{"id":89493,"date":"2026-07-24T12:56:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T19:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=89493"},"modified":"2026-07-24T13:09:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T20:09:42","slug":"homareya-long-beach-izakaya-japanese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/eat\/homareya-long-beach-izakaya-japanese","title":{"rendered":"From Japadillas to monkfish karaage, the Long Beach izakaya doing it differently"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“Japanese people, we do not eat too much sushi and ramen, actually. We eat so many different things,” says chef Yoya Takahashi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ve probably noticed that Japanese food in the U.S. has a tendency to fall into certain lanes \u2014 sushi, ramen and the like. For Takahashi, after years working in Japanese restaurants across L.A., the repetitive nature of doing the same fish, the same sequence, every day, was driving him almost to his wits’ end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s when his izakaya concept started to take shape. A drinking and dining experience that was personal and, more importantly, a truer vision of the diverse offerings of Japanese cooking back home. No set menu, a more seasonal approach, Japanese food on its own terms. Basically, whatever the hell he wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is Homareya<\/u><\/a>, his izakaya in downtown Long Beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to order<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The menu moves with the improvisational ease of a Jerry Garcia guitar solo \u2014 unhurried, searching, funky and cool, following the thread wherever it leads, and always landing somewhere that feels inevitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It spans the raw, the grilled, the fried, the fermented \u2014 Japanese and Californian in equal measure, almost autobiographical in its range. It began with saba nigiri \u2014 lightly torched, iridescent skin, 15-year-old vinegar rice, a quiet nod to his sushi roots. Then he moves on to a couple of yakitori skewers \u2014 simple and satisfying, approachable and adventurous between the same few bites of chicken thigh and liver. The monkfish karaage arrives looking like chicken and tastes like something better \u2014 his non-conforming nature in a single bite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there’s the Japadilla \u2014 a Sonoratown tortilla charred over binchotan and filled with soy-simmered beef, Jidori egg, konnyaku (a starchy Japanese root vegetable), mozzarella, sansho pepper and ichimi. Unapologetically Long Beach. Completely his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takahashi regularly visits farmers markets in Long Beach and Cerritos \u2014 no further \u2014 along with tending a small plot at a community garden a few miles north of the restaurant. His wife Yoshiko Nishibe is the Bob Weir to his Garcia, bringing her own creative spirit to an in-house fermentation program \u2014 koji, miso, mirin, fermented soy, all from scratch \u2014 and not afraid to experiment with unexpected bases like chickpea and mustard miso, the latter showing up in the firefly squid special, a dish that rewards the curious diner who orders off the menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Japadilla \u2014 a Sonoratown tortilla filled with soy-simmered beef, Jidori egg, konnyaku, mozzarella, sansho pepper and ichimi \u2014 is the dish that says everything about Takahashi’s cooking.\n(Gab Chabr\u00e1n\/ LAist )<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why Long Beach<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Moving to Long Beach 15 years ago, Takahashi fell in love with the bar scene \u2014 a city long known for its old-school haunts. It was the individual free spirits he identified with that made it feel like home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Homareya, the menu includes sake, wine, and Japanese craft beer, all hand-selected. The wine list itself is a partnership with local bottle shop Buvons, where he sometimes pops up. Then there’s the shochu \u2014 a Japanese spirit distilled from ingredients like barley, sweet potato, or rice, lighter than most Western spirits and endlessly versatile \u2014 which is perhaps the most personal part of the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five selections anchored by the Beni Otome, a sesame shochu that Takahashi serves poured directly over hojicha, a roasted green tea, nutty, herbaceous, and exactly right for a Long Beach summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His background<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Takahashi grew up in Kyoto, before immigrating to the U.S. in 2000 with only a backpack and a dream of becoming an actor. It makes perfect sense once you look at him \u2014 his long grey ponytail, tattooed arms, and unmistakable gruff voice would make him a shoo-in for a bit part in an independent film with the likes of Jim Jarmusch or Wes Anderson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He ended up washing dishes to pay rent until someone suggested he try making sushi instead \u2014 eventually landing in Little Tokyo, where he trained at Hamakawa, a now-closed institution, and later in Gardena at Kanpachi. Learning directly from older Japanese mentors, watching and doing, no internet to fall back on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His grandfather was a stage actor back in Kyoto, and one of those mentors once told him the sushi counter works the same way. Same instincts, different medium \u2014 you see it in the quiet, calculated way Takahashi moves before setting a plate down in front of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Takahashi, Homareya represents a reclamation of something: his voice, his cooking, his terms. The name says it plainly \u2014 Homare, an alternate reading of the chef’s own name, paired with ya, the Japanese word for home. At Homareya, that’s not a concept. It’s a promise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With no set menu and a seasonal approach, chef Yoya Takahashi is showcasing Japanese food on its own terms. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":243,"featured_media":89494,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"With no set menu and a seasonal approach, chef Yoya Takahashi is showcasing Japanese food on its own terms. ","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32365,32364,2002,32036],"tags":[32402,871],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[25208],"class_list":["post-89493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eat","category-eat-see-do-2","category-news","category-small-business","tag-homareya","tag-restaurants","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/243"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89496,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89493\/revisions\/89496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89493"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=89493"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=89493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}