Maybe i am asian so my standard for Asian food is a bit high, but for a Japanese with sushi on their menu, they seem to only have salmon lol. The salmon was also a bit fishy to be honest. Aside from that, the bento box was passable, and satisfy our craving for Asian foods. read more

See all

Keep in mind that Lake Tekapo is a small town with small city centre, so dining choices are limited. Kohan Japanese Restaurant appears to be the only Japanese restaurant in town, and it might be the usual, basic items, but it did not disappoint at all! It's been here since 1993! It's located at the righthand side of the city centre. Finding the entrance was confusing as it was connected with the Aotea Gift shop (that we didn't go in) from the inside, through the parking lot. The inside felt like those old-fashioned diners with the faded red cushioned chairs, wood colored dining tables, and wide open dining area. There's big windows with unobstructed views of the beautiful mountains and pristine Lake Tekapo, which makes the experience all the better. The special was Popcorn Chicken, which was not bad. Chunky, tender pieces of deep fried chicken coated in a tasty, sweet Teriyaki sauce. The Agedashi Tofu was good. Lightly battered, and lightly fried tofu. The sauce was on the light side, but still acceptable. The Buckwheat Soup hits the spot if you're looking for something light, homey, and warm. The broth was clean and light with a good amount of shiitake mushrooms and chicken along with the buckwheat. Lastly, I had the Tempura Sushi Bento to try a little bit of everything. It came with salmon and ahi sashimi, tempura combo (shrimp, blue cod, kabocha, and sweet potato), teriyaki chicken with salad, miso and sake malt marinated fried salmon, broccoli with walnut miso sauce, edamame, Japanese omelet roll, a slice of orange, and a choice of teriyaki chicken roll or 2 piece avocado salmon roll (chose this one). Can't say everything was a hit. Chicken was OK. The salmon sashimi was good. It was more so light and firm rather than soft and buttery. Ahi was the same. Fried salmon was good, but a touch on the salty side. The sushi roll was ok. Rice was bland, and basic quality. The tempura was good though, and the tempura sauce was excellent. Overall, if I compare this meal to my personal experiences, it wouldn't be that good. But thinking about where this restaurant is located with the amazing views, and other options to eat around the area, this was a decent meal. The service was very good. Friendly and attentive servers. Good atmosphere. Food came out quick. read more

See all

This place probably wouldn't survive in a big city like London or New York... but the food is definitely above average. Anything with salmon was great - maybe because the salmon comes from locally, which are some of the best in NZ. The salmon rolls or Tekapo rolls are HUGE! Good to share as a starter between two, or as a main for one person. Katsu-don was really tender pieces of pork in a lightly breaded coating. The dining environment is very casual. But they do take bookings, and that's essential during busy periods. Pricing is also very competitive for Tekapo; you won't find a better value to quality ratio. Best of all? The managers at Kohan really do want to provide quality foods. You can see it by their choice of condiments for takeways - they could have given cheap soy sauce, cheap wasabi, and cheap ginger. Instead, all three are imported from Japan from reputable Japanese brands. Enough said. read more

The food was good but my stomach did not feel good after... Service was also good and the environment looked clean but clearly not up to clean standards as the food here caused my stomach to be upset. read more

Me and my friends did some traveling around the south island and when we came to Tekapo they said this was the spot to go while here. The city is super small though, and there weren't very many restaurants so I thought maybe it's good because it's kinda all they got here lol.. But I was wrong! This place was amazing! My entire friend group was Asian so I was definitely trusting their judgement here haha The menu has a good amount of items but the popular item to get and what I would recommend is the Salmon Donburi. It comes with a little soup to go with it which was needed since it was like -5 degrees Celsius outside! California did not adequately prepare me for the cold New Zealand winter nights lol. So how was the meal? Incredible! First bite was so fresh and clean, the salmon was soft and kinda buttery like and with the fish roe it gave a perfect bite. Heaven! I swear I wish there was a restaurant where I could order only fish roe in bowl, is that weird? You can get regular sushi rolls as well as Sashimi and another popular item is their bento boxes. But I would still say get the salmon don. The price currently is $26nzd($17usd) which is totally fair for the quality you get. And you're definitely gonna want to make a reservation before you go even if you're not in a big group like I was. They get really crowded all day long and you be glad you did when you walk right past the line. This was a top 5 meal for me and I spent 1 year+ in NZ, so you know it must be good. If I ever visit the country again this will surely be on my to do list. 5 stars! read more

Kohan Japanese Restaurant - Salmon Donburi - Japanese Near Me - Canterbury, CAN

I don't know who's doing all these stellar reviews but whomever it is does not know Japanese food. This was, in two words, bloody awful. How do I know? 10 years in relationships in Japan. I had the chicken teriyaki which was soggy chicken katsu in thick, syrupy "teriyaki" sauce (it's supposed to be a very different consistency and not anything like syrupy-sweet), and the salad was also drenched in this sauce. The miso would was OK; it's hard to REALLY mess up putting a spoon of miso paste into hot water. This is not my first time in Tekapo and the Japanese restaurant that was in this spot pre-pandemic was much MUCH better. This was simply shameful. Japanese food by people who don't respect the food, to people who don't know any better. read more

Tip: Make a reservation because there are two lines and the no reservations line takes a while to seat! Kohan is a traditional Japanese restaurant with a lot of Japanese staff and an owner from mainland Japan. Just like a lot of Japanese NZ restaurants, there are not a lot of fish options as they lean towards more sustainable salmon. However, the salmon that is served for sashimi is delicious and not overly fatty like I am used to while in the US. I know that most Japanese sushi chefs opt not to use salmon because the fatty oils of the fish are overwhelming to the lighter, delicate fish like maguro and hamachi. However, the NZ salmon I ate was light and fresh, I could tell that it was super quality and the other raw salmon served was as delicious. read more

The salmon donburi (and the tekapo sushi) we had a Kohan was one of the best things I ate in New Zealand. Seriously. That salmon was so good that we even considered going out of our way to come back here for lunch. I heard a lot of Japanese while we stayed at lake Tekapo. I guess that explains why there is such a decent Japanese restaurant in the middle of nowhere!? The staff are friendly and helpful and the views are amazing. Seriously, just come here and order that salmon! **The reason I am only giving 4 stars is we didn't order the salmon and sushi first. We also tried salmon sashimi, agedashi tofu and tempura. These were not quite as impressive so I am really glad we ordered those last two dishes! The fried dishes were not on the same level as the sushi and donburi.** read more

See all

Make sure you stop by Kohan for a meal, but especially their lunch box bentos which are absolutely value for money. All their food are great, but in particular, this region has the freshest salmon ever. By fresh, I mean that you needt o eat it raw! If you can't handle that, then the teraki salmon dish is great too! The bento box is the most popular. People from Christchurch drive 3 hours here to enjoy the lake and Kohan. I was one of those who that day regularly!!! A heads up, Japanese usually have very very nice presentations. Kohan's meals are more basic, not ugly, just simple and natural, like NZ. So don't let the looks fool you! read more

See all

It's hard to be disappointed with such a great meal. I ordered the bento box with salmon. Salmon is local here, so it's the way to go. For the price, I can't imagine better value. For under $25 I had a ton of food, inclusive of tax. Staff was friendly and pretty good at getting the job done. Free green tea! I would come here again. I recommend making a reservation, as I had to wait 15 minutes before being seated. read more

This place is amazing. How on earth it landed across the way from Lake Tekkapo all the way in New Zealand boggles my mind. The sushi plate was one of the best I've had - fatty and fresh. Of course their fish swims in glacier water. No wonder it has a taste like no other. Better than what I've had in Tokyo & at a much affordable price. We walked in without a reservation and had to wait about 20 mins on a Wednesday night. They have a queue on the side that moves along for those who forgot/couldn't get a reservation. Also plenty of parking. What a gem. Can't recommend it enough. read more

Kohan Japanese Restaurant - This was just ok. I'd skip it because the chicken was over battered. Get the sushi. It's what they're known for. - Japanese Near Me - Canterbury, CAN

See all

SALMON DONBURI! :) My Asian stomach was so happy. After a week or so in NZ, this was perfect. Fresh fish, yummy omelette. It's not a beautiful Japanese restaurant by any means, but it's good! read more

Kohan Japanese Restaurant - Salmon sashimi and Tekapo roll - Japanese Near Me - Canterbury, CAN

Authentic ramen noodles. Quite a selection to choose from. Also loved the dessert mochi and green tea ice cream....good eats!

Really yummy Japanese food here in small Lake Tekapo! We did not have reservations and our only option was takeout - this place was busy! We ordered tonkatsu and chicken teriyaki and miso and enjoyed our dinner outside by the lake. Nothing extraordinary but just what I would expect! Again, best to have reservations (or order "takeaway" as they say in NZ). read more

Hadn't been here for about eight years and was thrilled to find the welcoming service and good food still available. Kohan is Extremely busy catering for a large number of tourists each night so would recommend you book. Loved the local Salmon served in a number of different delicious ways. read more

Kohan Japanese Restaurant - A dessert worth a photograph. Tempura bananas with green tea ice cream and candy floss. - Japanese Near Me - Canterbury, CAN

Once you walked in, you almost feel you are in Japan. Most settings are quite like Japan, especially the chairs. A lot of choice for lunch, bento box and lunch set. Strongly recommend is the sashimi set, since it is so close to the Salmon Farm. You wouldn't regret. read more

See all

Possibly the "best" restaurant in all of Lake Tekapo. The wait can be long and I recommend a reservation. Many buses of tourist mainly Japanese stop here making the wait long and restaurant busy. Someone recommended the house sake... It was no different from any sake I've ever had. Price is ok, food comes out fairly quick but food was ok. read more

They don't need business .... worst service ever!!! restaurant was half full and told me all booked (it's none peak season on weekday) ...I have no problem to wait but there's no sys to put my name down so I can come back .... that guy manage the queue was the worst!!!! Go eat next door!!!! read more

The place was 20% full when we got there at noon. The host told us to wait outside without writing down our names. We had to check everything 15 minutes. After 30 minutes, we walked out. Poor queue management! Don't go without a reservation read more

There are many friendly staffs who can speak English, Japanese, Chinese. Food is also nice. read more

Kohan Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Canterbury, CAN

A very famous Japanese restaurant in Lake Tekapo. When we arrive at around 6.30 pm, a long queue was there, then we decided to take away. The cashier was friendly but may not be good at cashing. The food was fresh but flavor was just not bad. read more

5 for the food. Came to here 2 times during my stay in Lake Tekapo. Really love the teriyaki salmon, taste soooo good. Kohan Bento has a lot of variety of food, liked it too. 3 stars for the service. read more

The salmon was amazing. Anyone who comes here please whatever you order, order a salmon dish. You will not be disappointed. Had the teriyaki salmon and the salmon rolls andddd both were amazing. I am so pleasantly surprised by the hidden gem we found! It was a really amazing meal!! read more

Kohan Japanese restaurant? Is there any other? We plan our road trips between wanaka and chch to ensure we are in tekapo for dinner. Book ahead because this place packs our. Raw salmon don is outstanding!! read more

Big place, good for groups. The JFC (Japanese Fried Chicken) and the salmon options are really good. View is also good as was service.