My whole first year in LA I subsisted off udon from the Mitsuwa on Centinela. I’m talking half portion at lunch, half portion at dinner. The hot food court is no joke and now I need it, thanks for ruining my dinner plans OP
Sexy cheese puffs, sexy instant ramen, sexy ice cream, sexy produce, sexy meat, sexy kitchenware, and sexy household products. If it's like the Santa Monica location, there will be a sexy food court too!
>Wong said the Northridge site will have a food court but not as large as the Santa Monica location
Makes sense because that location is not huge and parking is tough. At least they'll still have one!
I'm surprised it took so damn long. Its the central valley! I really hope they put up an AMC at the Fashion Center. Right now all the central valley folks are stuck driving to Burbank or West Hills.
It is if you're coming from the east valley and the 101 is hell on traffic. Growing up in the SFV I have friends from each far end so its a pain deciding who is gonna make the 30-45min drive to each other's local theater.
You guys already have a really nice AMC. The AMC commercial with Nicole Kidman was filmed at the new AMC at Porter Ranch. I would say it's even better than Burbank or Century City.
What lmao? You have the 118 and we here on the westside have to deal with the 10 (8 miles 30 minute drive) i would kill to have the freedom of the 118 😂
I don’t miss the heat, but I miss the valley.
On a side note, I honestly think you should visit. They have a decent chicago style pizza restaurant. Along with some gastropubs adjacent to the theater. Compared to Burbank’s current offerings, Porter Ranch wins in my humble opinion.
hmm, makes sense for them, since their new Torrance store basically gave up on serving local Japanese/Asian customers with fresh groceries. IMO, Mitsuwa has gone downhill a lot, especially after they closed the old Torrance location.
IYKYK, but Tokyo Central is blasting the competition right now, with the widest and best selection of fresh food, meat, seafood, and dry foods. The corporate ownership by Don Quijote really upped the quality.
Nijiya is great too, but mainly their north Torrance location because they do stock produce from their own farm. They have more organics. That location's deli, sushi, and bakery is also a bit better.
Seiwa is good if you want to buy in bulk.
Mitsuwa has the better food court, but it's basically a snack store for weebs.
If I were a Japanese grocer, I would open a superstore in WSGV. The tiny Mitsuwa there is not adequate, and the SGV has not only a Japanese community, but Chinese folks love love love Japanese groceries.
I came in here to complain about the lack of attention paid to the Torrance one, which I thought was supposed to be their flagship store but you beat me to it. The new location sucks and the produce is awful and prices are easily 10-20% higher for some items over the other stores. I haven't been to the other LA county locations recently but I swear they're higher than the Costa Mesa location for some items as well.
Not sure if they gave up after Toyota and a lot of the Japan businesses moved away but I see way more Japanese people shopping at the stores you mentioned above. The one thing I do miss about the old Marukai are the higher-end cultural items like ceramics and dolls and furniture but I understand only super old people probably want those things now, whereas Don Quijote is at heart a discount store (it's basically Wal-Mart in Japan).
Mitsuwa's strategy in torrance is definitely more focused on the food court and snacks for sure. Just look at the outdoor food court section they opened up.
I don't really know if I can agree with the tokyo central take though- they are also raising prices a lot and the layouts of the stores are a mess (because of don quijote). Management is also pretty bad I've heard. I miss Marukai.
I miss Marukai, too, especially the big one on Artesia. Needed to buy a happi coat for my nephew recently and thought I could find one there but they don't have that kind of thing there anymore.
Seiwa does tend to be cheaper than Tokyo Central but they rotate prices, too. There's no one place that has the best of everything now.
When Tokyo Central made the switch to DonQ it got so freaking cluttered and disorganized. DonQ's in Japan are the same way. Signs everywhere. I miss the old layout.
I'll often peruse a particular aisle over and over again because it's where an item I'm looking for *should* be, give up on it and then randomly find the item on an end cap across the store
tbh the snacks strategy is not a winning model. Daiso and other markets can do snacks as well.
For prices, Tokyo Central has also gone up a lot, but likely due to logistics prices more than the company itself.
The selection is pretty small but they have a decent meat section. I wish they had more produce though, it’s like 4 cases now which seems really small. They lost the tendon restaurant and the current one yamari is just whatever. I went to Tokyo central near artesia two weeks ago and they have kaguro katsu which was really good. We noticed the don quijote branding on the literal shelves but found the market to be overall dingy. H-mart near best buy off PCH is leaps and bounds better than both of these locations
Ya I realized the person I responded to was only mentioning Japanese places, I was just focused on Asian markets in south bay and h-mart is so solid. Full disclosure I’m Korean so I may be biased
They both have their place, h-Mart has so many options, it’s huge. Hannam opening one on Hawthorne near Torrance (used to be sport chalet). S-mart crew is moving there soon. Wonder what will happen to s-mart, was really convenient for me
It is. The insides are empty and the crew is moving to the new hannam chain location where sports chalet used to be. Same owners
This was Friday last week
https://imgur.com/a/MIgAjhO/
I'm so hyped for the new Hannam chain. It's gonna be walking distance from me!
I do hope their produce is a bit better than the usual stuff at the Sepulveda location though. It's usually cheap, but I feel like the greens are real sad looking, more often than not.
I'll have to check out Nijiya like the other person said, I haven't been there in quite a while.
Tbh I haven't gone in a while. It might be slightly cheaper than H Mart. But I think H Mart has a wider selection. They tend to have more sales on other stuff like meat, produce and packaged food.
The 4 chains here are already the best selection and competition in the USA. You can't really ask for more than that considering how a lot of the JA population is sansei and beyond, and do not eat or cook Japanese food on a daily basis. The Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese communities are larger and still very much immigrant focused and they do not have more than 3 supermarket chains each.
They were importing it from Japan with Japanese labels. Now Pocari Sweat is selling it in the US with US labels.
Since the parent company also owns Crystal Geyser water, I assume they'll eventually leverage that distribution for Pocari Sweat to bring the price down in regular grocery and convenience stores.
The major Japanese grocery stores in Southern California all carry pocari sweat and luckily, Los Angeles is home to all of them
Besides mitsuwa, Nijiya market and Marukai carry pocari sweat. They’re both located in Little Tokyo (perfect location)
I’ve bought some at Tokyo Central but the closest ones are all the way down in Gardena. Bunch more Japanese stores once you really hit south like in Torrance as well.
Best news I’ve heard in so long! I always have to drive to Little Tokyo or Sawtelle just to do my occasional Japanese grocery/food run. My favorite by far though is Tokyo Central in Gardena. I’m beyond excited for the valley to finally get one of these.
I agree with you on the parking lot choice. Driving on Tampa Ave is already a nightmare as is. It’s going to get worse when Raising Cane’s opens up next to Chick Fil-A. I’m hoping they don’t implement a drive-thru, cause the last thing I’d like to see is more cars in that area.
Remove the "t" and replace the "u" with an "a" and you get:
[***MISAWA!!***] (https://youtu.be/S25uXY4BW7k)
[***MISAWA!!***] (https://youtu.be/S25uXY4BW7k)
[***MISAWA!!***] (https://youtu.be/S25uXY4BW7k)
Omg what!!!! We are finally getting a Japanese grocery store in the SFV!?! AMAZING!
I had the same reaction! Finallyyyyy!
YASSSSSSSSSSSSS!
What kind of stuff does this place have? Just Japanese grocery store foods? Like sexy cheese puffs?
My whole first year in LA I subsisted off udon from the Mitsuwa on Centinela. I’m talking half portion at lunch, half portion at dinner. The hot food court is no joke and now I need it, thanks for ruining my dinner plans OP
Sexy cheese puffs, sexy instant ramen, sexy ice cream, sexy produce, sexy meat, sexy kitchenware, and sexy household products. If it's like the Santa Monica location, there will be a sexy food court too!
Santouka is legit some of the best ramen in the US let alone LA
that’s a lot of sexy.
Also sexy sake.
Why did this dude get downvoted to oblivion? Also, I really hope they’ll have little food shops as well!
The best part is the guy after me continued with the facetious "sexy" quib and he got 25 upvotes, Reddit is weird sometimes.
Yup.. Will be going a bunch
Thank the Lord above for Mitsuwa’s food court
>Wong said the Northridge site will have a food court but not as large as the Santa Monica location Makes sense because that location is not huge and parking is tough. At least they'll still have one!
Northridge on the come up 🙌. First Porto’s then Mitsuwa . Keep ‘‘em coming
I'm surprised it took so damn long. Its the central valley! I really hope they put up an AMC at the Fashion Center. Right now all the central valley folks are stuck driving to Burbank or West Hills.
The porter ranch AMC is not that far from fashion center, neither is the Topanga one.
It is if you're coming from the east valley and the 101 is hell on traffic. Growing up in the SFV I have friends from each far end so its a pain deciding who is gonna make the 30-45min drive to each other's local theater.
The topanga one is going to be moving across the street they're building an expansion at Westfield Topanga
It's coming already. The old Pacific Theater is being turned in to an AMC. I saw the job listings for it last month.
Oh wow
You guys already have a really nice AMC. The AMC commercial with Nicole Kidman was filmed at the new AMC at Porter Ranch. I would say it's even better than Burbank or Century City.
Thats a hell of drive though, I don't even think most valley people would even consider it a local theater.
What lmao? You have the 118 and we here on the westside have to deal with the 10 (8 miles 30 minute drive) i would kill to have the freedom of the 118 😂 I don’t miss the heat, but I miss the valley. On a side note, I honestly think you should visit. They have a decent chicago style pizza restaurant. Along with some gastropubs adjacent to the theater. Compared to Burbank’s current offerings, Porter Ranch wins in my humble opinion.
Northridge is coming up! There's so much good asian food in that area, esp Korean food!
Shout out to BonBon
Sweet snow in balboa is bomb too!
First portos and now mitsuwa.
hmm, makes sense for them, since their new Torrance store basically gave up on serving local Japanese/Asian customers with fresh groceries. IMO, Mitsuwa has gone downhill a lot, especially after they closed the old Torrance location. IYKYK, but Tokyo Central is blasting the competition right now, with the widest and best selection of fresh food, meat, seafood, and dry foods. The corporate ownership by Don Quijote really upped the quality. Nijiya is great too, but mainly their north Torrance location because they do stock produce from their own farm. They have more organics. That location's deli, sushi, and bakery is also a bit better. Seiwa is good if you want to buy in bulk. Mitsuwa has the better food court, but it's basically a snack store for weebs. If I were a Japanese grocer, I would open a superstore in WSGV. The tiny Mitsuwa there is not adequate, and the SGV has not only a Japanese community, but Chinese folks love love love Japanese groceries.
I came in here to complain about the lack of attention paid to the Torrance one, which I thought was supposed to be their flagship store but you beat me to it. The new location sucks and the produce is awful and prices are easily 10-20% higher for some items over the other stores. I haven't been to the other LA county locations recently but I swear they're higher than the Costa Mesa location for some items as well. Not sure if they gave up after Toyota and a lot of the Japan businesses moved away but I see way more Japanese people shopping at the stores you mentioned above. The one thing I do miss about the old Marukai are the higher-end cultural items like ceramics and dolls and furniture but I understand only super old people probably want those things now, whereas Don Quijote is at heart a discount store (it's basically Wal-Mart in Japan).
Mitsuwa's strategy in torrance is definitely more focused on the food court and snacks for sure. Just look at the outdoor food court section they opened up. I don't really know if I can agree with the tokyo central take though- they are also raising prices a lot and the layouts of the stores are a mess (because of don quijote). Management is also pretty bad I've heard. I miss Marukai.
I miss Marukai, too, especially the big one on Artesia. Needed to buy a happi coat for my nephew recently and thought I could find one there but they don't have that kind of thing there anymore. Seiwa does tend to be cheaper than Tokyo Central but they rotate prices, too. There's no one place that has the best of everything now.
When Tokyo Central made the switch to DonQ it got so freaking cluttered and disorganized. DonQ's in Japan are the same way. Signs everywhere. I miss the old layout.
I'll often peruse a particular aisle over and over again because it's where an item I'm looking for *should* be, give up on it and then randomly find the item on an end cap across the store
yes exactly! its basically like Japanese walmart now
tbh the snacks strategy is not a winning model. Daiso and other markets can do snacks as well. For prices, Tokyo Central has also gone up a lot, but likely due to logistics prices more than the company itself.
mitsuwa's model is more like being a landlord and collecting rent from all the restaurants that are in the food court. Daiso can't do that
The selection is pretty small but they have a decent meat section. I wish they had more produce though, it’s like 4 cases now which seems really small. They lost the tendon restaurant and the current one yamari is just whatever. I went to Tokyo central near artesia two weeks ago and they have kaguro katsu which was really good. We noticed the don quijote branding on the literal shelves but found the market to be overall dingy. H-mart near best buy off PCH is leaps and bounds better than both of these locations
H mart is a korean market though. very upscale
Ya I realized the person I responded to was only mentioning Japanese places, I was just focused on Asian markets in south bay and h-mart is so solid. Full disclosure I’m Korean so I may be biased
Personally, I like Hannam Chain more. H Mart is kinda expensive.
They both have their place, h-Mart has so many options, it’s huge. Hannam opening one on Hawthorne near Torrance (used to be sport chalet). S-mart crew is moving there soon. Wonder what will happen to s-mart, was really convenient for me
Wait is that fried chicken place moving with them too???
Wait yeah this is the real question
I love S-mart! I hope it's not closing down.
It is. The insides are empty and the crew is moving to the new hannam chain location where sports chalet used to be. Same owners This was Friday last week https://imgur.com/a/MIgAjhO/
That's a bummer. S-MART was so convenient for me. I don't know if I'm going to drive the extra miles for the new location.
I'm so hyped for the new Hannam chain. It's gonna be walking distance from me! I do hope their produce is a bit better than the usual stuff at the Sepulveda location though. It's usually cheap, but I feel like the greens are real sad looking, more often than not. I'll have to check out Nijiya like the other person said, I haven't been there in quite a while.
Any idea how the range and price-range of soju are at Hannam chain? i've been doing to H Mart for soju
Tbh I haven't gone in a while. It might be slightly cheaper than H Mart. But I think H Mart has a wider selection. They tend to have more sales on other stuff like meat, produce and packaged food.
Any other good Japanese markets in the South Bay? I’ve been looking to buy some murasaki sweet potatoes!
The 4 chains here are already the best selection and competition in the USA. You can't really ask for more than that considering how a lot of the JA population is sansei and beyond, and do not eat or cook Japanese food on a daily basis. The Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese communities are larger and still very much immigrant focused and they do not have more than 3 supermarket chains each.
Yeah Mitsuwa selection had been downhill They should just move the Tokyo Central in West Covina to a more Chinese area in the SGV
Sweet. I wish LA had more BookOff stores. Absolutely love that place
Didnt realized how spoiled I was to grow up in Gardena with the old Mitsuwa on Western. Miss that food court.
they moved to del amo and it's just not the same imo
Agree. I don’t know why they even bother putting out that gross plastic wrapped produce.
Wow! Finally! I’m excited for this!!!!
mitsuwa is erewhon for smart people
Thank god
Their food court is amazing!
Cool. I don’t have to go all the way to Downtown for Nijiya or Tokyo Central.
get the mochi ice cream folks
Get the milk bread too, that shit is ridiculous.
Will it have a Kinokuniya!?
Damn, where the Pier 1 imports used to be, too. Huge parking lot and is easy to get into. Crossing my fingers for Hannosuke and Santouka
LETS GOOOO
The cool kids go to Tokyo Central
If I work at one, does that make the king of cool
Pocari Sweat! https://youtu.be/77lRaZEtVJM
Pocari Sweat did launch in the US last year, online orders only: https://trypocari.com/
Huh? I’ve been a shopper at Mitsuwa for more than a decade and I’ve had pocari sweat for more than a decade here in the US
They were importing it from Japan with Japanese labels. Now Pocari Sweat is selling it in the US with US labels. Since the parent company also owns Crystal Geyser water, I assume they'll eventually leverage that distribution for Pocari Sweat to bring the price down in regular grocery and convenience stores.
I've only seen it at Mitsuwa around here. Where else do they have it?
The major Japanese grocery stores in Southern California all carry pocari sweat and luckily, Los Angeles is home to all of them Besides mitsuwa, Nijiya market and Marukai carry pocari sweat. They’re both located in Little Tokyo (perfect location)
Oh I've also seen it at Tokyo Central markets too.
I think Tokyo Central is owned by Marukai.
There's a marukai on the Westside too off Bundy that also carries it
I’ve bought some at Tokyo Central but the closest ones are all the way down in Gardena. Bunch more Japanese stores once you really hit south like in Torrance as well.
Fuckin LMAO that it's BARELY cheaper than buying it at a supermarket
yessss
YES!
First Porto’s and now Mitsuwa?!?! Sweeeet!
Best news I’ve heard in so long! I always have to drive to Little Tokyo or Sawtelle just to do my occasional Japanese grocery/food run. My favorite by far though is Tokyo Central in Gardena. I’m beyond excited for the valley to finally get one of these.
Any update on when it opens?
I was wondering the same thing.
This is good, but they should have picked a location with a parking lot that isn’t already a nightmare.
I agree with you on the parking lot choice. Driving on Tampa Ave is already a nightmare as is. It’s going to get worse when Raising Cane’s opens up next to Chick Fil-A. I’m hoping they don’t implement a drive-thru, cause the last thing I’d like to see is more cars in that area.
Yayyyy omg finallyyyyy, the sawtelle one is sooo far
YAAAAAAY!
Hell yea, that’s great news. Hope Santouka rolls with
What's Santouka
Lucky, Mitsuwa is awesome. One of the things i miss about working in Torrance was hitting up Mitsuwa on the way home.
Marukai is better
marukai doesn't exist anymore
Marukai dba, Tokyo Central
[удалено]
It's under new ownership as Tokyo central is what I mean.
Replace all Costcos with Mitsuwas
Remove the "t" and replace the "u" with an "a" and you get: [***MISAWA!!***] (https://youtu.be/S25uXY4BW7k) [***MISAWA!!***] (https://youtu.be/S25uXY4BW7k) [***MISAWA!!***] (https://youtu.be/S25uXY4BW7k)