Meet Homareya: Downtown Long Beach Gets a True Kyoto-Style Izakaya

Oct 22

Chef Yoya Takahashi on Kyoto home cooking, house-made koji, a lifelong love of the Grateful Dead, and why his hometown of 20 years was ready for its first real izakaya.

Walk into Homareya on a weeknight and you'll hear it before you see it: plates landing on tables, glasses meeting in a toast, a room that feels less like a restaurant and more like the after-work spot you'd find on a side street in Japan. That's exactly the point.

Chef Yoya Takahashi grew up in Kyoto and came to the U.S. with a backpack and a dream of acting. He found his stage behind a sushi counter in Little Tokyo instead, then spent years in kitchens across Los Angeles sharpening his craft. After two decades of calling Long Beach home, he opened Homareya to give the city something it didn't have yet: a real izakaya. Today his kitchen cultivates its own rice koji, works a charcoal grill, and builds seasonal plates around whatever California is growing best.

We sat down with Yoya to talk about where Kyoto ends and California begins, what to order beyond the sushi, and why downtown Long Beach felt like home from the start.

Homareya blends Kyoto roots with California's "free-spirited creativity" — what does that fusion actually look like on the plate?

People think Japanese food means sushi and ramen, but that's a very small window. My cooking comes from Kyoto's home-style tradition — obanzai, koji fermentation, drawing flavor out of simple ingredients instead of covering them up. California gives me the produce and the freedom to apply those techniques to whatever is best right now. So the technique is old, but the plate is local.

And for what it's worth — I'm a huge Grateful Dead fan. That free-spirited California energy has been part of me for a long time. It shows up in the kitchen more than you'd think.

What do you want guests to feel the moment they walk into Homareya?

Like they walked into a real izakaya, not a restaurant performing "Japan." Relaxed, a little loud, food and drink moving. An izakaya is where you drop your shoulders after work — that's the feeling I want.

What's a dish that surprises people who dine at Homareya expecting a typical sushi experience?

Honestly, guests who come expecting a classic sushiya leave happy — our sushi and sashimi hold their own. What surprises them is everything around it: a full izakaya menu built the way it would be in Japan. Small plates meant for sharing over drinks, dishes most people have never seen outside Japan. You can come for the sushi, but you end up enjoying the whole table.

What made Mosaic & Downtown Long Beach feel like the right home for Homareya?

I've lived in Long Beach for about 20 years, so this wasn't a business decision made from the outside — I already knew the warmth and the character of the people here. And I could see where the city was heading; I knew Long Beach was only going to get more exciting. The city didn't have a true izakaya yet, so opening one downtown, in my own city, just made sense.

Homareya rewards a little curiosity. Order the sushi if that's what brought you in, but save room for the small plates, the grill, and the dishes you won't find anywhere else in town. Then order another round, settle in, and let your shoulders drop. Yoya would want it that way.

Plan your visit: Homareya is at 145 E 4th St in downtown Long Beach, open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday. Seating is limited, so book ahead on OpenTable. Browse the menu at longbeachhomareya.com and follow along on Instagram at @homareyalbc.

Address: 145 E 4th St Long Beach, CA 90802

Phone: (562) 754-3302

Hours:

Tuesday – Thursday / 5:30PM - 9:30PM
Friday – Saturday / 5:30PM - 10PM
Sunday / 5:30PM - 9PM
Monday / Closed

Contact: info@LongBeachHomareya.com

Jackie Dean