When people hear the word “Hawaii”, not only do they think of pristine beaches, coconuts, pineapples and the lush mountains, but many people will also think of “spam musubi”

Growing up on the East Coast, a lot of people asked if people in Hawaii ate a lot of Spam. To be honest, it’s true!  We locals love our spam musubi (which you can get at 7-11 stores), or a breakfast of spam and rice (which you can get at McDonalds!).  However, in my opinion, my FAVORITE place to get spam musubi, or any musubi for that matter, is IYASUME MUSUBI!

They have various locations in town and Waikiki, and each location delivers authentic,  Japanese-style musubi and onigiri (“musubi” and “onigiri” is somewhat synonymous in this context, but the word “musubi” will be used for the rest of this post)

I love how they have so many different options to choose from, the rice is perfectly made and seasoned, and best of all — they are cheap!

One of my favorite spam musubi’s is the ume spam musubi (below).

If you don’t know what “ume” is, it’s a sour and slightly sweet plum.  It’s very popular in Japanese dishes.  I love the saltiness of the spam with the sweet and sour flavor of the ume.. all combined with the perfectly seasoned rice and nori (seaweed)!

If ume is not your cup of tea, they also have regular spam musubi, teriyaki spam musubi, and even spam musubi options with egg, avocado and bacon.

My next favorite, yet simple, choice is the Konbu musubi.  You can never go wrong with this option.  “Konbu” is seasoned seaweed, and I would describe it as kind of salty but it goes perfectly with rice.

Looking to be a little more adventurous?  If you’ve never had mentaiko musubi, you are missing out!  “Mentaiko” is cod roe mixed with a little of Japanese mayo.  While it may be an acquired taste for some, this creamy and umami-filled musubi never is another favorite of mine.

I mean, just look at the rice to filling ratio – it’s perfect 🙂  I definitely give this place a 10/10.

(*Tip:  Note that their locations could get crowded – especially the Makaloa St. location, so it is always best to call in your order)

I would definitely recommend this place to both tourists and locals!  In addition to musubi, Iyasume Musubi also serves bentos and other goodies – all of which are perfect to take to the beach or on the airplane.

**This review is strictly based off of my own opinion and not meant to be an advertisement, marketing partnership or any type of affiliation with this company.  I have not been compensated in any way in exchange for this review.