If you have been to Japan and miss it, this is the place to go. Walking in here felt like walking into all my favorite spots in Tokyo. Staff was delightful. You get the hot towels. The house sake is amazing. The shabu shabu is delicious. GET THE YAKITORI. Wow I cannot say enough great things about this amazing Japanese restaurant and it's authenticity. Best miso I've ever had. A bold flavor and went with the shabu shabu perfectly.

Ba Sho has been on my radar forever. I pass it often, and it has a great reputation. Sadly, it is one of those places that closes between lunch and dinner, right around the time that second-shifters like me are having lunch. This time, I was nearby at 1245 and saw it closed at 145pm (weird) so I had little difficulty deciding to grab my chance. It is small inside, and classy but not fancy. Standard Japanese restaurant with a few tables, and a few off to the side on platforms (remove your shoes for traditional Japanese dining.) Service was excellent the whole way through. There is sushi, at the bar or your table. The menu has many Japanese entrees- katsu-don, tempura, curry, etc. I started with wasabi shumai (dumplings,) and then had a piece of unagi and the pork yaki-udon. The dumplings were excellent: tender, flavorful, not spicy but redolent of wasabi. A bit pricy at $5 for four tiny dumplings, but enjoyable. The yaki-udon is stir-fried noodles with shreds of pork and veggies. Served with bonito flakes on top, which freaked me out a bit because those thin dried fish flakes get hit with steam off the noodles and start wriggling around. They don't add a lot of fishiness or salt, so don't worry. The dish was amazing. Perfect noodles, a blend of textures and flavors, and even the lunch portion was huge. Oh, the unagi: also excellent. Tender, flavorful eel, with sweet and savory sauce. One of the best I've ever had. I had hoped to try more sushi, but I was stuffed. I will definitely be back if I can find a time when they're open and I'm hungry. It would be a good date spot, though it's so small you'll probably want reservations. I bet the rest of the sushi is excellent. Glad I made it in.

Small mom and pop shop with great food! I came here on a weekday for lunch, and it was nice and quiet but with a steady stream of customers. The waitress was really nice and took our order pretty quickly. We got the udon, the lunch set, and the sushi set. It was a lot of food and we weren't able to finish it all, but very reasonably priced. We saw some other customers get pudding as dessert so we asked for it even though it wasn't on the menu. They accommodated and the pudding was soft, sweet, and delicious! The vibe is homey but also felt like a great place to unwind after work. It's in a random strip mall and is super unassuming. I would totally come here more often if it wasn't so far away.

Don't be fooled by the exterior of this restaurant! It may looks like a run-down place but WOW, what a nice little cute Japanese restaurant in middle of the sawmill. The interior decoration is not as fancy as other Japanese restaurant I have been to, but it is neat, clean and simple. I ordered Gyūdon with complimentary miso soup ($14 as of December 2018).The food arrived in about 20 minutes, a little longer than I expected. Gyūdon is well made, Unlike fast food chain restaurant in Japan or China, the Gyūdon here is made with lean beef. A little too sweet for my taste but oh boy, the hint of wasabi in the rice surely brings out a lot of flavor. Will come back to taste other dishes. 4 stars because of the waiting time

What a little jem hiding on Sawmill Rd! This restaurant is in one of the many plazas on the corner of Sawmill and 161, across the parking lot from Mongolian bbq. It's a bit dark on the outside and when I have driven past before I never realized that it was open...It is and its great! The restaurant itself isn't very large, but a cozy place that's comfortably lit and inviting. There are booths on the side, bar seating and tables in the middle. We had to wait a little while to be seated but the service was very friendly. Once we were seated and given menus the waitress gave us hot towels to clean our hand with! Fancy! The menu is pretty diverse and gives options without being overwhelming. We just wanted a little snack before heading out to the zoolights so we didn't get any main meals but the appetizers were good. We got pork gyoza and tempura veggies & shrimp. I think the veggies were previously frozen because they were very mushy once we got to eating them....but they were still decent. We also split some house sake and the draft beer, both were very good and I definitely recommend them.

Looking at the rating on yelp and seeing this place at the strip I had very low expectations but its one of the beat sushis in town! You can ask for the special japanese menu and get adventurous to try new tastes.. We asked for the chefs special sushi plate which is whatever he feels like that day but we ended up with great options - it could be a bit pricey but worth trying if you like raw sushi fish! Its a small place so be ready to eat at the bar in case they cant accommodate.. They have a section for traditional Japanese dining where you take off your shoes and sit on the floor, would love to reserve and try that one day with a group!