Yamato Ya Becomes Sushi Yako

We told friends to meet us at Yamato Ya, a Japanese restaurant we'd been going to since - it seems forever.  If I recall right they were in what's now the New Sagaya mall on Old Seward before it was the New Sagaya.  A long time Anchorage Japanese family ran it, with three sisters waiting tables.  When it passed down to a younger relative from Hawaii, the sisters - in their seventies  - gradually eased out.

When their lease was up in 2011, New Sagaya raised the rent and they decided to move down the street closer to Moose's Tooth.  The move changed the atmosphere quite a bit.

The Alaska Wine Guy moved into their old space.

It was no longer the cozy little restaurant with sushi bar.  There was just too much room, but we kept going, even as the menu, including the prices, morphed a bit.  But the much younger Thai waitresses were always very friendly and the food was good.  I'd recommended it recently to a group I know, but they told me that it was closed.  We'd just eaten there and as I passed it recently the sign was still there.

So we arrived, just as our friends were calling us to say it wasn't Yamato Ya.  I was parked looking at this big sign - same as before - seeing Sushi Yako over the old image and not registering this was, in fact, a new name.   

We decided to go in and try it out.

It's a totally new place, even though the sign is almost identical. 

While they are waiting for their liquor license, the waitress told us, the sushi plates (except for the specials) are $9.99.  









They've changed the interior look dramatically with this blue wine rack in the middle.

The wait staff was very friendly and helpful, but it appears that one of the last Japanese owned Japanese restaurants in Anchorage has become Korean.