WA JAPAN

WA JAPAN is the made-to-order sushi counter at Birallee Village Shopping Centre in West Wodonga, and it works surprisingly well as a dog stop: the shop sits in a suburban centre with open-air parking out front, so the outdoor seating is a straightforward place to eat with a dog beside you. Nothing here is fine dining, it is a quick, friendly, low-key feed.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the outdoor seating area outside the shop, on lead and settled at your feet. Indoors is off limits apart from assistance animals, which is the standard health rule for food premises. The counter-service format suits a short stop with a dog, and the surrounding centre footpaths make it easy to walk a slow loop before or after eating. There is no dedicated dog menu, so bring your own water bowl to be sure.

Worth knowing

The kitchen rolls fresh sushi to order, with hot options like katsu sando and udon alongside, plus Japanese-style fruit teas and bubble tea. Reviewers single out freshness as the reason to come back. Hours run 9am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm Saturday and 10am to 4pm Sunday, so it is a lunch-and-early-afternoon spot rather than a dinner stop.

Getting there and parking

Find it at Shop G16A, Birallee Village Shopping Centre on Melrose Drive, West Wodonga. The centre has a large free car park, and the shopfront side of the complex lets you park close and keep the walk with a dog short. The centre is a few minutes' drive from the Wodonga CBD.

Close by with the dogs

Belvoir Park Dog Park is the nearest proper off-lead run, a short drive from the centre. For a coffee stop in the same pocket of West Wodonga, Daintree Cafe is the local pick.

More options are on the Victoria dog friendly restaurants guide and the Wodonga destination page.

Pepsi: park on the shopfront side of Birallee Village and you can be eating sushi ten steps from the car, no indoor dash required.