Given the popularity of sushi in Los Angeles, it only makes sense that a new player in the conveyor belt sushi (kaitenzushi) market enters the fray. Word of Waka Sakura spread quickly on social media and Reddit after its opening on February 27 on the second floor of the Tokyo Central grocery store in Gardena. The restaurant’s instant popularity prompted the grocery store to dedicate a small waiting area to contain diners queuing for upwards of two hours to try the restaurant.

What’s immediately different about Waka Sakura is its more upscale dining room and the quality of its sushi. The sleek, dimly lit, and windowless space could be tucked into a Tokyo office building or shopping mall, with hushed jazz piano tunes and helpful service staff. Diners are presented with a heavy paper booklet with photos of the restaurant’s offerings and can order either using the tableside tablet or with their phones and a QR code. The first page of the menu touts the restaurant’s freshly grated wasabi, Hitomebore rice, red vinegar and Junmai Daijingo rice seasoning, and Kyushu-sourced nori.

On the nigiri menu are tuna, yellowtail, salmon, sea bream, seared wagyu beef, and more; the accompanying rice is well-seasoned and served not quite warm but not frigid cold. Prices for the nigiri, which comes in two pieces per plate with some exceptions, start at $3.99 for albacore with garlic chips and go up to $5.49 for roe-topped salmon. Cuts that often only come from higher-end omakase places, like engawa (halibut fin), surf clam, uni, and jack mackerel punch well above their cost. Waka Sakura also offers saucy rolls, hand rolls, sashimi, and grilled plates like salmon filet and hamachi collar.

Conveyor belt sushi has a long history in Japan and the U.S. as a convenient and low-key way to consume sushi. Food in these establishments is prepared in advance or made to order and circulated via conveyor belt to diners. In Japan, kaitenzushi plates start as low as 100 yen (under $1) and go up to 800 yen, with automated ordering on tablets or a color-coded dish system that accumulates each table’s total cost. The most popular chain of conveyor belt sushi restaurants Stateside is Kura Sushi with 50 locations. (In 2020, reports showed that Kura Sushi, a publicly traded company with millions in cash reserves, accepted $6 million in Paycheck Protection Program funds. Kura Sushi returned the money following the backlash.)

Waka Sakura is owned by Pan Pacific International, a large Japanese conglomerate that owns Tokyo Central, Marukai, and Gelson’s Markets. Though early reports on the price-to-quality balance of Waka Sakura have been mixed, time will tell whether it will warrant long waits. For this writer, who’s had plenty of kaitenzushi in Japan and occasionally visits the family-friendly Kura Sushi, Waka Sakura presents an excellent proposition of a quick sushi lunch or dinner priced a few bucks below mom-and-pop restaurants.

Waka Sakura is located on the second floor of Tokyo Central on ​​1740 W. Artesia Boulevard, Gardena, CA 90248 and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. No reservations.