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Categories: Specialty Food, Grocery [Edit]
Neighborhood: U Street CorridorMon-Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
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Love this place. It's tucked away on the north western corner of 17th and U, so I am using that as an excuse as to why I have passed it so many times without noticing it was there. It's very small, but filled with all kinds of Japanese goodies.
My highlights included the mixed nuts, miso paste, jasmine tea, refrigerated green tea, ice cream and assortments of frozen fish. The staff is very friendly and made me feel very much at home.
Please, oh god of the corporate and free market, please keep places like this alive and well. Without them, we are nothing but drones.
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Hana really is special.
I try to visit once every other week to help plan meals - eyeing things on the shelves will remind me that I haven't eaten soba in awhile, that I should try my hand at tempura, and man, bulldog sauce goes good with EVERYTHING (remember this when you're trying to eat a hot dog and your boyfriend has tossed the ketchup).
I've come into a new appreciation for Hana when my eyes stopped on THE BEST DRESSING EVER a month ago (name withheld because I can't let you in on the secret). No joke, I buy this stuff by the case when I'm in Seattle and ship it to my mom in New Mexico. I've scoured the aisles of the Asian markets in the area and I carry around a photo of the label just in case my descriptions aren't good enough. To find it on a shelf across the street from my apartment? Amazing.
The second time Hana saved my life was when I was hell bent on baking a matcha-chocolate cake. Sure, I could order it online or fork over $26 for 2oz at Teaism, but that just seemed wrong. Hana to the rescue once more - with not one but TWO matcha options for under $10!
In addition to the lifesaving items, Hana continues to stock reasonably priced Japanese staples - mostly pre-packaged or frozen but also fresh vegetables and squid salad, an item I rarely walk out without.
Hana's still open 7 days a week, accepts credit cards, and is my all-around favorite neighborhood grocery store.
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There's a Japanese grocery store in DC.
In the location that one exclusively housed Japan Associates…
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I stop by Hana around once a month to pick up some noodles and miso paste or to find something new to experiment with. The store is small, but that doesn't bother me (though their wall of refrigerators do heat the place up!). I like Hana because the district is devoid of Asian or Indian markets and this place is a small step towards improving that deficiency.
Sometimes I wish Hana included a broader range of geographical products (especially some Korean items like gallon size kimchi), but the store is a Japanese grocery and not trying to be anything more than that. Five stars for just trying to do one thing well in the District instead of trying to be too broad. I do hope it survives
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They sell Japanese veggies now, apparently delivered from a farm specializing in them. Recent purchases: shimeji mushrooms, kailan, and yuzu vinegar. I love this place!!!!
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Ohhhhh nooooooooooooooooooo! The "rocket" and "space" signs have been painted over. So sad! Read more »
They have everything! I was able to buy ingredients to make Okonomiyaki! That just does not happen at most places. They are absolutely WONDERFUL.
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A very cute obscure place. The grandma there is sooo tiny and very sweet and helpful! I was able to find sushi-grade fish there and it was great b/c just a week before we were searching everywhere for it and no one had it! we ate salmon and tuna sashimi and made eel avocado rolls! Yum! They were fresh and yuMmy! I feel that the prices are a bit pricier than other places (they have some items that you can buy from say a Lotte/Grandmart and they were distinctly more, however, for the items that you can't find as easily (the Japanese items), it's worth it! :) check out this cute store!
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Folks, lets cut to the chase here, most of the 'sushi restaurants' in this town are faker than pro wrestling, opened by enterprising restauranteurs reasoning thusly:
'Most people can't tell the difference between real and fake Japanese food, so why don't I open a Japanese restaurant with a menu serving sushi, tempura, kushi, and noodles a inflated prices? The portions are small and the ingredients are mostly rice and noodles, so my margins will be through the roof! I am a genius!'
Sadly, it's hard to find a place in DC where you can eat authentically cooked Japanese favorites as curry rice, ramen, or okonomiyaki, but we do have Hana.
The sign they have on the wall next to the register gets right to the point that I am trying to make here:
"Why go eat at a Japanese restaurant when you can buy all the ingredients here and make the same food for less!"
Highlights of the selection so far are chazuke, natto, okonomiyaki mix, kewpie mayonnaise and bulldog sauce. Next time I am going to get some frozen fish for sushi, barley tea, and some dorayaki.
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Quite good - a lot of the stuff here is typical tiny packing-heavy cute Japanese stuff, but really it seems quite legit, like there aren't any other places in the far-surrounding area to find this stuff. Also the tofu is much less expensive (and, it seems, much better) than anywhere else you look. The tea is pretty good too, and, similarly, dirt-cheap.
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The Asian in me thought this store deserved a big ascii balloon heart!
A month ago I was planning the menu for a multiple course meal I cooked for someone's birthday. This tiny store put a huge smile on my face for the following reasons:
- black sesame flavored mochi (you have NO idea how hard it is to find that flavor of ice-cream).
- individually vacuum sealed tilapia fillets
- miso paste
- roughly a DOZEN different kinds of Japanese rice seasoning
- sushi grade tuna, shrimp, squid, and salmon
- panko bread crumbs
Yay!
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Places like this remind me of why I love Yelp.
Business owner comments, flagging wars, hostile threads, removed reviews by a secretive Yelp-stapo, the constant debate over whether Yelp is "changing for the worst".... None of it matters -all is forgotten- when you remember exactly why you first came to Yelp: to find out about businesses that other people recommend!
I say all this because I NEVER would have made it to Hana Market, even though it's only blocks from my home (!), without Yelpers leading the way. The hanging plastic banner that distinguishes this corner market from any other corner in the city was twisted so that you could barely even see the establishment's name. Yes, this place is a tiny diamond in the rough.
The moment you go in -if you are white and not overly familiar with Japanese goods, like me- it's possible to feel overwhelmed. The manager and (I think) his wife quickly make you feel at ease. There's no questioning if you're lost and have wandered into an Asian market on accident... they treated me like any good business people should and didn't try to "over help" me in anticipation of my ignorance. However, once solicited, the manager was very kind, helpful, and informative.
They even have a cute sign up that says something like, "Have a question? Ask the Manager!" with a cartoonish depiction of the man himself. After a few questions, the manager pointed to the sign to remind me that he was available if I had any more inquiries. I found it endearing.
They also note in a sign up front that there are over 750 goods in this tiny store! It feels like there are a lot of hidden gems in here. Some have English translations, many do not, but I assume the manager would help if you can't identify some of the products. I pestered him a little bit, but I'd rather have been there with my own Japanese interpreter, because it feels excessive to point at everything and ask, "what's this?"
People have covered the selection (for the most part). It has definitely grown since the opening. There's frozen goods, fresh produce, baked goods, canned/bottled stuff, and basically you just have to come check it out for yourself. It's probably important to note that all baked goods and produce are delivered every Thursday. Nevertheless, my sesame bun filled with red bean paste was Dee-licious and I purchased it on a Sunday.
So YaY! for Hana Market and for Yelp... this place is a great find.
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Absolutely love this place. Spent like $30 here on Tuesday and got a buncha bags o' good stuff. Great variety of foods and pretty darn cheap, too. I picked up miso paste (two different types) for around 5 bux each (MSG free and deelish), fresh shiso leaf, organic tofu for a bit over a buck, shirataki for $1, sesame oil, etc...all for a lot less than in the regular grocery store. Their produce leaves much to be desired (quantity-wise) but this is a great shop - totally friendly owners, too.
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Great place right in my neighborhood. Bit bummed they covered that classic travel sign (haha), but… Read more »
I LOVE this place! I have been looking for a decent Japanese grocery store to replace my tendency to order on-line for quality miso paste and other delectable Japanese goods.
First, he carries my FAVORITE miso paste! And second, he has champon which I LOVE!!!! And their produce is fresh!
Prices are great and you can tell that the owner takes much pride in his store. What a delight.
I love this little market. The guy is super nice and walked me outside and explained in great detail how to get to the Dupont metro station when I asked for directions.
I was pleased to find several different kinds of furikake and natto here. I also got some nice imitation crab sticks to make California rolls, not the supermarket stuff mixed with egg white and sugar and other fillers. They have a bunch of sembe and other snacks including fried green peas, both hot and mild. They have ponzu and soba tsuyu and dried kombu and several kinds of curry. I'll definitely be back to check out their selection more thoroughly and stock up.
This Japanese mini mart, located a convenient 5 minute-bike-ride away from work, has saved me from my nattou cravings. I've also bought yamaimo to fix myself some tororo soba and nebaneba don as well as some tofu, daifuku and nozawana pickles. Pretty decent selection of Japanese snacks as well. The owner, Tanabe san, is very friendly and gave me a chocolate for Valentine's Day. Sweet!
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Finally, something that resembles an asian grocery store! Hana is a tiny Japanese food market run by...you guessed it...Japanese people. It's got everything you need for making quick ramen and shumai to making a weeks supply of kare-rice (japanese curry). What's even best is that they have rice...not like small bags of rice but the HUGE ones you have to lug over your shoulders. They also have a whole assortment of Japanese drinks, tofu, mabutofu mix, chips, crackers...etc. I think they sell phone cards too?
The guy gave me free drink (green tea) on my first visit. They're super nice and very polite (as the people are known to be).
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Get your butt over to Hana right this minute!
Right now you will see a lovely, low key demonstration of simple, elegant, Japanese vegetables and Japanese Rice Balls. And they will feed you generous samples, too!
They even demonstrated a cute gadget they use [and sell] to form these rice balls. The tasty, appealing balls would make a fun party appetizer.
Their preparations are easy, tasty, healthy, low/no fat, inexpensive. The ingredients are available at Hana at low cost.
If you don't make it to Hana today, check with the good folks at Hana for an upcoming demonstration. They plan to continue demonstrations twice a month.
ps. I saw plenty of Mochi and bean ice cream.
pps. If you're feeling too healthy, remember Henry's [soul food] Delicatessen & Carryout is across the street. You could pig out on fried chicken and their legendary Sweet Potato Pie!!
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Wow! This place is chocked full of the basics... plus, it has really popular treats like pocky and my personal favorite kasugai mixed nuts.
The owners are super helpful and helped me find everything I needed. I've recently become obsessed with packing obento for lunch. As such, I needed to stock my kitchen with mirin, ponzu, dashi granules and other items that are hard to find in that ill-defined international section at the regular grocer.
The owners take great care in making sure you get the right product that you are looking for. I asked for umeboshi, and they pointed out the differences in the 3+ kinds they had. He also took great care in packaging my items so the cold items were surrounding the frozen items!
I could not ask for better service. Yes, its tiny. But, Hana has used their limited space wisely, to its fullest potential.
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My first attempt to come to Hana Japanese Market was on Christmas day, and it was closed. I was very sad.
My second attempt yielded more pleasurable results, mostly because it was open. I came looking for sushi ingredients, because I make alot of sushi and usually have to go all over the place getting ingredients.
I was specifically looking for fish sauce, and the owner recommended a recipe to make my own even though he had bottled fish sauce there. I thought this was great, since it was cheaper to make and tasted better. I also got some really light tempura batter and some crab sticks.
The owner was really attentive, almost like he was a server at a restaurant. He answered my questions very thoroughly, and made some great recommendations.
I will definitely make the 30 minute drive to come here at any time without batting an eyelash.
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A Japanese grocery store in the District (in my neighborhood no less) is as good as it gets. Tanabe-san is the kind of gentle, older grocers I grew up with in the smaller towns in Japan--he told me to go ahead and take some veggies for free because they were getting older than he liked anyway, and he didn't want them to go to waste.
The store is mostly full of non-perishables, but Tanabe-san gets shipments of fresh veggies from a Japanese farm in VA every Thursday--daikon radishes to burdock roots to Chinese cabbage. And in the frozen food section he has sushi-grade tuna and salmon, unagi, mackerel--his fish selection gives Whole Foods and Harris Teeter a run for their money.
For those not obsessed with Japanese food, there are plenty of funky snacks, candy, and Tanabe-san also carries sake, so it's well worth a visit.
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*Love*
Hana gets a star for merely existing somewhere accessible in the District. It's only a little store, stocked mostly with non-perishable basics like tea, rice seasoning (ochazuke anyone?), rice, oils, seaweed, and sauces.
A bank of glowing refrigerators along one wall contains frozen gyoza, frozen whole fish, mochi ice cream, miso paste, turnips and daikon.
I picked up a bottle of tonkatsu sauce to add interest to ony of my vaguely-Asian weekday dinners (brown rice, blanched tat soi with sesame oil and oyster sauce, fried panko-crusted pork chop or chicken breast layered inna bowl).
It's not H-Mart, it's not Annandale, but it's here, it's convenient, and damn straight, it's good enough.
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This place is really small, so there isn't a huge selection, but they work well with their space. I found the prices to be reasonable and the little Japanese couple were delightful. I'm giving it 5 stars for the very reason that there are no others like this in the District and what's mentioned above. Did I say there's such a cute couple who work there?
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yes: they sell pocari sweat.
tiny little market, but don't let the size (or the travel agent sign...) fool you. hana's family owners are the cutest, and they can help you pick out anything from the packed racks of japan's finest tasties and seasonings. they have pocky and gummis, nori and miso paste, rice flour and mochi (ice cream and red bean), udons and sobas, and all the spices you need for a legit japanese meal. their fresh produce is limited, and they've got an array of frozen (and some fresh) fish.
i'm a westcoaster and i desperately miss having my pick of asian supermarkets in the area, but hana's all i need for an authentic homecooked japanese meal. prices are decent too, given the convenience/local unavailability of their products... and it's the ONLY place i've found pocari sweat in this time zone.
This has all the makings to become one of my favorite place. It is kind of like visiting Japan when you go inside. I also love that it is also a travel agency. They guy that runs it is so friendly and helpful and aided me in choosing which of the 20 different miso pastes I should get.
Yay for Hana!
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Hana has exactly what we need in an economic recession: RAMEN NOODLES. (Real quality Japanese ramen with many flavors to choose from, not just that Top Ramen stuff).
I also love the crunchy Kasugai roasted peas. Plus, the nice older gentleman at the cash register offered me a free soda.
But the coolest thing about this new store is that now, I can buy Pocky in my own neighborhood. Pocky sticks are thin pretzel-like biscuits dipped in chocolate. They're so light and crispy, you may not notice till it's too late that you just inhaled a whole box in one sitting. Hana even has my favorite kind: Men's Pocky (because only men can handle bitter chocolate?).
Mind you, Hana is no Super H-Mart: it's small. But it's such a pleasure to have an Asian store in the city, and not have to drive to Virginia. I love this place!
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I love Hana Japanese market!
The owner is so nice, he always hooks me up with some sort of free snack/fruit/drink everytime i go.
and i get to speak japanese which i never do in dc!
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This place is awesome. I randomly stumbled into it one day when the door was open and I saw food instead of the travel stuff I was expecting -now they have a sign so it's easier to spot. They have lots of good stuff, including tasty ramen (not the 20-cent crappy kind), Japanese curry, which is easy and delicious, and tons of candy and drinks. The first time I went there the guy gave me free Pocky and tea, but haven't gotten that since. But still, it's cheap and has lots of good items.
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This place looks small on the outside, but they pack a lot in!
This is great shop to get your Asian favorites, like daifuku (red bean paste and rice cakes) or a wide selection of noodles and other items.
There aren't many other places in the District to get these products, so I hope it stays around.
Hana opened about a week ago and at that time they hadn't put up the sign in front yet. We were walking home from the gym, happened to look in and realized that the travel agency now houses a mini store!! Intrigued, the boyfriend and I made our way in.
An elderly Japanese man greeted us and told us to feel free to look around. The boyfriend lived in Japan for 3 years when he was younger and after his first round in the store was already ecstatic. Apparently he found his beloved Yam Noodles that he hadn't been able to find anywhere else.
Seeing how excited the boyfriend was, the elderly man came over and chatted him up. The boyfriend told the man how great it was to finally have a Japanese store in the city so anytime we wanted Japanese stuff we didn't need to drive to the burbs. The boyfriend mentioned that his favorite Japanese food is Okonomiyaki but he hasn't been able to find it in any restaurant in the area. The man told him that they will soon have the flour mix for Okonomiyaki and I think that pretty much made the boyfriend's day.
The store was still being stocked when we went so I am excited to see what they will have when they finish stocking the shelves. For right now, I am just happy that I can get my pocky sticks, rice balls, real miso paste, and 0 calorie yam noodles right around the corner when I need it.
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Amazing the variety he crams into this store: mostly dried, canned, frozen, and refrigerated goods. I wish this place were next door to where I live.
Kawaii! This market is tiny, but they do stock a wide range of items and hey, it saves us city folk from having the schlep out to the Grand Mart, Super H, or Lotte out in Fairfax. I stopped in for some shoyu and green tea, and noticed that they're sign said that they've open every day 10-7pm. Sweet. They have moochi ice cream, shirataki noodles, and an nice assortment of pickled veggies. The owner (I assume) bowed to me at least 3 times when bagging up my goodies. He was so happy to have my business that his sincerity made me want to buy more.
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Charming little corner store. They had high quality specialty produce like napa and bean sprouts; there was also a nice selection of frozen seafood and meat products as well. You're not going to find everything since it's half the size of the suburban mega-Asian mart's bathroom, but there are a lot of cool Japanese items here to be had. The cute elderly couple there just tops it all off.
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Sketchy on the outside, a treasure trove on the inside! They carry really yummy instant noodle bowls, authentic miso soup mixes, quality japanese noodles of all kinds including fresh udon, Japanese sauces (ponzu, etc), dried fish, and my favourite Japanese rice-soup-thingy-mixes (I think the official term is sake-chaguze) made up of dried seaweed and bits of salmon and sesame seeds and green tea that you put on cooked rice and then pour hot water over for the yummiest, cheap comfort-foody yet pretty darned gourmet lunch. There are all kinds of Japanese candies and juices and even oddities like candied squid. And those rice crisp things with seaweed wrapped around them that make for addictive snacking, all at reasonable prices - unlike that boutiquey Japanese place that used to exist on Connecticut Ave in Dupont.
They also have sushi-quality frozen fish and dumplings and crabstick and fish cakes in the freezer section, and some vegetables (more fresh vegetables and mushrooms would be nice, but perhaps that's asking too much). The manager is very helpful too. I'm thrilled to have a place like this in the neighbourhood.
Yum! I love this place. Great, genuine fresh and frozen Japanese food and dry goods. If you are willing to do some light cooking, you can make yourself a gourmet fish or noodle dinner with vegetables very inexpensively. This store is the real deal - it could be in Japan. And the owner is very nice.
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Hana Japanese Market has just made DC's stocks go up! Way up! It's a small discreet store half a block up U Street near Results Gym. Hana has a great selection of seasoning, ramen, udon noodles, miso, broth bases, sauces, snacks, mochi rice cakes, sweets (frozen red bean bars and mochi ice cream), fun beverages, candy, tofu, curry, fish, and more!
The owner, Tanabe-san, is very nice and helpful. He also translated cooking instructions from a seawood broth base package for me. Visiting Hana reminds me of a little piece of St. Marks in the EV in NY. Will definitely be going there at least once or twice a month!
Hana is ICHIBAN!
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I'm glad it's in the neighborhood and considering its size, it has a decent selection of Japanese goods. The owner is really the nicest man and I really hope this place does well. It a classic mom-pop shop, and he seems so happy to greet the customers, giving advise on what to buy, what's fresh and what will go well with other items you might have but never pushy. The selection could be better but I kind of like that it is what it is and he sells what he knows. I definitely recommend going to Hana Japanese Market.
Everything I thought I'd never find in DC- and great prices! Last time I stocked up on pre cooked rice bowls, yam noodles and rice vinegar, but I think the greatest find was the individual sushi ready pieces of frozen squid. Yes, squid sushi at home! Wow. I just wish the space was bigger so they could stock even more good stuff.
I hope this does well - it's so convenient!
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