumpkin kabocha, that stuff is addictive! They also have a good number of fried foods and things for non-​seafood lovers here (even though you should really be coming here for the sushi). The line for this place can get pretty busy pretty fast so be sure to come early unless you want to wait in line!

On January 31, 2016 at 7 pm I made a take out order of ahi poke bowls for my wife and ahi poke sushi for my 10 year old son. After my wife and son ate, they started to feel Sick about an hour and a half later. They felt so ill
with an upset stomach. I tried calling Kuru Kuru to inform them so they stop serving this bad batch of ahi poke, but as usual, nobody answers this phone. I also had to go down to the location to make the order because nobody answered the phone tonight. I understand that they are busy, but that is poor business practice. They never answer their phone which makes it so inconvenient for customers.
I hope nobody else got sick from the ahi poke on this date. In the past 5 years or
so, I have seen a decline in the quality of the sushi here. It once was one of my favorite sushi places, but it falls into the same category as other restaurants that start off strong but soon after the pride and quality disappears. So sad!!! After my wife and son got food poisoning, I give up on Kuru Kuru!!!

I went here with my mom and I had to post the review. The workers were not that friendly. service: not good at all…
Food: The rice on all sushis were terrible! I personally wanted to say something but because there were too mAny people I didnt want to cause any bad attention. My mom and I did not like the food but the fish quality wasnt good either.
We kept trying other kinds of sushi but we gave more chances to see if we can try something else better but no. Not anything good as well. Our side tables were not cleaned well. I felt the grease and some parts were still wet. Our waitress did not even took time to clean it well… I had to say how bad service it is… I didnt want to come back here again.
But I think it was an interesting experience because many times I go to asia trips, I know sushis there are better. But here in Hawaii I know some places that are really good too… but not this one. sorry

I was pleasantly surprised at my first trip here. The service was top notch as the waitresses were very attentive and the sushi order was quick.
The quantity of the sushi was pretty great in comparison to the prices. The size of the fish used for the Nigri was very generous, probably double the size used at genki. The quality you was also pretty good for the price.
The interior is pleasant and for its size a decent amount of seating areas.
Overall Its definitely a place I would recommend for a great sushi spot that you can get a bang for your buck.
Two tips I would give is the place can get crowded and waits can be pretty long for a seat so plan ahead. I actually went when it wasn’t too crowded so you can get lucky. The other tip would be to park more toward the center of the shopping center and walk over as that’s much quicker. There is minimal parking in front of the restaurant and it’s a one way to an exit in which it’s a long round about to get back into the parking lot.

I lived in Japan for 4.5 years and sushi-​go-​rounds were our go-​to spot for lunch with the office and the family. For dinner, we’d all look forward to it as a group so we could pair our sushi plates with rounds of ice cold draft beers. Yep, my mouth is watering right about now. Visiting Kuru Kuru brought back so many great memories and it’s all because their menu and service were pretty much on point!
For starters, you get a good idea of their offerings by watching the conveyer belt move around the dining room. Cool, right? Kids love this feature, so they usually have an urge to grab. At your table, you also have the option to order from the menu. We typically like to order soup like miso or clam, and multiple plates of salmon, ahi, spicy ahi, shrimp, and Philadelphia roll.
The reason why I didn’t give it 5 stars is because 1) I thought the quality of the sushi rice was mediocre. Yeah, I know. It’s not meant to be a high class sushi restaurant using a high grade of rice. But, it was slightly more on the pasty side and a bit too much for my liking. I prefer to taste the fish than a ball of rice, which is how sushi is served in Japan. It also seemed like it was missing a touch of rice vinegar. 2) No draft beer!
Customer Service here at dinner time was really great. They were prompt when refilling our water and hot tea throughout our meal. They also checked on whether or not we were doing okay. Choice of music was two thumbs up! Oldies but goodies. Caught myself singing out loud when my mouth wasn’t full.
At the register counter, they have a raffle going on through Dec 31, 2015. Enter your name for a trip for 2 to Las Vegas!
Large parking area and decent size waiting area if it’s busy.
Last but not least, Kuru Kuru is SO MUCH BETTER than Genki Sushi.

It happened to me too. Food poisoning that is. And I usually have a strong stomach.
It was my first time here. The place looked promising with the line of people waiting. I thought the fish might be fresh with a high turn around.
But it appears that there seems to be a food poisoning outbreak. Someone is not washing their hands … Or not storing food properly … Or something!

Dined here while in port at Pearl Harbor for deployment this past weekend. Found them on Unilocal for high reviews of sushi so that got me in as I had a sushi fix that needed fixing bad! I came in on a Friday afternoon around 4pm and found the place pretty dead with maybe 10 people in the place but mind you about 30 is the max it can handle I’d say.
I ended up ordering a bit too much I must say as the portions were bigger then I thought for the chicken/​egg and the tuna poke ruce bowls. Could have done those alone and passed on the nigiri easy. However all my items were very good! The chef had my items plated in minutes from ordering. Being it was net yet the rush time not much of any sushi was on the conveyor belt yet so all items were as you order.
I got the the 2 udon bowls and 4 nigiri orders and that was more than enough for me and I can pound sushi let me say! Their fish to rice ration is WAY in favor of the fish. Its lapped over the rice end to end and only a small ball of rice hides under it. You normally see the flip side of that with lots of rice and tiny bits of fish on top. Not here!
The udon bowls were the rock stars though. Mound of fresh and flavorful tuna poke for 1 and mound of steamed, seasoned chicken, onion and egg over rice. This one really impressed me the most as I had not had it ever before. Glad I did now however!
Fast service, good quality sushi, new first time menu item and a decent bill of just $ 24 made this trip a winner in my book. Also put a temporary quell to my massive sushi fix going in!

My favorite food sushi.
This shop is very well.
私のお気に入りの店です。

OK I was excited to go to this place. It was kind of cool seeing the little conveyor belt talking the dishes around the tables. Staff was friendly, maybe too friendly, we had 4 different people ask if we were ready to order all in a 5 minute span. We ordered from the menu vice grabbing off the belt. Don’t know how long the stuff has been sitting there. Food was OK but expensive. They chharge by the plate so for a 3 piece sushi it cost $ 3.50.
The place was dirty. The sushi prep area looked dirty. The chef wasn’t wearing a hat or hair net. The floor was dirty. The conveyor belt was dirty. I could see old bits of food stuck in the tracks.
So about an hour after leaving my stomach was feeling weird. It was a good thing I lived close by so I was able to rush home. Not saying it was from the food but it’s a coincidence.

I’ve come here multiple times and have been disappointed every time. With the service and the food.
However I decided to try it again and I must say I’m glad I did.
The service was outstanding and the food was much better. I’m not a fan of the conveyor belt. This time they took our order and brought our food. My only complaint about their sushi is that the rolls have all rice and no fish and then they mask it with a small slice of fish on top.
The restaurant was nice and clean as well. ;)

Excellent service, affordable prices, and large portions are all wins for an eatery. Fortunately, we went for an early dinner (around 5pm), so we didn’t face the lines like other reviews mentioned. During this time, the conveyor belt didn’t offer a lot of plates but ordering was fast and soon enough, our tasty meal was served– california roll, spicy tuna inari, fried pumpkin, tofu, somen, udon, dragon roll, oyakodon, teri chicken, and a few more.
Near 6pm when the crowds started to arrive, more and more plates started circling on the conveyor belt, making it difficult to resist grabbing a plate or two more even though I was stuffed. Kuru Kuru doesn’t skimp on the spicy ahi atop the sushi — it’s heaped on.
In th evening, parking is challenging at the crowded Pearl Kai Center but an early dinner solves this along with no wait to dine at Kuru Kuru.

BEST PLACE FOR SUSHI!!! My favorite go to place when I’m having the craves. I always get the salmon sashimi and it’s always super fresh and Ono.
Service is excellent ever! The workers are extremely helpful and amazing. The prices are affordable. WAY BETTER THAN GENKIS!!! I totally recommend this place if your looking for yummy sushi at a great price.
My faves: salmon sashimi, tuna mayo, tempura udon, ika karaage (better than any joint), dynamite, and much more!

Kuru Kuru is the answer to getting away from Genki; not that Genki is bad just a different take.
Wait time was about 15 minutes this time which is fairly decent considering how busy they can be.
As always I avoid the food on the conveyer belt cause I don’t know how long it has been rotating, air gems from customers, and I want some things hot and freshly made.
Prices have gone up: red plates 3.50 used to be under 3 before, blue plates now 9.95 (dons). The dons used to be the best buy with the tamago and mound of spicy ahi and tuna at under $ 7. Now I avoid so I can get a variety of items.
Some of the best items are the Seared Ahi/​Salmon/​Hamachi, Kambocha (tempura pumpkin), Karaage Chicken. The sear and slightly charred mayo add a hightened taste to the ahi/​salmon/​hamachi. The salmon kama (collar) is the better deal over the hamachi kama. I would also recommend the salmon skin but sometimes that’s hit or miss on being salty and just right.
Wait staff was the biggest plus. Not sure if it was just the specific employees working today (¹⁰⁄₂₅) or they have made it a training point to be more attentive. But they were constantly circling, refilling drinks, taking orders and cleaning. A huge improvement from about a year ago (though they very nice and friendly then, the level of attention and service was noticeable today).
If you want a quick bite of sushi on this side and want to eat and run with take out or got time to relax this is a decent place to hit up. Good thing is if they have a very long wait there are a number of eateries bear to go instead.
Parking can get crazy during peak meal times, but there are quite a bit of stalls.
Service −5÷5 (wait staff was very attentive)
Wait time — ⁴⁄₅ (only about 15 minutes this time)
Food — ⁴⁄₅ hit the spot for cheap sushi
Prices −3.5÷5 (prices have gone up significantly)

I love «sushi train» type places, but this wasn’t the best place I’ve been to. The prices aren’t terrible, but the sushi was different than what I used to have back in the Seattle/​Tacoma area.
My wife and I came in on a Friday night at 9:20 and didn’t really get a good variety of sushi on the go-​round. I can understand that.
When I looked at their sushi selection I noticed it was somewhat under par and different than what I was used to. I asked for a ‘Vegas roll’ and apparently that wasn’t a roll they were familiar with. I’ve had Vegas rolls on the east and west coast of the U.S. Nonetheless I ordered something similar, the ‘Union Roll’ and enjoyed it.
I did enjoy that they served complimentary tea, which is typically a staple of Chinese restaurants in New York. The tea was great and added to the meal. I had maybe two or three dishes off the sushi train and my wife had a similar amount. It is recommended that if you’re going to go, don’t go an hour before closing. They will still make rolls in the back, but part of the enjoyment is pulling trays off the train.
Odd note– My wife and I woke up extremely dehydrated and I think it was due to the sodium levels in the food. It may have been the soy sauce. Who knows?

We normally go to genki but I decided to try kuru kuru today. We signed in and was seated right away. The service was really good. They kept refilling our drinks. The food was good also. We tried so many things that I will just post pictures because my fingers might fall off if I name them all. They are all very similar. Genki, kuru kuru, sushi bay. I don’t have a favorite because I love sushi!

Going here again regularly because their choices of sushi has become a favorite because their selections aren’t as oily as other restaurants. Except for the long wait at times, the service is great with the same employees happily greeting us. However the price is now about the same as Genki.
Their tempura win over other places because of the sweet soy taste mixed in the tempura batter.
Always lots of parking since it is in pearlkai.

What can I say… Kuru Kuru Sushi cranks out some really onolicious sushi! Whenever I’m in the Aiea area… and I just so happen to be jonesing for some sushi, I like to come to the Kuru Kuru in the Aiea area.
I think Kuru Kuru was the original inventors of some interesting sushi dishes… long before Genki started to do the same.
For today’s lunch, I met up with my co-​worker for a quick lunch, but the only catch is to get a seat there, and no matter what time you go… the place is always crowded!
Lucky our wait for a table was less than 15 minutes…
We sat, started to grab a bunch of plates & threw down a quick and fast meal!
Some of my personal favorites are the Kaarage Chicken, Spicy Tuna, Tuna Fish, & Ahi poke.
Service was very attentive & good today, as the waitress kept checking on us to make sure our water & hot tea were filled.
Lunch can get a little pricey depending on how big your eyes are. For the two of us, the tab came out a little over $ 43.00 bucks, but at least I walked away full, & satisfied.

Darn, I should’ve read the new reviews before I went! The thing that really USED to set Kuru Kuru apart was their amazing dollar-​for-​dollar value… which, alas, just isn’t the same anymore. Personally, I thought the sushi was ALMOST as good as ever… but now the majority of the menu is $ 3.50 per plate… ikura is $ 6.95 (up from $ 5.25)…and all of the poke bowls (+ most of the rolls) are $ 9.95 each (up from $ 6.95). :-(And of course, the bowls are tiny compared to «back in the day.»
I liked that the pumpkin tempura is still cheap (can’t beat 5 slices for $ 1.75!)…and I think we got lucky with a fresh batch of salmon skin dishes coming onto the conveyor belt, just as we got seated ($ 1.75 per dish, woo hoo)! The servers were attentive – maybe in response to those recent complaints? – and water/​tea constantly refilled.
All in all, Kuru Kuru still seems like a good place to come if you’re looking for moderate-​quality sushi in a casual, family-​friendly atmosphere (just beware the wait… we signed in at 8pm on a Saturday & got seated at 8:27). But for those prices, we’ll probably be heading to Sushi Spot more often now…& I really want to check out this «Sushi Bay”-place that everyone talks about!

Oh, how I remembered the days I use to come here at least once a week. Sushi was cheap and good!
Location:
They are located in the Pearl Kai Shopping Center next to Curry House and Sprint. Parking is plentiful.
Prices:
Prices have gone up since back in the days. They don’t have the large menu on the wall anymore. I guess they need to update the price change. I don’t see their mix don or any of the bowls on the menu.
Food:
The sushi is still good. Thank goodness! There selection isn’t as large as before. The menu was limited and the food on the conveyor belt was not as fresh.
Service:
The staff are friendly and are prompt with refilling waters and hot tea.
Overall, the sushi was good just as I remembered but the limited selection was disappointing.