There are two types of restaurant people: those who show up with a game plan after scouring the menu five times, and those who show up and enjoy the ride. Kojima is made for the latter. This sparsely decorated Japanese spot sits above a Daiso on the second floor of a Sawtelle mini mall. It has eight counter seats, one table, and no menu. The chef, Hayato Kojima, spent a decade running his own acclaimed izakaya in Tokyo, and now, recently relocated to LA, he’s serving a kappo-style omakase—$200 for a dozen or so courses—that consists of whatever he feels like whipping up that evening. To be clear, there are plenty of omakase spots in LA where the menu changes at the chef's whim, but Kojima might be the only one where it feels like dinner is actually being put together on the fly in front of you. Don't expect to witness a serious sushi master operating with a surgeon's precision. Kojima cooks more like he's feeding a few old friends who stopped in to eat: casually flipping skewers over charcoal, cracking jokes, rummaging through a fridge packed with trays of seafood and vegetables, and slicing fish with a smirk as he practices his English. Kojima’s dishes let high-quality ingredients shine on their own, and often spotlight produce at its peak. On one visit, we marvelled at a bowl of poached eggplant floating in a sardine broth so good we’d like to carry it around in a flask, followed by a deep-fried taro puff that crackled like hot popcorn. A few weeks later, it was melty wagyu with garlic sauce and buttery slices of tuna belly sashimi from Toyosu Market. No two meals at Kojima are quite the same, but there tend to be commonalities: a few superb sashimi courses, chawanmushi, a warm bowl of donabe rice with miso soup and pickles, plus dessert. Without knowing exactly what you’ll be served (and given its fine-dining price), eating at Kojima is something of a trust-fall situation. But here’s what should calm any nerves: every single dish we’ve tried across several dinners has impressed. And while dinners here can sometimes stretch past three hours as food arrives spontaneously, the generous and relaxed service (as well as the deep sake list) keep the meal from dragging. If you’re wary of taking the full $200 plunge, Kojima also offers a $80 four-course mini-omakase for walk-ins, though you’ll need to call in advance, since it’s only available when there are unbooked seats. Still, for a sophisticated special-occasion meal that unfolds like a river rafting excursion, Kojima is worth the commitment—even if it requires a little bit of faith.