Yakiniku Haretoke plans to open its first Hawaiʻi restaurant this winter at the Renaissance Honolulu Hotel & Spa, at 1390 Kapiʻolani Blvd., Aloha State Daily reported. The restaurant says the location will be the islands’ only restaurant serving Joshu wagyu, beef from Japan’s Gunma Prefecture.
The Honolulu restaurant is planned as an expansion of Haretoke’s Kawagoe, Japan, operation. Its distinctive sourcing plan is to buy whole Joshu wagyu cattle through a direct relationship with Gunma and use the full animal, according to Aloha State Daily. Executive chef Masanori Tsuda, currently a chef at Dell’s Kitchen & Bakery, is expected to lead the kitchen.
A regional specialty with an export history
Joshu Wagyu’s overseas history predates the planned Honolulu restaurant. Gunma Prefecture’s official site says it was the first Japan-raised Wagyu beef exported to the European Union, in 2014. That milestone documents the product’s export history; it does not verify Haretoke’s planned supply or shipments to Hawaiʻi.
Japan’s wider beef-export figures provide trade context, not evidence of local demand or of wagyu’s share of exports. The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service reported that Japan exported beef to 45 countries and regions in 2025 and forecast stable export volumes in 2026. Separately, Nippon.com, citing Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, reported that the value of Japan’s beef exports rose 12% year over year to ¥64.8 billion in 2024.
For general background on provenance, the Japan External Trade Organization says each head of cattle, including Japanese Wagyu, receives a standardized 10-digit identification number managed centrally by the government. That describes Japan’s traceability system generally, not records for cattle planned for Haretoke’s Honolulu restaurant.
Local comparisons and what the data can—and cannot—show
Haretoke will enter a Honolulu dining scene that has had at least one other recent Japanese yakiniku opening: Aloha State Daily reported that Yakiniku Like, a separate restaurant on Keʻeaumoku Street, celebrated its first Hawaiʻi location’s grand opening on October 21, 2026. The two openings are a local point of comparison, not proof of a broader market trend.
Statewide tourism indicators offer additional context for a hotel-based restaurant, but cannot predict the performance of a particular business. The Hawaiʻi Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism reported average statewide hotel occupancy of 75.9% in the first half of 2026, up 1.5 percentage points from the same period a year earlier. DBEDT also reported that U.S. East visitors’ daily spending increased across all categories in January 2026, with the largest growth in food and beverage, lodging and transportation. Neither statewide measure establishes demand for Haretoke.
The Honolulu location is expected to serve lunch and dinner, with listed hours of 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; its menu, prices and final hours had not been set at the time of the interview, Aloha State Daily reported. The restaurant’s opening timing and stated sourcing plan are announced plans; operational details and the local response remain to be seen.
