Japan-based restaurant chain Sushi Zanmai is opening its first U.S. location in Los Angeles’s Koreatown. Kiyoshi Kimura opened the first location of Sushi Zanmai in Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji fish market in 2001 in response to falling traffic in the market. When the restaurant opened, it quickly set itself apart by operating 24 hours, feeding hungry locals and tourists looking for sushi at all hours of the day and night.
Sushi Zanmai in Tokyo.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
In the years since the first restaurant, Sushi Zanmai has expanded to dozens of locations across Japan, becoming well known for its reasonably-priced sushi and a smiling statue of Kimura that welcomes guests at the front door. Kimura is known as the “tuna king” in Japan and paid a record 333.6 million yen (more than $2 million USD) for a single bluefin tuna at a New Year’s auction in 2019.
Sushi Zanmai will open in Koreatown’s Chapman Market, in the former Sake House by Hikari space at the corner of Sixth Street and Alexandria Avenue. Initial signage for the restaurant went up in late May 2025, and a liquor license was filed in February 2025. An opening date has not been shared yet and brown paper remains up in the windows, obscuring the interior.
If the offerings at the Los Angeles location mirror those in Japan, guests can expect affordable nigiri, hand rolls, tempura, sashimi, chawanmushi, and more in a lively dining room. When Sushi Zanmai opens in Los Angeles, it will enter an already competitive field of sushi restaurants, but coming from Japan, that shouldn’t be out of the norm. Hopefully, the statue of Kimura will make the trip over as well.
Sushi Zanmai will be located at 3465 W. Sixth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90020.
Sushi Zanmai in Koreatown, Los Angeles.
Rebecca Roland
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