Mana Bu’s

I don’t know why they’re saying this place is closed. I just went this morning! Reasonably priced and simple. Perfect for breakfast or an early afternoon snack.

Mana Bu’s musubi’s are super yummy. The texture of the rice is on point. Super soft and the right amount of flavor for each. One thing, I didn’t get here on time. I came here around 9am. Everything was almost sold out! So I didn’t get any strawberry Mochi of other popular musubi flavors! I’ll be back early next time!

I love their spicy tuna mayo, which also has tobiko! I love the rice, I love that I don’t need any shoyu and prices are reasonable.

After trying many times to order from this place I finally succeeded.
They’re very popular and tend to sell out early. I recommend checking their website
to see what days they’re closed as they are closed many days as well.
They use Hawaiian sea salt in their onigiri so it’s already salty and flavorful.
It’s a cash only operation and they don’t take large bills so come prepared.
It’s right across the street from Washington middle school. They’re a takeout only place as there’s no place to sit.
Now onto the actual onigiri itself. Many different flavors but if you come too early they have limited selection as they’re not ready yet. It is around 1.75 each musubi. There’s not too much filling but each bite is flavorful. They also have some exotic flavors like curry. It also comes in a brown rice variety.
Enjoy the pics

The place is great (when open), and while the musubis are a bit overrated, what is really maddening is that they never seem to be open through the posted time. Last Saturday we showed up a little before 11 am, and they were already sold out. I’m not going to continue to try and patronize a place when I cannot depend on them being open. Oh well.

Before I begin, I should note to readers that Mana Bu’s is more of a Japanese onigiri/​omusubi than a Hawaiian musubi. So if you’re going here for a musubi, you best hit up an L&L, 7 – 11, or ABC store or else you’re going to be disappointed.
Overall, I think Mana Bu’s is an okay shop. I understand the whole limited selections… but there has to be something done about the freshness. Okay, so the theory is that they musubis are made and each batch is served right away. This way, the customer will have the freshest musubi possible. The problem with batches, is that the seaweed is wet and soggy. Doesn’t matter that they use high quality seaweed. By the time it reaches the customer, it’s soggy and not so tasty. The rice though, is very good, but the fillings are so tiny, that it feels that you’re really eating a seaweed rice ball. I think that it was flavorful, but an okay experience.
Also, go early if you want more selections. I was there at 8:45, and only had 1 selection to choose from in the whole store. Another one came out just as I was paying, so I grabbed one of those. So together, I had 2 of the Mentaiko (which is some sort of fish roe) and one baked salmon. The Mentaiko was pretty tasty, but the baked salmon was awfully dry. I was disappointed in that one.
I think if I ever need my Onigiri fix, I’ll hit up a Japanese market and get one of those in the refrigerator sections. They seaweed will be crispy as it’s wrapped separate from the rice, and there will be more stuff in the middle.

Wake up early for this it’s so worth it! I got here early enough for the rarer red bean strawberry mochi and a bunch of different musubi. It’s a great stop to make if you’re going on a hike or a long drive across the island — easy snacks to pack.

This place is crazy. You have to get here super early because everything sells out fast. Once they do, they close. I feel that you have to eat it right away. When I tried it the next day, the rice became hard.

Terrific selection of very tasty musubi. Simple, yet creative ingredients that make a nice alternative to greasy fast food breakfast choices. I’ve tried everything on their menu and I have not been disappointed yet.
Super nice attitude by everyone there. It’s especially refreshing to hear a cheery voice at 6:30 in the morning.

Better tasting ingredients than most musubi places here. Love the variety on the menu. You can preorder as well but everything is not available. The staff had to get the offical ok for the musubi artist before I could put my preorder in. I found that weird and unprofessional. High expectations from their staff because a bachelors degree is preferred just to apply for a job here. The staff was robotic and not naturally friendly. Get it, buy, and get the hell on attitude. Bring cash!

Is it worth waking up at 6:30 for a rice ball? Judging by the small crowd I saw during my visit, lot of people seem to think so, and after trying some of Mana Bu’s musubis, I think I have to agree with them.
I had the baked salmon with brown rice and the kombu with five grain, and also tried the ground beef and teri spam. My favorite was the kombu, which had a great taste. The zenzai (azuki beans with mochi on top) was delicious, though be warned that it’s very sweet.
Mana Bu’s is pretty affordable — the musubis are in the 1.50−2.00 range, with some of the desserts coming in at just a bit more. Great ingredient combinations and quality, and definitely worth getting out of bed up for.

The Musabi:
First, let’s get one thing straight, this is not musabi. Well it is, and it isn’t. It’s Sankaku (triangular) o-​musabi, or o-​nigiri. Both of which are common names in Japan.
Musabi comes from Japan. It’s not Hawaiian, but it is local. Musabi was introduced to Hawaii by immigrant farmers from Okinawa and Hiroshima.
Spam comes from Minnesota.
The Name:
Mana in Hawaiian is «Power»…influence, and authority… spiritual power.
So the Mana Bu (significant other, close friend) is aptly named. Chef/​Owner Manabu Asaoka is one clever dude (and luckily named?). Imagine if it were called Asaoka’s O-​nigiri? Those sharp uniforms wouldn’t matter.
The Service:
The crew makes it fresh. Small batches are brought out periodically, and when the days supplies are gone, they close. So get there early.
Quality super premium rice is used along with Hawaiian sea salt, mirin, and rice wine. Inside you’ll find a vast array of Gu (Japanese for filling). Ume (plum), Baked Salmon, Spicy Takuwan (daikon pickle), Tuna-​Mayo, and my favorite Teri-​Spam.
All will run you from $ 1.75-$ 1.50.
Getting There:
If you are coming from Waikiki, take Kalakaua to King Street (wait for the light to change!), get into the far left lane, it’s right behind Baskin-​Robbins (you’ll make a pretty quick left turn).
You don’t have to concern yourself with freshness as the product moves fast and new items are brought out to replenish.
Fresh, quality, hand-​made on site with chef present. No can go wrong… bu.
Aloha!

Adding on to my previous review…
Manabu’s is still my favorite musubi spot on the island, so I forgive them when they close at random without warning (and this seems to be more frequent lately). They don’t appear to have a social media page nor do they update their website, so when you see a sign hanging on their front entrance, you know they’re closed. How old school!
They have updated their musubi times:
7 for most musubi
7:30 for all musubi plus their desserts
Now I no longer have to make up an excuse for being late for work!
Manabu’s has been incredibly consistent about their products and their service. Cash only, minimal price increases since my last review (to keep up with rising costs) and a few changes to their menu (spicy tuna w/​cod roe added, no more eel musubi).
Same old goodness; still worth visiting!

Mana Bu’s is unique as their fillings are stuffed inside the triangular shaped rice, different from the traditional musubi with the toppings on the outside. This allows Mana Bu’s to offer seafood mixes that’s not typical to traditional musubi. While they offer unique options, our favorites being teri-​SPAM, tuna mayo, spicy tuna mayo, and kombu, we felt the fillings were on the smallish side. When biting from the top down, it takes a giant bite to get to the fillings portion. Their closest competitor Musubi Café Iyasume offers the traditional musubi where you get a bite of the topping with each bite.
Their busiest traffic seems to be around 7:30 to 8:00 when they bring out their dessert and grain options. By then the entire place is stocked with all their items. We stopped by one day around 10am and the dessert items were all gone. Once they run out they don’t restock. The lady at the counter said they usually run out of the red bean strawberry mochi around 9am. We came by the next day at 7:30 and was able to get all of their dessert items. We got the strawberry mochi, sweet egg, mochi red bean, and their lite custard. The light custard is equivalent to a flan with a light caramel liquid at the bottom of the cup. The sweet egg is rolled up egg that’s been sweetened with some type of sugary liquid substance within the roll. The strawberry mochi is a medium sized strawberry surrounded by a thin layer of red bean paste in a mochi.
There is parking in front. Come early to take advantage of parking in other spots before the businesses are open. Since it’s a one way street, drive to the far left lane and enter into the first parking driveway. The second parking driveway would make it hard to park based on the narrow parking area.
As outsiders we found all the «thank you’s» to be kind of autonomous and annoying. The employees are probably trained to be courteous but constantly thanking every customer multiple times during the entire transaction just seem fake and trained rather than genuine.

Freshly made, quick and easy, and the perfect snack to get you through a strenuous hike! That is what Mana Bu’s meant to me. This place is known for their musubis. It’s a bit away from the main Waikiki area; walkable from the main hotels (about 30 minutes) but easier to get to with a car. Located on a one way street FYI.
I got here pretty early (6:30am) and walked and already saw a handful of people looking over the row of musubis. I was also greeted by 2 ladies at the door and behind the register. So nice! The shelves were not fully stocked yet, probably because it was so early… so I didn’t have a chance to try all of the ones I wanted but I ended up getting 4 musubis: Baked Salmon, Shiso-​Wakame, Veggie Curry Pilaf, and Teri-​Spam.
All were great. The rice was warm and fluffy and stuck together. Perfect size so you aren’t overwhelmed after just a couple. No need to throw away the rice here because you are gonna want to savor every bite. Of the 4, my favorite was the Shiso-​Wakame. Sounds simple enough: herb and seaweed. The flavor was a good balance of salt from the wakame and the herbaceous taste of the shiso.
For less than $ 2 each, it is a great deal to get a freshly made musubi that you feel good about eating. Worth a try if you are on the go or just need a quick snack in the morning or afternoon. I suggest going a little later so that you can get more of a variety.

You need to get there pretty early so that you get first pick of all the goods that are laid out!
And by early I mean before 8:30AM
If not then you will be dealing with the scraps that are left :(

Finally got to have my mana bu fix!!! This place is so popular that they usually sell out of their musubi by 11am. Even though they technically close at 2pm. They just close whenever they sell out :(since it is the one time of year I am awake early, decided to head here around 9:30am. They were half sold out of stuff at this time. But I still managed to get a bunch of yummy musubi! Got mentaiko, kombu, tuna mayo, shiso and wakame, baked salmon and beef sukiyaki! Bought 10 musubi total (some I bought two of heheh) and a nice can of milk tea, and it all came out to $ 17! I really love this place because they have REALLY GOOD RICE. I know it’s ridiculous but I can be picky about my rice. and theirs is just so.perfect. Like the rice as kimukatsu. If they made a man out of their musubi rice (a man-​subi), I would totally date that.
Anyway, everything is delicious. You seriously cannot go wrong with any musubi you get here. Your only mistake would be not getting enough musubi :)

After reading Jenny K’s Unilocal review. I had to try out the other MUSUBI KING (Iyasume is the other King) in Honolulu. Now, you will need your car to drive on over to Mana Bu’s (not walking distance from Waikiki). If possible, I’d suggest having one person dropped off, and one person tackle the teeny tiny parking lot. There is one way IN and one way OUT. Ugh! Remember to COME EARLY or they will run out. I was there around 10am and my options were very limited. The man helping us was so kind. He was constantly apologizing for running low on options.
Here’s how they are similar:
1) Cash only
2) Too much rice and not enough filling. I want MORE filling!!! But, I guess it leaves me wanting more and more :)
Here’s how they differ:
1) Cheaper
2) Musubi are labeled; which is a huge PLUS by the way.
3) More options
4) Organic ingredients in some musubi
5) Not as accessible as Iyasume.
6) All the musubi are triangular w/​seaweed wrapped all the way around, and filling in the middle.
We got one of everything left in the store:
TERI SPAM-​LITE ($ 1.50): The gold standard, but with lite spam. Good!
BAKED SALMON ($ 1.60): Lightly seasoned baked shredded salmon. Yum, but very little filling :(
SPICY TUNA MAYO ($ 1.70): My FAVE of the three. Heck, it was my favorite musubi of the ENTIRE trip. Tuna is cooked w/​a nice kick. Delish.
I love MUSUBI. They are the best GO-​TO food for a day out on the beach. We bought an insulated bag, ice pack and a few musubi. We were well fed.

I must have tried at least 5 times to come to Mana Bu’s before they closed for the day before I finally made it there in time. Their hours are listead as being open until noon or so but they almost always sell out before 10am so go there early if you want to get their onigiri. Apparently a massive crowd comes in before work every day around 730 – 830.
I really liked the amount of options that they had, as well as some of the less traditional choices such as ground beef and teriyaki spam. I didn’t really care for the very popular baked salmon and I felt the filling in that one was a bit small and lacking in flavor. However, I was surprised by how good the spam was considering I don’t generally enjoy spam.
Overall, while the hours and inventory are very limited, I did enjoy this place. I don’t particularly crave onigiri often though, so I don’t see myself coming here often.

I have to have been living under a rock not knowing about this place.
I’ve been coming here several times this past year and my niece just loves their musubis. The quality of the rice and ingredients are amaze and yummy.
The staff is very nice and always greeting you when you enter the store. You should go early because they run out very fast. If you know you’re going to want musubis ahead of time (at least 24 hours) then you should order it from them. They don’t take phone orders so you’ll have to either fax or email the order form available online. OR, if you are already in the area, you can walk in, fill out a form and give it to them right there.
I always order ahead because I have a big family. If I was only able to pick up 4 musubis for my house, you can bet there will be a competition to the death for the musubis.