Kyushu
2300 North Triphammer Road
607-257-6788
Ithaca Northeast
A new Japanese hibachi restaurant and sushi bar in the Tops/Applebee's plaza on North Triphammer Road in front of Pyramid Mall, Kyushu offers hibachi-style dishes (cooked table-side), fresh sushi, and a variety of other Japanese meals. The food is delicious, well prepared, and surprisingly affordable; complete lunches cost $6-9, and complete dinners $12 and up. Things seem vaguely uncoordinated, but on opening day, we won't complain. (The hibachi chefs certainly aren't uncoordinated, or someone would lose a finger!) When the staff has everything down pat, they may well rate a "5."

Little Tokyo Korean Japanese Restaurant
113 East State Street, Ithaca
607-272-8638
Downtown Ithaca
Hours: Lunch 11:30-2:30, dinner 4:30-9:30
Little Tokyo is a promising new restaurant, with a variety of Korean and Japanese lunches and dinners, plus a list of sushi rolls made fresh. Lots of the meals offer a choice of meats, tofu, or vegetables, making this a promising downtown vegetarian destination. The food was very good, and plentiful, though they need to work on better-organized service in this oddly shaped (long and narrow) restaurant; one waitress might well have been enough in a different layout, but ours seemed overwhelmed when the tables were only about a quarter full. They should do well with the $10 business lunch crowd, if not the $5 bargain lunch crowd.

Miyake
416 Eddy Street
607-277-6767
Collegetown
Hours: Open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week
In the former location of Kayuga, Miyake features attractive new decor and an expanded menu. After we'd been sitting at our table for a while (the restaurant seemed understaffed), we were greeted with a small dish of pea pods to nibble on, and served hot green tea. The steamed gyoza is a bit wilted, but the calamari tempura is exceptional and the sushi very good. The spicy tuna roll seems to carry most of its spiciness in a sauce drizzled over the top, instead of throughout the tuna. We look forward to trying more of Miyake's menu, including the hot food.

Plum Tree
113 Dryden Road
607-256-8081
Collegetown
This Japanese restaurant at the "kneecap" bend of the lowermost block of Dryden Road offers good sushi and sashimi and a plentiful variety of cooked meals with very nice presentation. Now all they have to do is differentiate themselves from Kayuga, just a half block away.