Kadoya Japanese Restaurant (1063 Davie St., Vancouver, 604-608-1115) is a tiny Japanese restaurant on Davie Street downtown, across from the Celebrities gay night club. Kadoya is usually packed with people around 7pm on a weekday, and reservations are recommended. Enjoy some of their colorful, inventive sushi creations such as the specialty rolls pictured below (approx. $7.95 per roll). A very large dinner for two came to approximately $40.

Tomokazu Japanese Restaurant (more photos, 20-1128 West Broadway, Vancouver, phone 604-677-0426) is one of the best all-you-can-eat sushi restaurants in Vancouver, if you enjoy the more exotic sushi creations. The menu has pretty much everything you can find at various all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurants anywhere in Vancouver, plus some unique items that are hard to find at other places. If you’re adventurous be sure to try the lobster sushi, abalone sushi, shark fin sushi, prawn tempura, unlimited raw oysters, salmon roe sushi, tuna belly, mackerel, soft shell crab, oyster motoyaki, seafood cones, or unlimited sashimi (many varieties). Price for an all-you-can-eat dinner is $22.95, which is worth it if you order more of the expensive items. Be sure to try the cold mango pudding for dessert.

Black Tuna Japanese Tapas Bistro (web site, #202 – 1184 Denman Street, downtown Vancouver, phone: 604-408-7557) is quite a find for exceptional food quality, an upscale atmosphere with aesthetically pleasing decor and a great view of the English bay beach from the window. It’s an intimate dining room located on the second floor of the commercial building on Denman Street, very close to the Davie intersection. We tried the Chef’s Special Dinner Box ($29.95) which in my opinion was really worth it (some of the items are pictured below). And to accompany the food I really liked the restaurant’s choice of laid-back jazz background music.

[update Oct 14 2008: Black Tuna has closed and there is another Japanese restaurant there now.]