Michinoku Japanese Restaurant

We’ve received a few messages on our social media regarding the restaurant and wanted to clarify that Chef Koji has no affiliation with the current restaurant labelled under Michinoku…

I also want to add that the name Michinoku has a special place to Chef Koji and his family 🇯🇵💛

Michinoku refers to the northern region of Japan, also known as Tohoku region, where Chef Koji and his wife, Chika, were born and raised.🗾

Moreover, I remember the day that my father announced that he was going to call his restaurant “Michinoku” in homage to his homeland (furusato). I remember looking at him in disbelief, saying: “Are you kidding?! Nobody is going to be able to pronounce it. Nobody will come because they won’t remember who we are.” Of course, my concerns went in one ear and out the other, and my father carried on as most (stubborn) fathers often do 🤣🤣

Fast forward 13 years and I couldn’t have been more wrong.

To my surprise, everyone remembered “Michinoku,” and the name became associated with authentic Japanese food and outstanding service. It was a cozy little mom-and-pop’s kind-of-restaurant where you knew you’d be treated like family.

(And ohhh those eggplants!) 😋😋

We hope you never forget Michinoku for what it was🥰 despite the name being appropriated against our wishes. Thank you for believing in my father’s vision from the start.

Our social media accounts are still active as we would like to share the recipe book once it is ready! So stay tuned!

Now on to writing more recipes…

Today we officially turned our keys in🔑🎉🎊

It’s a bitter-sweet moment but Chef Koji is looking forward to his retirement with his wife, Chika. Once things get settled, he’ll start working on the cookbook (most likely in the late spring/summer!) We’ve received many requests for the eggplant dish so that will be included for sure! It may take some time before it’s published, but we’ll keep everyone updated through our social media!
We also want to give a huge thanks to our realtor, .realtor for her unwavering support. She handled everything with such care and professionalism, allowing us to sell the restaurant with peace of mind. Thanks also to Lou!! We really recommend McGarr Realty Corp 🔑💛
Thank you everyone and let’s give a round of applause to Chef Koji! お疲れ様でした👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Thank you to everyone who came by this week! Chef Koji's and his wife, Chika's, hearts were filled with so much joy! They wanted to express their gratitude for everyone's patience. The wait time can be long, but they will do their best in the meantime. Thank you for understanding!

📣Hello friends!📣

Some of you may have already had a hunch, but we are happy to make the announcement official.🎉

Chef/owner Koji Okabe will be retiring, and the last day that Michinoku will be in operation is Saturday, February 11th, at 9:30 pm.👏👏

Since opening Michinoku thirteen years ago, Chef Koji has worked effortlessly to feed hungry souls in the Niagara region and beyond.🍣🍶

As one of his daughters, I couldn’t be happier to see our locals loving our food and always coming back for more. My family is so thankful, especially to Anestos and Mike, our staff, the City of Niagara Falls Fire Department and the Regional Police, the nurses at Niagara general hospital, Niagara Helicopters, Morgan Animal Hospital, the Niagara Kung Fu Academy, our friends at Chateau des Charmes, local chefs, members of the community, and everyone who stepped foot in our restaurant from afar for making Michinoku such a successful restaurant and for allowing us to share our tradition and comfort Japanese food. A very special thanks to Chanel Grotolla at McGarr Realty Corp., Brokerage for just everything. We couldn’t have asked for a more professional, trustworthy and kind realtor. Thank you. Arigato. 心から感謝。🙏🏻 💛💛

I still remember the first day we opened…my father and I were so nervous, but we’ll never forget all of the support and love we received from our community. Since opening, we have made many close friendships, and I hope it stays that way. It’s really quite something. And, I hope that you won’t be shy to say hello if you see Chef Koji out and about in your local grocery store or somewhere else. 🥰🥰

❗❗ We apologize for the short notice, as we also had to wait until everything was made official. For those who have a gift certificate with us, please come in and ruse it before OR on February 11th at 9:30 pm. ❗❗

🎉🎉Thank you, everyone, for 13 years of business!
We will miss you all so much, but let’s all celebrate Chef Koji’s, our dad’s, hard-earned retirement.🎉🎉

Once things have settled, our family will be helping Chef Koji create a cookbook so you can enjoy Japanese food at home. So please keep your eyes peeled for that.

💛💛

xx Michinoku family!

We will be closing a bit early for the rest of the night (Saturday 24 2022) so that Chef Okabe can spend time with his grandchildren. Wishing everyone a happy and safe Christmas✨🎄🎅🏻

‼️ Due to severe weather conditions, we will be closing today (December 23,2022). We apologize for any inconvenience and wish everyone a safe commute ‼️

🎁🎄Michinoku’s Holiday Hours! 🎄🎁

Saturday 24: 3:00 - 9:30 pm (regular hours)
Sunday 25: closed
Monday 26: closed
January 1-3: closed

✨Things might get busier than usual during the end of the year. Please give our staff and chef some extra time for takeout orders. Thanks in advance for your patience✨

🎄☃️We hope everyone has a safe holiday!

We are open on Good Friday! As always, because we're a small “mom-and-pop" shop, Chef Koji would appreciate it if you could place your orders early so that you can get them on time! Happy eating! 🍱🍣😍

🌸🌸Hope everyone is enjoying the start of Spring!🌸🌸
Here are our updated menus🍱🍣!

Looking for a hearty meal to keep you warm during these cold winter months? Order one of Michinoku’s lunch or dinner specials!

The Katsu curry is delicious! 🍛😋

[[‼️UPDATE ‼️The heater has been repaired! Hurray!!]]

☃️❄️It's the most wonderful time of the year...
for our heater to be broken❄️☃️

We apologize to our customers that due to our heater being broken, we will not be able to cater to our dine-in patrons (unless you really want to eat in the cold)🍶❄️😉We are still open for takeout so don't forget to call in advance to place your order! Thanks for your understanding and patience.

Hope everyone is enjoying their winter break so far! Here are our holiday hours! To help Chef Koji and his staff, please call us in advance for takeout orders! 🍣🍱🍶

Dec. 24 - regular business hours
Dec. 25, 26, 27 - closed
Dec. 28, 29, 30, 31 - regular business hours
Jan. 1, 2, 3 - closed

It's that time of year where Chef Okabe needs time to wind down, and to find inspiration for new menu items!👨🏻‍🍳🍣

Michinoku will be closed from October 19th ~ 23rd.

✨✨We are happy to announce that our doors are reopening Friday, July 16th, for dine-ins, but there is limited space. Please give us a call to see if tables are available. ✨✨
The use of masks and social distancing measures are in place.
Thank you for understanding and we hope to see you soon.
Of course, we are still available for takeout! 🍣🍣

Hope everyone has been staying safe and healthy!
Easter is upon us (well, next weekend). Here's our Easter holiday hours! 🍣

Happy New Year! Let this year be better than the last! In Japanese, we say "Akemash*te omedetou gozaimasu!" Give it a try! ✨✨

We have some specials for this month! Remember, we only offer brown rice sushi for our health-conscious customers on Tuesdays. All other days, we offer regular, white rice.

Come say hi to Chef Okabe (at a safe distance, of course!) He's excited to be serving you in 2021!

Call for takeout or pickup! (905) 356-3271

✨✨New Hours✨✨
Tuesday - Friday 11:00 am - 2:30 pm (Lunch)
4:00 pm - 9:30 pm (Dinner)

Saturday 3:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Sunday & Monday: Closed

🎁 Our holiday hours are now available!🎁 We anticipate that Chef Okabe will be busy making sushi for everyone during the holiday, so consider calling ahead for large takeout orders💛 Stay safe and well, and always crave sushi✨💛🍣👨‍🍳

🍣👨🏻‍🍳👩🏻‍🍳Are any of you interested in learning more about Japanese cuisine or perhaps aspire to be a chef one day? Chef Okabe, the owner of Michinoku Japanese Restaurant in Niagara Falls is hiring aspiring chefs-to-be! Thank you, everyone! 🍣🍶

✨✨Please submit your resumes to [email protected] ✨✨

🍣👨🏻‍🍳👩🏻‍🍳Are any of you interested in learning more about Japanese cuisine or perhaps aspire to be a chef one day? Chef Okabe, the owner of Michinoku Japanese Restaurant in Niagara Falls is hiring aspiring chefs-to-be! Please visit our page for details on how to apply! Thank you everyone! 🍣🍶

✨✨Please submit your resumes to [email protected] ✨✨

❤️We would like to thank our community for supporting us throughout these trying times!! ❤️👏🏻We are finally reopening our doors to a limited number of dine-in customers, and currently only able to seat a maximum of 16 people. Although we welcome walk-ins, we recommend that you call to make a reservation. ✨✨At this time, we are unable to accommodate large reservations and apologize for the inconvenience this may cause. Thank you in advance for all your patience as we ourselves continue to adapt to guidelines set by the province/region. Check out our IG or Facebook story about how we are keeping you and our staff safe.

Call for take out!!