Japan Express

I ordered the hibachi chicken and the California roll. I wasn’t expecting much, anyway, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. The chicken was barely seasoned. The fried rice was literally just rice with some kind of sauce, but no vegetables or eggs like I’m used to having in fried rice. But who can complain for $ 5? The ginger for the sushi smelled terrible, and the entire sushi portion clearly wasn’t fresh.
The staff was super-​friendly, though, and the service was really fast, if that’s what you’re looking for. They also have unlimited white sauce, although it’s not as flavorful as I prefer.
I’ve had better hibachi at home in Goldsboro, and out in Hickory. If I wanted some real hibachi, I wouldn’t mind paying for it at Kanki. At least there I get my money’s worth.

Pretty mediocre. If you do go here, don’t get anything teriyaki. The teriyaki sauce tasted like some sort of American brown gravy and not like any teriyaki sauce I’ve ever tried. Stick with hibachi, but even that isn’t much better. The «fried rice» looked like white rice dribbled with soy sauce, and it was soggy and mushy.

Almost as good as mall food. Beef teriyaki was dry and tasted fishy. Shrimp tasted fine but was no warmer than luke. Chicken teriyaki was decent.

The typical, quick stop Japanese restaurant. There was nothing too spectacular about Japan Express and the quality of food was as honestly, below standard. My friend and I came here after our workout to grab something to eat and we both ordered the Hibachi Chicken. The portions are generous, but the quality wasn’t too great. The chicken was very dry, and the fried rice they gave alongside the entrée was missing some element that could have made it more flavorful. The vegetables lacked flavor as well, as if they were rushed in fully cooking it. I’ll probably be coming back if I am feeling too lazy to cook up a post-​workout meal and in need of protein/​carbs. But, I would not recommend this place if you want a good, sit-​down hibachi meal.

From a unc alum who ate at all the quick food spots in the area:
Only order the Steak and/​or Shrimp Hibachi!!! (With fried rice)
It is the best steak and shrimp hibachi in the area
Don’t order chicken or get anything in teriyaki, bc it’s very average… make sure you get the regular fried rice, the noodles aren’t that great
Ginger and white sauce dispensers are amazing.
Better than Sakura for shrimp and steak
If you want chicken then Sakura is better

Portion size is meager for what you pay. Ordered hibachi chicken – it was dry, flavorless and garnished with exactly 2.5 pieces of broccoli, four strips of caramelized onion and a slice of zucchini. The ginger sauce was inedible. Save your money and go elsewhere.

So i stopped by for a quick lunch, i didn’t expect much from Japanese fast food and they lived up to my expectations, i didn’t get much. Overcooked steak, regular steamed rice and a payee full of onions.
The place was clean so i give them 2 starts

The only positive about this restaurant was the prices. The girl who took my order was texting, my food came out cold, and they were out of sauces.

The sushi was just OK, but the shrimp and steak stir fry was delicious. Shrimp were fresh and cooked just right.

Decent imitation Japanese food, probably Chinese owned. Reasonable menu, prices, quality, taste. Simple, spacious atmosphere.

My boyfriend and I just moved to the chapel Hill area. Exhausted from
Moving & unpacking we needed a quick, cheap fix and were SICK of fast food. We tried Japan Express and for the price it was very good. I got the hibachi steak & chicken and my boyfriend got the hibachi steak & shrimp. We really enjoyed the ginger sauce. We really have nothing bad to say, what do you expect Japanese express (Im japanese and am familiar with the culture & cuisine-​not real true authentic Japanese, but decent Americanized asian grub.) it was exactly what we needed and fixed our cravings. We have found our new too exhausted to cook take out spot.

This is a great quick place to stop when you have a craving for Japanese food! We eat here at least once a week and it is never crowded and the food is ready in several minutes. We normally order the Hibachi Chicken plate and then cover it in white sauce. I recommend 3 or 4 of the small cups of the white sauce. We put in on the rice, the chicken and the veggies!!!
The only compliant that I have is that on several occasions the zucchini was not cooked fully. Overall, this is the BEST place for Japanese when you are in a hurry and don’t want to break the bank. The lunch specials are the same portions as the dinner menu but cheaper! Last time we were there for lunch we ordered the Hibachi Chicken plate and it was only $ 4.99.

Good, but not great. This place is decent speedier japanese style food. Because they have one person working the hibachi grill it can be slow to receive your food. Although it has gotten quicker it is still slow. Food is good depending on what you order. The Hibachi chicken is rather bland. The hibachi steak and shrimp is very good with the white sauce. The rice is, well, rice. The Fried Beef Dumplings need more flavor. I have noticed their prices have moved up a little from a few years ago. As other people have said the portion size is larger than what you will find at some other Hibachi style places. I have had better japanese food in other cites like Los Angles and San Francisco & Washington, DC, but for Chapel Hill they do O.K.
Location B
Environment D
Staff C
Food C

As good as the hibachi grills are, this place gets on my last nerve… Neither Japanese nor express, the service is the worst in town… needs an improvement specialist to redesign its processes. Slow, nothing customized (can’t even get a salad before the main course!) and impersonal. Great salad dressing, but that is little consolation after waiting 20 or more minutes for ‘Express’,

When I die, I want to be buried here.
Thinking about all of the money I’ve wasted at Kanki before I discovered this place. My wife convinced me to go here one day back in 06. I thought it was blasphemous to get Japanese steak to go. Five years later, I have this place on my speed dial and I don’t even live in NC anymore.
The White Sauce is liquid crack. Some days it’s great, other days it’s a little off. (Maybe too much baking soda?) Anyway, if you can catch it on a good day, pour it on everything… rice, chicken, shrimp, coca-cola…doesn’t matter.
It’s best to go at lunch when the food is fresh off the grill. I’d suggest asking for broccoli only as the other stir fry veggies are kinda greasy. The price is right, the food is great and you really can’t beat the random, off toned karaōke music. lol
I miss this place. (crying just a little inside)

i like this place… granted, I only ever get their Hibachi chicken. It’s not too heavy and filling. Rice is not soggy– which is an utter fail at most Asian take out places.

Have not sampled the full menu, and never will, but:
— Teryaki chicken in a really awful, gloppy thick sauce.
— Tempura udon with fishy-​tasting noodles, fishy-​tasting broth, and southern-​fried style tempura.
I’ve lived in Chapel Hill for five years, never got around to this place until yesterday, and thought I’d try it before I move away this summer. A bad decision, sorry to say.

When I go to a place like this, I don’t expect authentic at ALL. I don’t expect spectacular. But I also don’t expect that they would batter their «tempura» in thick, goopy, unseasoned Italian breadcrumbs. The very least they could do is use tempura flakes. The tempura also consisted of a piece of sad, sad broccoli, two slices of zucchini, and two onions. I would have been disappointed in the variety if it were actually good enough to eat.
The miso was also gross. It is more difficult to mess up miso than it is to make it correctly. It was clear that the tofu was reconstituted, as some of it was really soggy and slimy, and other bits were chewy. I don’t mind this when I get the instant miso bowls at Trader Joe’s, because that is what I’m expecting.
The udon were better. I avoided the chicken (thanks, previous reviewer!), but the veggies were oddly cooked (again, some overdone, some raw) and the broth was very salty… and for someone who LOVES salt to say it was excessive is a lot. The noodles themselves were decent, which is why this has two stars and not just one with a sad face.
I’m just very glad I didn’t order any sushi. Is the sushi new? About 7 months ago I went in and the girl behind the counter said they don’t «do» sushi. She was very busy texting, though so perhaps I just went at a bad time.

Quick & cheap, with some «white sauce» that will blow your mind.
When I venture forth to eat at one of those weird American novelties that is fast bastardized ethnic food, I make sure to adjust my expectations. Being that Japan Express serves weirdly American bastardized Japanese fast food, my expectations are always duly adjusted, and I make sure to order carefully (and you should, too – this is a cuisine of its own, people!)
Clearly the only thing to order here is some hibachi or noodles. And oh, is the hibachi worth it. Oh, you scrumptious, wide swath of rice with subtle sprinkles of sesame seeds, abundant succulent veggies, and generous protein-​meat serving (if desired) drizzled with all the mystery white sauce my heart desires. The portions are so huge I always end up with at least half left over, so at $ 5−6/order, these meals are a steal!
I imagine that ordering sushi would be a set-​up for disappointment that would be not unlike the disappointment experienced by someone who ordered a McRib sandwich from McDonald’s expecting it to be a bona fide BBQ Rib sandwich. So, I always stick with the hibachi, and it never fails me.
This place gets 5 stars for being an awesome deal for some awesome food in a decently clean place with super-​courteous service. They even stayed open 5 – 10 minutes extra on Christmas Eve when my sister and I were in town and dying for some Japan Express hibachi! Like Jed W., this is one of the places I always have to go to when I’m back in town.
Highly recommend for the gourmands who appreciate low-​brow delights!

Alright, I have got to pick up the Japan Express rating, or «Japsex» as my group of friends like to call it. Only because it’s so good. Absolutely love the hibachi shrimp or the chicken or the steak. Comes with a huge helping of rice and veggies and if you finish the whole thing, you’ve got a miniature baby in your stomach. Also can’t go wrong with the assortment of sauces, although their white sauce is something that I really enjoy.
This is one of the places that I love going to when I’m back in Chapel Hill — it’s quick, easy, and cheap. Just like all of my dates.