Sakamoto Randall, OD PHD – Ala Moana Eye Center

I have been mulling over this review for a couple of weeks. Dr. Sakamoto has been our eye doctor for the past 3 years.
Location is convenient, located in the Ala Moana building so parking is free and plentiful.
This office has high tech equipment. I love the ease of the eye exam. The best part is that he does this test where I put my face against this machine and look through this snorkel mask thingy. It blows a puff of air on my eyeballs, and no more diluting drops and walking around with those cheesy wraparound glasses!
Dr. Sakamoto is a very nice and personable doctor. He likes to talk story during the appointment, and doesn’t rush through my questions. He’s patient with my sullen and moody tweenager! He started Keiki Vision with the Rotary Clubs of Hawaii. This is where they go into 3^rd grade classes of certain Elementary schools and will check their vision to see if they may need glasses.
Because of all of these positives, I’ve overlooked a few things.
Their frame selection is limited. Just a small section that will be covered fully for the price of $ 150 through our vision insurance. Mostly name brand lens, so this is the place to go if you’re looking for Tiffany, Versace, Tory Burch or Prada…
We have very good vision coverage through VSP. Free upgrades on polycarbonate lens, transition, scratch resistant and UV coating.
Before coming here, all I paid out of pocket was the co payment which was $ 25 each for my daughter and I.
The first visit we had here was for three of us. When they gave us our total, we were charged about $ 430. They ran our card through, and I asked the receptionist to double check that because I’ve never paid even close to that before. They mistakenly did not use the right Insurance and refunded us $ 250. They were going through new software, and trying to do everything on an IPad. Sitting there waiting for my daughter, I heard about their issues with patients orders, payments, and processing.
The next visit we had, I ordered some Coach lens. Transitions and bifocals. Went home and found out that the transitions were not put on the lens. Had to take them back and get new lens. Chuckled with Dr. while going through my exam because he was struggling with the inputting on the iPad.
This last visit ordered contact lens and my daughter wanted her glasses without the transitions. Unbelievable, but he was struggling with the iPad during my exam. I mentioned to him that maybe they should switch back to the old school way. Anyway, I told the receptionist 3 times about making sure her glasses did not have the transitions, even checking before walking out the door. Got the call the day before we left for San Fran for vacation to pick up our glasses and lens.
Went to pick them up, and because we were waiting for 25 min after our appointment, decided to just get them fitted later when we had time and they weren’t behind on their appointments. Took them on our vacation and were disappointed again, because they were indeed with the transition lens. Called the office when we got back and I expressed my disappointment with this latest mishap. Another 2 weeks go by and we go back and get them fixed.
Not worth the cost, the time spent waiting for our appointment at each visit.

Dr. Sakamoto is my favorite optometrist ever. I have been going to him for 5 years and have had the best experience every time. His bed side manner is the best and his knowledge and memory are incredible. He always remembers me and tries to make sure I get the best care and the best options for my money.

I was pleasantly surprised with my first experience at Ala Moana eye clinic. Dr. Sakamoto is very knowledgeable and has the most up to date examination equipment available. I was very impressed with the thoroughness of his examination and the time he took to explain everything to me. His office is very clean and his staff is friendly and welcoming. I’m confident that he will will be providing me with the best possible service moving forward. I am changing from my previous eye care professional to Dr. Sakamoto for these reasons. He is head and shoulders above anyone else I’ve ever seen — number one in my book.

I have been coming here for a few years and Dr. Sakamoto and his staff are all very nice and accommodating. Some of the staff are mostly fluent in Japanese but there is maybe only one that could speak good English. However, they are all very nice and polite. Dr. Sakamoto has all the advanced equipments and machines to run all sorts of tests for your eyes. They even have one where you don’t have to dilate your pupils! I find that very convenient. Although, the machines can be hard to maneuver but since I’ve been coming here for years, I’m used to it. Dr. Sakamoto is very knowledgable and made it easy for me to understand what each of the exams does to make sure my eyes are good and running. I always order my contacts through him. My contacts always come with a rebate. There was one time I tried to apply for the rebate online but it wouldn’t go through, so I had to call him up and he was able to fix the problem somehow. He probably made some phone calls. Within a month, I got my rebate! He and the staff provides exceptional customer service and I will definitely come back again.

Dr Sakamoto was very kind and efficient. My appointment was fast and he was very helpful. I haven’t been to the eye doctor for probably 5 years. I actually found out I am getting some reading glasses. As I was trying to decide what ones I wanted Dr Sakamoto himself came out and actually gave me his opinion and helped me decide which ones looked best. I really appreciate his time to help me make the best decisions. Thanks doctor!

Dr. Randall Sakamoto and his staff were awesome and accommodating. Although dr doesn’t perform surgery he referred us to a surgeon and went out of his way to get me an appointment for an immediate consultation and care plan for my situation. I have been to other optometrists but have never seen so many different types of machines for eye examination. I must say they do it throughly and it’s awesome. I would definitely recommend him for your eye care needs.

I highly recommend Dr. Sakamoto to anyone. He is very knowledgeable about your eye correction. He uses the latest high tech equipment to find the proper correction for your contacts or glasses.
He and his staff are very friendly and try there best to accommodate your appointment needs. They keep in constant contact with you via email, txt or phone call. So you don’t forget your appointments.

Dr Sakamoto and his staff are very friendly, the office is clean and the equipment seems very modern but there is something about the Doctor that rubs me the wrong way. I can’t explain it in a nice way so I’ll just say that there is nothing wrong with Dr Sakamoto or his staff, but I won’t be going back for next year’s annual check up.

Dr. Randy took great care of my dry eyes. We (family) had such excellent service! Whatever I needed reference anything, he accommodated me. His staff members are fantastic and explains things so well.

This is the second time that Dr. Randy has provided exceptional care and service to me and my family. A year and a half ago my son had an emergency situation in Japan and doc was able to help him and get him home and healed very quickly. This time I had a crazy infection that came out of nowhere and doc has monitored and squeezed me in his appointment schedule to make sure that I have the best care. I recommend him and his staff; with state-​of-​the-​art equipment and knowledge and great customer service I have the highest respect for him. Thank you Dr. Randy

I had heard that Dr. Sakamoto could do overnight contacts that would help correct your vision, so that you would not have to use contacts during the day! So I made an appointment to see if he could do it for me. I was very impressed with his eye exam. His eye exam machines are all cutting edge technology. I have been going to eye doctors all my life and had never seen so many state of the art exam machines in my life. With those machines, he showed me what the inside of my eye looked like and explained the floaters I had been seeing. He was very interested, courteous, and informative. Turns out my eyesight was not within the range that the overnight contacts would help. But he told me about tri-​focal contacts which I had never heard of before. Evidently, he is at the forefront of this type of contact. I thought to myself if it worked, I would not have to use reading glasses anymore, and I was excited at the prospect. I decided to give it a try. He said it would take 2 – 3 months for me to adjust to them and sure enough in 2 ½ months I could read without reading glasses, just like i used to! I both feel and look younger without those old reading glasses. I am delighted that I decided to check Dr. Sakamoto out. I wholeheartedly recommend him. He really knows his stuff, you will benefit from the latest technology, and both he and his staff are really nice, respectful and courteous.

Sakamoto is a money greedy eye doctor. Saw him for contacts but he charges so much for the actual lenses that I refused to pay for them. What would have cost $ 100 for 12 monthly lenses online, he wanted $ 250 after insurance. Such a con. So I refused them and wanted to use my insurance benefit on glasses and was told I would have to pay $ 50 for my contact lense prescription which I would need to order lenses online. What an a**. Oh another thing. Don’t schedule appointments after their lunch hours between 1 – 230. A) he’s always late coming back from lunch so it pushes everyone back and b) I had unfortunate experience of having first appt after his lunch and I could smell the food on his breath. Auwe!

So. I hadnt been to the eye doctor in about twenty years. I figured it was about time I made that appointment. But, which doctor should I choose? I asked myself. Thats where Unilocal came in. I read the reviews for Dr Sakamoto and lo’ and behold, they spoke true. Hes probably the friendliest, most respectful, and courteous doctor I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing.

My husband and I recently saw Dr. Karen Lee and we are extremely happy with our experience. Dr. Karen Lee is very knowledgable, patient, thorough and professional. The receptionists are friendly, the office is neat and clean, and they use state of the art equipment. We will definitely continue to see Dr. Karen Lee as well as refer our family and friends.

I was on the island for vacation when I found out my prescription for contacts that was given to me back home was wrong. I searched different optical offices on the island to find Dr. Sakamoto’s office who actually had my contact prescription in stock. Typically offices would have to special order but I guess luck was on my side today a bit. I was told by the receptionist that it would be 25 $ for a pair which I was fine with being I couldn’t see anyways. When I arrived in the office the receptionist were very kind and full of smiles as I entered in. Dr. Sakamoto heard about my situation and just offered me the pair of contacts free of charge. I was at wow, though it was a small cost and I was willing to pay for the pair it showed how compassionate and understanding this doctor was. If you want a down to earth, caring, generous, treats you like family optometrist go see the office of Dr. Sakamoto…
Thanks again I offered to buy him lunch because I felt so thankful but he in return said «if you need anything else just come back»

Dr. Sakamoto is a GEM! My son has Kerataconus and sensory issues. Dr. Sakamoto is extremely patient and effective with him. He has state of the art equipment in his office. Moreover, he stays abreast in the field of optometry through his professional alliances. (I was referred to him from someone on the mainland.) Front office staff are incredibly friendly and efficient. His pricing for services is very fair. What a great find!

All my family have gone to Dr. Sakamoto for years. He is very kind, a gentle soul, and very knowledgeable.
My daughter dances seriously, and uses Ortho-​K contact lenses prescribed for her by Dr. Sakamoto. They have freed her from the awkwardness of glasses and daytime contact lenses. These lenses have proven a great solution — so comfortable and safe for kids who play sports or engage in other physical activities.
All in all this is an excellent eye clinic with a friendly and caring staff.
They are all bilingual, speaking both English and Japanese.
I would recommend them to anyone!

Dr. Sakamoto saved my entire vacation!
I woke up on the first day of my vacation to find out I had stupidly not packed any contacts or even my glasses for the trip (I’m still kicking myself for doing that). Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem, but I now use daily contacts and I had already thrown my contacts from the day before in the trash can. There was nothing I could do to save them. I called a couple places to see if they could help me and Dr. Sakamoto and his staff told me to come right in and they would help me out.
As soon as I arrived in the office (probably 20 minutes after I had called) Dr. Sakamoto found the exactly brand and prescription I used. I told him I needed 5 days worth and he actually gave me enough for 10 days. The best part, he didn’t even charge me. He was so generous and his staff was awesome. Oh and the view from their 20^th floor office is awesome too!
If I lived in Hawaii there is no doubt he would be my primary eye doctor!

Dr. Sakamoto is AMAZING! I have multiple eye problems including severe near sightedness, a recent history of cornea ulcers, and past diagnosis of limbal cell deficiency. He takes care of everything!
He is super knowledgeable, uses state of the art equipment, has a nice office, and best of all — he has fantastic bed side manner. Ok, so it’s not really «bed side,» but you know what I mean. He is kind and interested in knowing about your life and never rushes you through a visit or cuts you short during a story. This is great since it also helps him to make tailored recommendations. For example, did you know that not all soft contacts are created equal? There are some that are better to wear and toss after being in the ocean to prevent bacteria from growing on them and affecting your eyes. Cool. I mean gross, but cool.
It’s really nice to finally have an eye doctor take the time to listen to you and address all of your concerns. My last ophthalmologist was convenient because he had an optometrist in his office. He’d do the «fancy stuff» and she’d do the glasses/​contacts. Um — well move over cuz Dr. Sakamoto does it all! He’s up to date on literature and technology and doesn’t pawn you off to another provider for contact fitting. In addition, he is very accommodating with appointments and understands a busy schedule, which I really appreciate.
His office is located on the 20^th floor (room 2005) in the office building attached to Ala Moana, so I usually park at the mall and walk over. The ladies who work at his office are extremely nice. Fair warning however: they seem to usually deal with Japanese speaking patients and their English may not be super good. But hey, my English isn’t all that great. I know I’m only hapa, but talking to them and going there makes me feel more Japanese (by the way, Dr. Sakamoto’s English is impeccable!).
Dr. Sakamoto — arigatou! anatawa ichiban ii meisha desu!

5-​stars well-​earned. ALL Doctors should be as professional, educational and genuinely enthusiastic as Dr. Sakamoto.
I found this clinic by accident – or was it serendipity? But so glad for it. I absolutely LOVE these glasses – the best pair I’ve ever had. Outstanding prescription, and his awesome selection of frames is generously priced. Turnaround was pretty quick too.
His office is new and spotless clean, and the receptionists are equally pleasant. I usually park in Ala Moana over by Genki Sushi and parlay a visit to the doc into a little stroll or lunch at the mall.
If you need an optometrist for any reason whatsoever, Dr. Sakamoto gets my highest possible recommendation.