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Category: Candy Stores [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Pacific Heights, JapantownMon-Wed. 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Sat. 10:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Sun. 10:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
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A truly unique Japanese treats shop, shopping here makes me think of being in a Japanese department store's food department. They carry fancy Japanese mochi, cakes, cookies, candy and tea in pretty containers, perfect for gift giving. The mochi is the ultra fancy kind you don't see at Nijiya, Mitsuwa or other stores in the area. These tasty goodies come from all over Japan, e.g., Hokkaido pudding cakes, castella cakes, crepe cookies, mochi filled with chocolate, rice cookies, mochi with crispy rice on the outside, red bean mochi galore.
Everything is dainty and usually individually wrapped. Most of the items have plastic model displays (so cute). Some of the confections (like the banana kind) are labeled limited edition. Packages start at $6 and up - most are under $30.
A great place to buy some omiyage (regional Japanese edible snacks, in nice pretty wrappers sold as gifts/ sourvenirs) in Japantown. It's not true that u can find most of these stuff at Nijiya, so don't bother. Each season usually brings a different supply of snacks. Love the many different types of mochi and jellies, but some items can be WAY too sweet. I wish they offered free samples so u could pick the ones u like best, instead of finding out the hard way that your choice wasn't that great.
Most everything is well made and carefully packaged, but these are not the best omiyage u can find. The regional fairs in the Mitsuwa market, or the Shirokiya store in Honolulu (they have free samples) have superior items - okay, yes that's too far away. It's just an example.
I would have given this place 4 stars in the past, but since Minamoto Kitchoan recently opened a store in SF, it simply knocks this place out of the water. Service is pleasant.
For a candy store with so many positive reviews, I was really underwhelmed. First of all, the mochi is EXPENSIVE here, seriously. The "daifuku" is really just strawberry flavored mochi filled with nutella. The filling totally ruins the flavor and the texture of the mochi, not like real daifuku with real strawberries on the inside.
The green tea mochi was disappointing, and tasted a little like latex. Not to mention, the cashier was kinda rude and I felt like a dumb weeaboo ALL over the place. I don't think I'll be back.
I stumbled into this Japanese style confections and gift shop by accident and it was a good thing because they had so many items that reminded me of Japan. They had a huge assortment of candies, biscuits and sweets that are imported and beautifully boxed. These are the kind of gifts you would want to gift as a omiyage (bring home gift) to friends and family. I'm glad I picked up the strawberry mochi ($7.50ish) because my guest back home really enjoyed it.
One noticeable thing you must be aware here is some of the food items have short expiration dates. I had to put back a few goodies because a few were going to expire in a few weeks. For example, if you see "09.7.12." that means it will expire July 12, 2009 not December 7, 2009. Year, month, day. Always make sure you look at that before you make your purchase.
While trying to remember the name of this shop, I found a printable coupon you can use for 10% off.
http://japantownparkin...
Aahhhh, finally finished with all my San Francisco reviews! Now moving onto the South Bay!
I don't really have a sweet tooth, but I do have a special place in my heart for mochi. I could eat an entire box of that stuff and still want more!
The best mochi I've ever had in San Francisco was from Benkyodo (they stuffed an entire strawberry into my mochi, what the heck?! in a good way!). But this place is pretty awesome too.
Why?
Well, here we gooooes!
+ The presentation. Is stellar. But that's what you expect Japanese people to do, right? They've got pretty aesthetic stuff DOWN.
+ The boxes of mochi make for GREAT gifts. Nicely packaged, a good amount of food, and really, who doesn't like mochi?
+ Good, extensive variety of typical mochi as well as unique ones like strawberry mochi stuffed with chocolate (whaaa?!). It has something for everyone, I think.
+ It all tastes yummy! For reals, yo.
+ I was here last night, and the guy working the cash register was so friendly + boy was HELLA FINE. That's like the best combination ever.
Final word: The place is a tad bit expensive, but not ridiculously so. But then again, most Japanese things are over-priced anyway, so if we look at it in context, then it's really not so bad. I mean, eight bucks for a good-sized box of mochi is a deal, I think.
Shout-out: As mentioned above, Benkyodo is fantastic too. They make their mochi fresh, and it's really delicious.
OMG! This place has really good
mochi from Japan. Kinda expensive
but worth it!! TAste Delicious!! MMmmmm =)
I was in J-Town and my partner in crime needed some candy treats for some friends. This store has assorted mochi with different fillings. From green tea to fruit fillings, plus the ever popular chocolate ones. The boxes run between $8 to $10 a box and they are decorated very nicely This shop is small but it was neatly organized and you could find what you are looking for quickly.
They also have assorted candies, different gift baskets and stuff toys. Very Fun.
This place fills my need when I'm heading out San Francisco and coming home/visiting a friend. Instant omiyage right here in this shop. And they've got a pretty envious position in the middle of the Kinokuniya mall too.
I've been lucky to have a few pieces of their candy here as well and everything is pretty good. As far as preserved mochi goes anyway. If you want fresher stuff, check out Nijiya or Benkyodo. But this place is an instant gift for friends if you have nothing else in mind.
japantown center inside...bright and packed mochi shop...boxed and pretty...strawberry to chocolate and more...a request for mochi...osaka kuri mochi $seven.seventy-five...a chestnut mochi box....quite soft chew and sweet center mochi...finding mochi heaven...in prepackaged, pretty boxed and stacked mochi...
I don't like chocolate very much. Not big on american sweets.. But I love me some Japanese confectionery treats. OH yes I do.
Came here just to look for this particular wafer treat that I really love - fukuwatashi senbei. They didn't have it... But they did have a lot of other great things, all in the beautiful packaging that makes it such a great gift to give.
They also had "kotobukiame konpeitou". Which is the really colorful traditional rock (sugar) candy!!!! I had way too much of that when I was in Osaka. But I still love it.
Yummy yummy yummy I got mochi in my tummy...
I used to try and make it a point to stop in to this adorable mochi store every time I was in J-town, but lately I've been trying instead to make it a point NOT to stop in... 'cause I know I will probably go home and devour a gift-sized box of these sweet things in an evening. My favorite is the strawberry mochi with chocolate filling. It's like eating frosting surrounded by strawberry pillows of joy.
Nippon Ya sells a wide variety of Japanese mochi confections, ranging from traditional to modern flavors. The products are a little pricey, but are great for gifts. Has anyone ever said "WOW!" after receiving yet another janky box of See's candy for the holidays? As many of the reviews point out, the packaging is super cute and unique, so it definitely stands out as something special.
Date & Time: Wednesday July 2, 2008 @ 12pm
Company: Michael
Crowd: Young Asians & Tourists
Service: Very Nice & Helpful. The Cool Gentleman @ the Cashier Gave us a Handful of Complimentary Individually Wrapped Treats:)
Must-Haves: Nicely Wrapped Boxes of Maccha Chocolate Mochi & Ocha Daifuku Mochi that are Each Individually Wrapped In the Box
Total: $16.25 Plus We got Complimentary Treats:)
THIS PLACE IS EVIL!
I saw Genevieve's review of this place and when she mentioned mochi I had to pay this place a visit.
From across the mall through the crowd I spotted a wall with rows and rows of mochi! Mango...chocolate...green tea...strawberry! 3 boxes for $8! To my left twinkling in the sunlight where boxes of strawberry daifuku for $8! There's a basket of chocolate, strawberry and yogurt filled marshmallows. Were these sale prices I saw? There's a display case of freeze dried bananas and strawberries covered in chocolate. Not only do they look good but they taste good too!
They also have cute stuffed animals, key chains and toys. Packaging is super cute so I can come here to buy a last minute present. A little pricey but some of these things you can't find anywhere else in the city so pony up here or you can drop cash on a plane ticket to tokyo.
I was always walking by this place and thinking, " What the FXXX, Who is buying the old Japo sweets things. I go Benkyo-Do in stead to get fresh made sweets. I never come here for sure."
Benkyo-Do closes 5 pm sharp!
My taxing woman, she is an old Japanese lady, went to Japan few weeks ago. When she was there, she fell and hit her hip born hard, didn't break it but she was hurt badly.
She is just came back in here and doing my tax so I decided to bring something for Omi-mai= visit, inquire her health.
So, I went to Benkyo-Do 1st but it was too late, 10 minuts after 5!
Benkyo-Do is great because fresh made and pick whatever I want and they have a little pink paper box and wrapping shit.
Benkyo-Do is So Parfect the situation that I was in.
I love Benkyo-Do from bottom of my heart but it was closed.
I was sucked!
Flower? Flower dies and gets dirty and she isn't my GF.
I didn't know what to do.
So, I just walk down into the J-town building and I stopped right front of this place again.
And I said, " Shit."
But I walked in.
There are so many good Japanese sweet stuff.
I found a nice box of Maccha Yohkan set. $14.
I think I know this thing must be about 6 bucks in Japan, but looks nice enough to be 14 just because you don't see this kind in here.
Cute design too.
Yohkan= bean jelly,
but,
Yokan= hunch,
Yakan= kettle or late night,
And, they have a special wrapping cloth for $1.50!
( if you bring something and just wrapping will be $2.50)
THAT"S RIGHT.
WRAPPING JAPANESE WAY!
This was FXXXin' cool. When I give the Yokan box with the cute wrapping to the taxing woman, she said to me, " Oh, You just got back from Japan too?"
Wrapping is a big deal in Japan.
Have you been any department store and purchase in Japan?
Especially basement, is always food department, they wrap so fast and so precise! I always feel guilty to open it.
Anyway, I Thank Nippon-Ya.
She loved it.
You made my day.
P.S., there is a cute Asian girl who took a Wrapping class!
Julie K. from NY said, " YES! once I took a class for it in Korea! Wrapping is a big deal in Korea, too!"
Wrapping class? Should I?
Btw, if you are a guy who has a Japo girl friend, get a good Yohkan. I think Yohkan is a KILLER for Japo ladies. You might get lucky.
"Hana yori Dango!"
I really wish I liked this place more...
One of my favorite things to do in Japan was to stop off at a shop at the train station wherever I might be visiting from Kyushu to Hokkaido to check out the local specialties. I would inevitably bring lots of stuff (omiyagei) back for friends and business associates not just a courtesy but an obligation.
Nippon Ya has some of this but its weighed too heavily on the side of distinct and unusual. Just give me more of the traditional regional and tried and true okashi and mochi.
So I came in here on a Saturday, after filling by belly with some good Jcurry, to see if I could find some kind of regalito for my mahal. I've kind of gotten him hooked on Jtown now, so it's up to me to keep him loving one of my favorite hoods in the city. So I popped in and actually looked closely for a change, instead of just going... "Hmmm... I'd rather get him something fresh from Benkyodo or a slice of cake from Yasukochi's or a bento from Super Mira."
The thing is... I had been to Benkyodo that day already and most of the best stuff was gone. They still had age and kuri, but only 1 ichigo! YIKES! At least the nice lady in front of me only got 2 of the last 3... thank you nice lady! That being said... time to check out Nippon Ya.
Hmmm... nice flavors like mango, which he really loves... chocolate... huge assorted boxes of daifuku...even matcha. Lots of other goodies abound as well... I think my goal will be to try all the savories, though. The sweets are nice, but I would rather get those for gifts.
The purchases were:
-strawberry milk yokan - $6.25
-pot komachi age (nice and spicy!) - $6.75
-muchimuchi kinako (raw sugar/honey candy) - $1.75
-choco daifuku - $8.00
-tokyo mango daifuku - $7.50
-blueberry mousse chocolate - $7.50
-cute lil stuffed cat with charm - $6.95
As you can see... it's a lil expensive, but the packages are pretty and you can get them wrapped in cloth to make them perfect for giving as gifts. I still prefer Benkyodo for something fresh...and even the cracker snacks are super pricey here. Some of the hard candies are cheap-ish and the stuffed cats/pigs/food items are cute. It's basically a gift shop for me.. not something I would go to anytime I wanted a snack. Total with tax $45.54.
The young woman working here is pretty and really sweet. I saw her helping so many of the older japanese customers who were looking for something specific or the white people like me who were curious about what they had in the store. I would come back, if I needed a quick (packaged nicely) gift for any of my friends who are into Jsnacks. Don't come in here expecting to find the average japanese snacks either.
I have a buddy who is an Asian Fetishist weirdly enough. The problem is that he is also uncomfortable around women. It's seriously painful watching the whole ordeal. For some odd reason, he thought it would help him integrate into their society if he held an Asian Snack Party. I'm not sure if I see the reasoning here, but I guess talking about snacks is better than talking about recent tax laws when you are trying to score a date.
Now, me being the good friend that I am decided to fight my original notion which was to not attend this event and to run screaming/laughing in the opposite direction. No, I'm gonna pitch in and help out. At the very least I get to see some more uncomfortable small talk right??
I don't have the first clue what one would bring to an Asian Snack Party... My idea of snacks is beer and popcorn. I don't think they have corn or corn products throughout Asia so what's a guy to do??? JAPANTOWN that's what!!! I pop into Nippon-Ya and it is like a snack heaven. Sweets. Savories. They have it all. Thankfully they also have an English translation sign by every product because even if there is English on the original packaging it doesn't make sense. For instance, I left with a bag of Beer Mame and on the bag it reads, "Oh! 21 DREAM." I also left with some Wasabi Mame and Dried Filefish?!?!?!
The shop itself is modern, overly bright, and welcoming. The staff were all incredibly helpful and didn't make fun of my towering height or round eyes!!!
daifuku heaven. this place has a lot of gift-type japanese snacks. It's small and right next to the andersen bakery in the Kintetsu mall. I came here to buy 5 boxes of the ichigo no choco daifuku once for gifts. o.o
Clean and cheerful store hosting many Japanese sweets, especially for mochi.
My favorite mochi is the new summer orange flavor. It's individually wrapped so I can keep it in my purse for a treat when needed.
The green tea chocolate mochi Bf picked might be good too but they were not individually wrapped. In a smaller size and you have to finish them quickly. Maybe good for party dessert.
Their packaging is nice too and great for gift.
I LOVE this place!!! They have SO many interesting snacks you won't find anywhere else. I don't come here too often due to the fact the prices can be rather expensive (that's why I gave it 4 stars) but when I go there my wallet gets pretty light afterwards. =P So far the things I've tried has been delicious except for the mango mochi which I didn't like. The mochi was soft but it didn't taste like mango to me. Chocolate mochi was good but can be too sweet. And their chocolate covered dried strawberries are great.
Crackers I've tried were also great! Especially this one box of crackers I bought last week that was meant to be given to my boyfriend's family but since he had so many other stuff to carry on the plane he left this one which I'm glad he did because it sure is delicious!! The crackers are round and had 6 flavors (almond, coconut, green beans, etc) that tasted just like they're supposed to (~$15).
All their snacks are nicely wrapped and even if they're not wrapped just the box itself looks nice. Great place to buy for family or friends as a gift if they like exotic japanese snacks. Plus they have other cute non-edible gifts on the left side of the store you can browse through. I signed up on their email list more than a month ago and haven't received anything yet but according to a guy working there, he said last email they gave 50% off on the new arrivals for people. Too bad I missed it but looking forward to an email soon for discounts.
Sweets shop that feels like a duty free store. Nippon-Ya is perfect for Temiyage and Omiyage (gift giving) when house warming, seeing family, or when taking a trip. There is an emphasis on nice wrapping/packaging.
Tip: Similar items found cheaper at Nijiya http://www.yelp.com/bi.... Better tasting (fresh) items found at Benkyodo http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Wandered in here one day after eating lunch in J-town...and this place got me hooked on chocolate-filled green tea mochi. They also have other flavors--strawberry, cherry blossom, regular red bean...everything is good (except the cherry blossom--its a bit dry for my liking)
This is a great place to stop by at if you're looking for some treat gifts for friends.... Everything is packaged nicely.
This past Sunday found me, my sister, and my father looking for unique Japanese oriented gifts for the neighborhood families and some of my more eclectic friends who have absolutely everything.
The location actually use to house the works of a local Japanese artist, so I was a little saddened to see him go. His works of Sumi-e was pretty simple, meditating, and beautiful in the stead of typical Japanese artwork. Now, that peaceful calm was replaced by something much more louder, happy, and colorful for capitalistic reasons.
I stopped by on my way to Kinokuniya to look for something cute, strange, and modern toy-like item for one of my friends in Sacramento. I found one wall stacked with stuffed cotton renditions of parfaits and yogurt sundaes (imaginative, indeed) and a bunch of key chains with little characters and puffy bright goldfish. Most of these were priced starting from $5.95 and up.
Another wall carried several varieties of traditional Japanese snacks and confections to be consumed with green tea:
Yokan: Dense sugary squares or rectangular blocks made of boiled red bean paste, sugar, and agar agar (thickening agent). Variations of the traditional red yokan runs the gamut, with chestnuts and full lima beans to strawberry - green tea - blueberry flavored yokan.
Mochi: Tiny round mounds of sweetened pounded sticky rice molded around tiny pockets of sweetened red bean paste.
Arare: Baked or fried bits and shaped pieces of rice crackers, basted with a range of flavors: sweet soy sauce, sweet ginger powder, or salt
My papa purchased three boxes of the small Daifuku mochi for the neighbors while I contemplated the price tag of $10.00 for the Buru-Buru stuffed boars.
In the end, I decided not to make the purchase and forged ahead to Kinokuniya for something with a little more substance: books! Neat store for the passerby and curiously oriented, this is very reflective of Japanese retail Omiyage (gift) shops: cute, tiny, and lots of fun items.
One of the must-stops in j-town. When they first opened, I thought it was kinda cute because it totally reminded me of the gift shops in the Japan airport. But what keeps me returning to the store is the great selection of authentic Japanese confections.
My favorite is the strawberry mochi with chocolate filling. Seems like the secret on that is out though, because it kept selling out. Good thing the store has gotten smart and now keeps it well stocked. The green tea mochi with chocolate filling is just as great. Also love the garlic shrimp chips (made with real garlic and shrimp!). What else. The shrimp rice crackers. The persimmon jellies when it was persimmon season. The cherry blossom mochi during cherry blossom season. The mochi with white peach white bean filling during peach season ... you get the picture.
And the non-food stuff is cute too. Like the little plates and kiddie spoon/fork sets. Too bad I don't have kids to buy them for though. And the kimono silk bangles and hair sticks would be very pretty, if only I had bigger hands and longer hair.
All that adds up to four stars and the fifth star is for the service. The tall Japanese-looking girl always gives me great suggestions on what's good (like what I might find too sweet or too bean-y). And she's never been wrong. And oh, one time I saw her demonstrate to some lady how the kimono hair sticks work. How neat! Awesome overall!
Let's say you are going to someone's house for dinner and since you have some manners you don't want to come empty handed. You could be dull bring all the same old boring stand by items or you could bring weird candy that no one that hasn't been to Japan has ever seen. The prices aren't too bad and they gift wrap.
I passed by here this past Saturday morning. Quite an impressive store, unlike the rest of the shops in the same building. A shame they were not going to be open until 45 minutes later and I could not stick around..
Word has it this place sells Tokyo Banana!
In case you were wondering, no, that is not a devious refence to a 3rd leg, man's best friend, or a "small Japanese weenie" (according to Nobu K).
Tokyo Banana is a pastry/snack that if I remember correctly looks like a swiss roll cake, but inside has a wicked banana cream filling that tastes like the real banana flavor. I could not find this at any Nijiya, Mitsuwa supermarkets in the Bay Area, and last time I had it, a friend gave us some when she was in Tokyo, and I was seriously hooked.
Not all junk food tastes good, but I make an exception for this.
http://www.tokyobanana.jp
I normally don't get too detailed on my favorite food item or whatever the place I am commenting on. A taste of Japan rite at your doorstep. OK, well they try to put out much as possible for the square foot in the store but it comes down to this. There are several local favorates in the Japantown area that offer "Japanese snacks". Sometimes you can't help of being a little overwhelmed or picky. Different strokes for differnt folks.
Being a small shop on the side just before you hit Benihana rite in front of that dim walkway path into the restaurant area,
located in the mall. A variety of Japanese snacks such as mochi and candy..Yummy! Mainly snack items that are wrapped in paper for your convenience. You can practically find something as a gift item. Packaged very well in contemporary but tasteful design it is easy to see how they run out of certain favorite's.
Plush dolls and key chains are also available. Moderate pricing for your budget. It's a cute shop. Open late like after 11AM.
the cashier was friendly and helpful. Even nice enough to give you a coupon. How about that?
Update: I heard my leggy Asian beaut' has left for bigger and better which is a tremendous loss to this store, but alas another package of mochi will have to suffice to supress my borderline depression
----
All the awesome mochi goodness and neat Japanese trinkets are secondary to the leggy Asian beauty of a store manager Kristina who always offers service with a smile. Hubba Hubba!
I usually stop by this store, wistfully looking at the beautifully packaged and expensive mochi. However, in either late April or in May, they were having extraordinary sales since they were getting rid of their old stock. Prices were slashed as much as 60-75%! I now have a huge pile of accumulated mochi wealth, thanks to Nippon Ya.
If they still sell it, I highly recommend the peach mochi. It comes in such a pretty box too.
i heart this place.. everytime i go to sf i come here...
i think the decorations are so adorable.... the actual mochis... are not so great tho... hahah
but its cute to give out to your friends...~ so deff go here... if you want to make some gal happpy~
and its pretty cheap.. wen they have those 20-40% off sales~
One of my favorite little shops! Where else in SF can you find super-delicious, soft, chewy, strawberry mochi with creamy chocolate filling??? No where! That's where! Lot's of traditional Japanese treats with modern twists.
There are lots of seasonal products. Green tea and fruit treats in summer... Chestnut and persimmon treats in autumn and winter! You can't beat this place for variety and reasonable prices. Every box is between $7-10!
I came here to buy my friend a little something and I got her strawberry mochi with dark chocolate hazelnut filling. It was yummy! It was pretty worth it $8 for a box of mochi. All of the goodies here are packaged so nicely. They have all of the most popular things in this one stand if you are not sure what you really want, I believe that is very helpful.
Since it's Chinese new year, this self proclaimed princes was craving for some red bean moon cake.
I for one refused to go to Chinatown because I don't have the patience to look for parking or deal with tourists. And my lazy ass, don't fel like driving to Clement St. so Japan town here I come.
Lo and behold, Mr & I found Nippon Ya, the closest red bean I found was the mochi red bean. The box I grabbed have a beautiful wrapping and it cost me $15.95.
Got home, unwrapped the box, found 20 itsy bitsy pieces of mochi red bean that I devoured within 10 mins. Granted it's yummy but my craving wasn't pacify. And I guess the price is intended for the wrapping.
Now I'm off to 99 Ranch where I can find red bean moon cake, half the price what I paid for in this place. And they don't validate for parking.
A whole package of daifuku is too tempting while at the same time the same couple of flavors in a pack of 12 could be monotonous. My boyfriend didn't want to buy anything because he read the preservatives in the ingredient lists. The selection of boxes are overwhelming but you can't really choose a variety because everything comes in a set. There is only one attendant to process your purchases, who sits in wait for you to ask questions. This is like a cheaper version of Minamoto Kitchoan without the funky pricing system.
This place is expensive!!! You pretty much pay for the cuteness and packaging. The stuff I bought tasted ok. Nothing to brag about or even buy a second time around.
I will give them one more chance. Reading other reviews for this place, the mochi sounds good and I will have to try it.
Ok, so I have never actually eaten anything from here, and am not even 100% sure what's in all those colorful, cutesy boxes. However, I have bought lots of them. Bags and bags. And will probably continue to do so.
Why? Because Grandpa P and Grandma P love this stuff. These boxes are my golden ticket into being a good grandchild, which otherwise I pretty much suck at. I may be Korean, but my grasp of the Korean language is really quite shameful. Seeing as how Grandpa P and Grandma P are pretty limited in English, communication is pretty nonexistent between us. Which is sad and my fault for being so stubborn and not taking the time to learn, I know. I KNOW, OK? Sometime I think my mother should have just followed through on her threats to ship me off to Korea to learn. Moving on. On a whim, I bought a couple of boxes to take with me on a visit to my hometown in Beaverton, OR, and they were a hit!
My mom told me they loved the stuff. In particular, Grandpa P kept talking about "the purple box." So whenever I go home to visit or some reason to ship things comes up, I'll drop by and pick up a few. But for some reason, I completely forgot about it when I visited during Thanksgiving. Bad me. While I was there, my mom happened to mention once again how much Grandpa P enjoyed that purple box of whatever. I'm sure she didn't mean to, but I read the accusation in her eyes..I saw it, I swear. I told her no worries, I'll be packing when I go back during Christmas.
all i gotsta say is this:
GREEN TEA MOCHI WITH CHOCOLATE CREAM FILLING.
mind you, this is chocolate cream that tastes like nutella.
somebody hand me some matcha and i'll be all set.
other favorites include the decadent chestnut cream- and black sesame-filled mochi. not only are the flavors immensely satisfying (not too sweet), but you get to treat your mouth to the pleasurable pillowy, soft, chewy textures.
The majority of sweets this place sells are, like most typical modern Japanese packaged sweets, filled with artificial flavors, artificial colors, preservatives, and tons of palm oil, one of the most unhealthy edible oils out there.
And okay. Let's say you don't mind eating all that. Fine. But you should know that unless you specifically want the pretty packaging Nipponya features so that you have some nice-looking omiyage to give out, you can get a lot of the same treats for much cheaper at Nijiya Market. Better yet, if you can get to it while it's open, Benkyodo makes various sweet treats FRESH.
I have found a few good items here that I would go back for, and when I'm traveling long distances to see people, I buy gifts here because it's not as practical to transport fresh sweets from Benkyodo. So yes, do give this shop a look-see, but know that it WILL be overpriced for what you get and that you should research some other shops in the area before opening your wallet. The generous reviews here are just astounding to me.
P.S. Try the shiso-flavored hard candy. It's the only place in J-town where I can find such a thing; otherwise I would never pay $3 for a handful of rock candy.
I came in here a few times only to buy those cute fish key chains but I know that they also sell other things. This place is really small but really cute. Filled with packs of cookies, pastries, and mochi balls but way way to expensive for me. Even the fish key chain was already $7. Maybe i should come here to get my mom or bf's mom pastries for Mothers Day, which is coming up pretty soon! =D
I came here for the first time and wandered the mochi aisles in despair, knowing that this store was not for me.
And then, I saw it. A concept so alien, it had to be an experiment gone terribly wrong ...
... or terribly right.
Shiso-ame -- SHISO HARD CANDY!!!
$3 for a bag of shiso-leaf goodness.
Just for this, I give Nippon-ya Eleventeen stars.
I also recommend the maccha (green tea) and shouga (ginger) ames.
Neighborhood: Pacific Heights
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: Pacific Heights
Category: Grocery
San Francisco, CA
Category: Candy Stores
Neighborhood: Dogpatch
Category: Chocolatiers and Shops
Neighborhood: Pacific Heights
Category: Flowers & Gifts
When I get natsuskashii (nostalgic) for my days in…
with all the sweets i eat, i keep my dentist in…
Irrasshaimase! Watashiwa nihongowo amari umaku…
Here are all my favorite Japanese haunts...as well…
