Mana Musubi / Mana Bu's (Oahu) - Onolicious Hawaiʻi

Mana Musubi (originally called Mana Bu's) is one my favorite musubi shops in Honolulu. They've been around for nearly 20 years...and I've been going there for just as long! Here are useful tips for your visit and my favorite things to order ^_^

Welcome to Mana Musubi! This super popular musubi shop opened in 2007 and it was originally called Mana Bu's.

The owner changed the name to Mana Musubi (it's still the same owner, Manabu Asaoka) a few years ago, but didn't update the exterior signage yet.

So whether you refer to this place as Mana Musubi or Mana Bu's, many musubi-loving locals will know which place you're talking about.

Let's go in!!

This takeout only shop is small and bustling with many people picking up musubi for breakfast, lunch, or snack. The shop is open from 6:30am-12:30pm but it's best to go on the earlier side because they often sell out (and close early).

I feel that 8-9am is the ideal timeframe where you can get a good assortment of musubi. All the musubi flavors won't be ready if you go too early. But go late and there's not much left.

Mana is popular with visitors but it's a true local staple spot. You can tell there are a ton of regulars that come here. They also do pre-order if you need to order a large amount of musubi for parties, potlucks, school, etc.

What To Get

Depending what day and time you go, the musubi offerings may change slightly. You can always count on the classics like tuna mayo (here's the recipe from the store cookbook), salmon, spam, etc. And then a lot of fun variations!

I love his each musubi has a little info card that specifies a ton of detail. He includes the type of rice used, type of salt, brand of nori, filling ingredients, and what type of sugar (if used).

Until reading his musubi cookbook (more on that below), I never thought about adding a little sugar to the tuna mayo filling. It's a small addition that makes a big difference in taste, SO good. I don't typically like adding sugar to savory recipes but this is one of those times where you definitely should!

Most of the musubi are priced between $2-4. They're on the smaller side so I need two musubi for breakfast. I usually come here for breakfast or snack.

I like to buy one "regular" musubi like the tuna mayo, salmon, or spam. And then another "exciting" musubi like one of the mix rice musubi or pilaf-style musubi.

Mixed rice musubi is where the filling and seasonings are mixed directly with the rice. Pilaf-style musubi is where the rice is cooked with broth (or another flavorful liquid) instead of water and is where the filling is mixed with the rice.

Pictured above is the pilaf-style with kombu and sesame seeds. Super delicious.

He also makes other pilaf musubi with fillings like shiitake chicken and vegetable curry and sekihan (red bean rice).

He uses three different kinds of rice to make the musubi: white rice, brown rice, or 10-grain rice. Check out all the components in the 10-grain rice, love that!

You can buy a tuna mayo musubi made with white rice or brown rice. If you're craving a certain type of rice, just look for a musubi made with that rice.

It can be hard to decide but every single musubi here is a delicious one so you can't go wrong. And know that you can always go back tomorrow ^_^

The Musubi Book!

The owner of Mana Musubi is Manabu Asaoka and he wrote an entire book about musubi in 2018! I've been meaning to buy this cookbook since and finally purchase it in the shop last week (it's book is also available online).

The book is a true family project and illustrated by his niece Maria Asaoka. So cool! It's fun and cheerful, locally published by Watermark.

I'm really enjoying all the musubi recipes. So far I've made his recipes for Tuna Mayo Musubi, Kombu Musubi, and Bacon Almond Onigiri / Musubi! Maybe I'll get my whole family on the musubi making train ^_^

Useful Tips

Best time to go.
Go between 8-9am for the biggest assortment of fresh musubi.

Parking.
Free parking right in front (they share a lot with Baskin Robbins). The lot is on the smaller side, but you can usually find a spot in the morning. If not, there is also paid meter parking along King Street.

Tuna-Mayo Musubi.
Do you like tuna-mayo musubi? Then you'll LOVE this place. They have many variations on the classic tuna-mayo musubi. Think regular tuna-mayo musubi, spicy tuna-mayo musubi,, and crunchy-ume-tuna-mayo musubi (this one is my fav). Some are made with white rice, others with brown rice. All tasty.