Osaka Ya
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
42 Reviews for Osaka Ya
I LOVE me my Japanese shaved ice and this place hits the spot! Aaaah, fond memories of my Japanese grandparents. They would shave the ice, sweeten with a little sugar and juice, and voila... a tasty summertime treat. I was so pleased to find out that Osaka-ya serves shaved ice to offset the sweltering Sacramento summer. Shaved ice beats snow cones, hands down. Anyway, the shaved ice portions are huge, so come with an appetite. Even better, there's a tasty selection of mochi and cream puffs inside the store, as well as an assortment of Japanese candies and other sundries. What a gem!
I have never actually been here, but my family and friends bring the manju all the time to gatherings. And i must say it is very good, not as good as San Jose manju, but a very close second!!
A wonderful small business with delicious Japanese baked goods. The best ones? The cream puffs and of course the mochi. Not used to walking into a small Japanese bakery? Have no fear, on the weekends you can find high school kids working the counter who are HAPPY to explain everything to you! New to mochi? Try the peanut butter kind, it's a good introduction.
Ah yes...the snow cones. The ice isn't like your regular snow cone, it is shaved VERY fine. No munching on your ice here! They are also the only place I have seen to offer Kintoki. It is a shaved ice with a sugar simple syrup poured over the top with azuki beans in the middle. You might think I'm crazy, "Beans?!?"! But trust me, they are sweet and creamy. Definitely worth a try. You will be surprised.
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I'm really glad I found this place. Just got back from Hawaii and have been going through a little withdrawl. It's been hot in Sacramento, so i've been craving shave ice. So i drive down and expect to have a hard time finding Osaka Ya, but it's right off the freeway, very easy. What amazed me was that there was a crowd of 10-15 (!) people standing outside the little shave ice window. Ordered a large punch-flavored shave ice with azuki beans and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The wait was a little long, but i'm very happy with the result. Respectable shave ice in Sacramento! Who Knew?
The shave ice was fairly fine, not quite as light and fluffy as Waiola Bakery in Honolulu, but almost as good Matsumoto's or Aoki's. On a shave ice quality meter with 10 being Waiola's and 1 being snow cones, i'd give both North Shore locations 8.5, and Osaka Ya a 7.5. I noticed Osaka Ya uses a Hatsuyuki Block Ice Shaver, while Waiola uses a Swan Block Ice Shaver, and i'm pretty sure Matsumoto's uses a Fujimarca Block Ice Shaver. I wonder if that is the difference in the fluffiness of the shaves.
It may seem like i'm being hard on Osaka Ya, but i really love the place. It's the only place i've been to away from Hawaii that has good shave ice. The only ding against them is their lack of flavors. I think they had 8-9, and they don't mix flavors. I wish i could have got a 2 or 3 flavored ice. They don't have Li Hing, Coconut, Banana, Pineapple, Guava, Haupia, or anything exotic like that. Only Root Beer, Cherry, Punch, Blue Raspberry and the like.
In summary, great place, glad to have found good shave ice in Sacramento, I will be a customer for a long time. Thank you Osaka Ya for bringing me back to Hawaii, if only for a few minutes.
Nothing to add, but HOURS for the snow cone window!
No snow cones on Mondays.
POSTED hours are till 5:30 on weekdays and 4:30 on weekends!!!
WOOT!
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PEANUT BUTTER MOCHI mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Only in sac or little tokyo, la in cali can you go to the source of melt in your mouth peanut butter filled fresh mochi, smooth or crunchy. Mochi is not even my favorite thing in the whole wide world, but here you will enjoy the pb mochi food orgasm that everybody should experience at least once in their lifetime.
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No snow cone on Monday
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This place is old school and is what manju shops are all about. They have many different types of manju, but i like the one's with pancake on the outside (what are those called?). they have lots of standard snacks and sometimes cheap sushi. a freezer full of fish and premade foods.
I've never been here when they've had shaved ice though.
I'm all about supporting mom & pop shops like this and they are very involved with the community and the church.
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This is a review I wrote of Osaka Ya in 2005. As the weather gets warmer, I can't help but dream of my first snow cone of the season!
Every summer, Osaka-Ya opens its snow-cone window, and droves of locals make a mad dash for the shop's slushy treats. It isn't uncommon to see a large gathering of children and adults (with childish yearnings) lining up outside the sidewalk window. The store offers up a variety of brain-freezing options, including snow cones, ice cream and a Japanese treat called kintoki. And the choices don't end there. Try adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream to your orange-flavored snow cone. Voil! Instant orange Creamsicle. Add vanilla ice cream to a root-beer snow cone, and you've got a root-beer float that could knock the socks off of A&W's Great Root "Bear."
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It's funny, even though I'm in the bay area, I am so captivated by this shop in Sacramento, that I continue to visit Sacramento for the sole purpose of stopping. They have a number of the traditional types of manju in the pink, white and green tea flavors with the anko (red bean paste inside) besides the manju made up of pounded rice, they have manju that has been steamed and a few others which are baked. They occasionally have some even more unique flavors like the yellow (yuzu - a equivalent to a Japanese lime/citron) and a unearthly speckled purple (shiso - a type of Japanese mint). Once I had a tropical guava manju which was really interesting but haven't ever seen it again... They also do another type of manju filled with smooth or crunchy peanut butter, I'm allergic to peanuts and it would cause me to.. well die... still their manju is awesome and at a very reasonable price.
During the summer time they do shaved ice, and when I was a student on those hot summer days this was a nice little treat. My personal favorite was a melon flavor shaved ice with ice cream AND red bean inside! I usually made a mess eating this, trying to race the heat of the sun before it melted. You could follow the trail of sticky green syrup and melted fragments of ice and ice cream. Needless to say eating this delectable treat was banned from my car, still even as I write this in the middle of February my stomach is yearning for this taste once more.
Street parking has almost never been an issue for me, especially if I ditch class middle of the day and head here to get a little snack. They also have a few basic Japanese ingredients for cooking like different types of konbu (kelp) and bonito flakes for broth making. Even the nori, ume, tofu and different types of miso. If you aren't in the mood to make your own food from scratch they got you there too, they do have some tasty and reasonably priced bento boxes and rice balls. I love one stop shopping....
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I heard about this place on TV about the snow cones they serve. I haven't been around the area in summer frequently enough to actually try it but I have tried their Mochi! Red bean paste mochi and regular mochi seems to be the specialty. As with most Japanese desserts, they are presented beautifully and made intricately. They sell individually from $0.65 and up. They do also serve pre-made lunch sushi which I thought was okay because there are no fresh fish in it for food safety reasons (Just my preference on sushi). Come early if you want the lunch items as they sell out quickly even before noon. They also sell an assortment of Japanese items such as Udon, pocky, and condiments.
A great hole in the wall place that carries all different types of mochi. Everyday, there is a different special, seasonal type of mochi such as cherry blossom, shizo leaf, and yuzu fruit. The staff is always very friendly and the prices are always reasonable.
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Such a cute and little-compact asian store! This place is great!
My friend and I came here specifically for their mochis. It was our first time, so we didn't really know what to expect. We were assisted by a very nice young boy who had incredible patience, for reals. My friend and I literally asked that boy what each mochi contained and its taste--and he was more than willing to explain in full detail what they were. =) So that's a plus for him, he know's his shit!!!
Their mochis are $1 each and well worth it. They are very soft, creamy, and extremely delicious. My favorite would have to be their Cherry Squares mochi (with no filling). They only have one flavor of squares at a time, but if you crave for more than just the displayed flavor, you can call and order ahead of time for them to make.
Their mochis contain either red bean or white bean filling. Get the white bean if you prefer a sweeter taste! =)
Also, they have seasonal mochis--particularly the ones wrapped in leaves (for the month of March) over sweet-colored rice. I didn't care too much for it. And to be honest, the leaves were edible but not something I would die to eat.
If not careful, this place can be a little on the pricey side. Their rice crackers are a bit expensive compared to other asian stores. $3.50?!?!? I swear it's only suppose to be like $0.80! Haha, well maybe not, but that is kinda high for just crackers! I can get 3 mochi balls for that!! =) But all in all, my experience at Osaka Ya is worth trying for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th time and more!
And side note: In the summer they make snowcones, and I heard it was fuckin' goood! Definitely a must try when weather is boiling hot!
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I visited this place because I was having cravings for red bean paste Cantonese-style sweet nian gao. I have no idea how to make those or where to buy those in Sacramento. And... the Osaka Ya math goes like this: Mochi is Japanese nian gao. I like mochi. I like red bean paste. Therefore I will like red bean paste mochi.
So I make my way over to Osaka Ya for the first time late on a Saturday afternoon and they're sold out of all their azuki bean mochi, but they have azuki bean manju and the kiku mochi with the white bean paste inside. Never had manju, but dang if those things aren't crazy good. Not as much a fan of the white bean paste, so didn't really care much for the kiku mochi.
Went again at noon on a Wednesday and got my grubby paws on the azuki bean mochi (got one of each type: white, kinako, and green) They were amazing. The azuki bean paste was smooth and rich and I'm really liking the flavors in the green mochi. The guy at the counter said it tastes like mugwort, which didn't really help me since I don't know what mugwort tastes like.
Awesome place, glutinous rice paste craving fulfilled, and they're only a dollar a piece. Plus, I can pick up some other snack foods or rice while I'm there. Well done, Osaka Ya!
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stopped by here last sunday. great little japanese store. they had their handmade manju for sale and a bunch of good grocery items to pick up, if i didn't want to drive to oto's. the shaved ice counter was open, although i didn't get to try it. will def come back for it though! fyi, no fresh tofu on sundays.
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I bought 4 mochis to share with my boyfriend.
I ate it all...
...in front of him...
It was so delicious...I never had mochi so soft, maybe because the only other mochi I had was the ice cream covered one.. haha.
I got two orange ones and two white bean paste ones (the one that looks like a peach).
I'm definitely going back to get a bunch more.
The only annoyance I have is about the guy behind the counter who was helping me. He made it seem like I'm a retard for not knowing the names of the mochi (I'm not a retard just uneducated in that scope!). It's not really (I lie...he's a big meanie) his fault I guess...I asked what was the flavor in the orange one and he was like '...its...orange...' Well freaking ahskdjghkihwd! I thought there was a bean paste inside... :(
BTW, you need to spend 10 dollars or more to use a credit card.
Also hopefully there's no more then 3 people in the store with you especially if you're claustrophobic..
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Everything is so cheap and yummy here! I wanted to try the manju but the staff would like a 24 hour notice for manju orders. :-( Anyway, the rest of the pastries were delicious! I'll be coming back here to try some more goodies.
I have a lot of childhood memories of this place. My family have been going here for a long time for Manju and Mochi. It's the only place in Sac that I know of that does this. So thank goodness for them. We usually get them for special occasions. My grandma lives a couple blocks away and I think they offer to go bento lunches during the week as well.
But I think the besides the goodies and snacks they offer I really enjoy their shaved ice. Shaved ice is way better than snow cones because shaved ice is lighter and texture itself is more like fluffy snow. Nothing says summer like Osaka Ya's shaved ice. I remember when I was little my grandma used to go over and buy it and keep in her freezer before we came over to eat dinner and that'll be our dessert. I know what an awesome person she was and still is right? My favorite flavor is kintoki (sweet red azuki beans). It's just a neat place to check out and maybe learn something about the japanese confections.
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100% five star rating. 100% If you want to know what mochi is suppposed to taste like, this is the place to go. I've had mochi in Taiwan and Japan. Without a doubt, this is about as good as it gets. My only concern is people don't seem to know what mochi is and I would hate to see them go under in the next 10 to 15 years due to lack of customers. Who knows, I might buy them out someday.
about the only thing that remains ingrained in my brain about sacramento is sno-cones, with adzuki beans, and a giant sprinkling of green tea powder. that and peanut butter filled manju. hmmmmm.... yes. and this is the only place to get it. there isn't even any place in san francisco that would compare to the cute little manju shop in the middle of sacramento that is osaka ya. it's also got other groceries and sundries so make sure to check out the store if you're just using the sno-cone window.
warning: can be a little tricky figuring out just exactly when they're open. but then again, that's part of the charm!
The pictures say more than I can ever write about the sno cones here. Better yet ask them to put sweet red beens or a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle of your sno cone. Osaka-Ya is the only place in town that makes Mochi and Monju, a Japanese red or white bean desert cake. I would give it 5 stars but the cute Japanese girl behind the counter wouldnt give me her phone number...made my coney cone bitter. j/k This is something Oto's doesnt have, but you can read my review of them another time. Other than that it has your typical Japanese snack foods and food stuffs. I took the fifth star away because I asked the seafood guy for Poki (marinated raw tuna) and he pointed me down the alley to some prostitutes. Actually he pretended like he didnt understand so I just forgot it. Still this place rocks and well worth the trip.
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Osaka-ya and Wakano-Ura have always been twin stars. Prior to redevelopment, they were across the street from each other on Third between L and M streets (M Street was later fancified to become Capitol). They both moved to 10th Street - Osaka-ya was on the corner next to Ricksha. When Senator Fish closed, Osaka-ya took over the building next to Wakano-Ura. Like childhood sweethearts who have united after decades of separation, the two business are now side-by-side.
There used to be two manju-ya's in Sacramento - Osaka-Ya is the only survivor. Osaka-Ya was always known for its specialty cakes (the Girl's Day confections wrapped in pickled cherry leaves) and sweet mochi cakes.
Osaka-Ya is also known locally for its summer shave ice. The "old" Osaka-Ya used to have a hand-operated turn-of-the-century shaver from Japan, similar to the shaver used at the famous Matsumoto's Shave Ice on the North shore of Oahu. Unlike the American "snow cone" machines that crunch ice through holes like a meat grinder producing pebbles of ice, the Japanese shave ice machines use a sharp blade to scrape the ice off ice blocks to form the closest thing to snow you will find. Osaka-Ya, probably to provide efficiency, has switched to a neo-mechano shave ice machine. Sigh. However, they have kept the Japanese-made syrup that carries a delightful blend of fruit and sweet. If you order strawberry, the syrup tastes like a sweet strawberry.
The snow cone window also takes orders for smoothies, ice cream, floats, and other fountain staples. We usually order the small snow cone cuz the large is HUGE. The Snow Cone window accepts cash only. Our infatuation with Osaka-Ya is unwavering and we give it a 4. Your inner momma says to get some shave ice while the getting is good - the snow cone window closes sometime after Labor Day.
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This is my first ever review on Yelp, so here it goes...
I love this place. A coworker at my previous workplace told me about it and I've been hooked ever since. I love the mochi here. It's probably the best I've ever had - including from having lived in the Bay Area and LA. The place looks like a mom-and-pop shop. The workers are all very nice and polite. They are patient too - willing to take you step by step through all their different varieties. And on Fridays and Saturdays, they sell cooked foods like teriyaki chicken. Here you can also find other asian products - crackers, snacks, noodles, etc.
Enjoy!
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I LOVE this place. Seems family owned. Only place in town I have been able to find the pink mochi balls my japanese grandma gave me when I was growing up. I've been there so much, they know exactly what I am going to ask for as soon as I walk in the door. Its great!!
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This is based purely on the snow cones...which are damn good! I'll drive out of my to have an icey and refreshing lime or watermellon snow cone...these are the 2 best flavors.
Xsmall - $2
Small - $2.50
Mediumn - $3
Large - $3.75 (not sure if this is the exact price and if there's an x-large size, but large is about the size of a toddlers head...big enough to serve 3 adults!)
Snow cones are not served on Monday :(
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Yesterday I realized how unfulfilling all the sno cones I had during my youth were. I was always unsatisfied with the amount of syrup, the shitty paper cone would leak and get your entire arm sticky, the ice was merely crushed (not shaved), and the portions were pathetically small.
This place makes the sno cones I dreamed of as a kid. Huge sizes (even a small is enough for two people), soaked in a ton of syrup, served in a styrofoam cup (I know, I feel guilty about that too, but whatever), the option of putting vanilla ice cream in it, and really fluffy shaved ice. This is perfection.
UPDATE: After careful consideration I've decided to deduct a star for their crappy hours. Sac is so hot at night and a sno cone at 7pm would be amazing, but because they close so damn early it's not possible to go here as frequently as I'd like to.
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THE place for snow cones. No where does it better. or CHEAPER! Fluffy, soft but not soft shaved ice fully saturated in delicious syrup all the way down to the bottom. No lump of unflavored ice at the bottom of this cone! I'm partial to cherry but the root-beer is very good too surprisingly. a small size is still big and totally affordable at $1.25.
I count down every summer for them to start selling these D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S frozen treats. and I don't even live in Sac anymore!
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Get up early Saturday and find your way to Osaka Ya. There you will be treated with An Pan. It's one of my favorite things in the whole world. It will be warm sweet bread surrounding red bean paste. FYI this mochi/manju/an pan shop is known as the best from San Jose to Sacramento. Yes, even those wily San Francisco residents agree. So, go and try it or better yet don't and leave some for me. =)
I've been going here forever it seems. The family has been going here forever. The snow cones are what we wait for every year. Used to be a waiting game with us. When would they sale the snow cones???? The flavors to be mixed. The fact they know you and try to guess what you are going to order.
Kintoki is great too. Red beans cooked with sugar layers the bottom of your cup, then the shaved ice. The sugar concotion is poured on and the flavored green tea. TERRIFIC.
Mochi is an item we all enjoy. Now they are serving prepackaged rice plates and lunch packages with different types of fare.
We have known the owners since ever. The mother is now gone. The father got tired of running it. The daughter runs it now and smiles at you when you enter her store.
IT's a time when you can relate to what it was like to take a ht day and waited patiencely for the colorful ice to smoothing the heat of your body with those tasteful bites.
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Yum... where else do you find fresh mochi!? They make delicious mochi filled with red or white beans, paste or whole. They also make the mochi you will find at Mochii (the yogurt shop). You can buy this unfilled mochi on Fridays and maybe Saturdays as well. Yum, yum, yum!
This could be the best place to make yourself sick from too much sugar. In fact, I do it everytime I go here, and I never even finish the extra small. They need longer night time hours though.
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Great place.
Wish there was a J-town in Sac and if there was the center pieces would be Oto's and Osaka Ya. GReat manju and moch here.
Best place for a cheap huge sno cone in the hot months!
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i hate to always have to use the same excuse over and over to make up for the shabbiness of asian owned businesses.. i guess presentation and ambiance just aren't major priorities for these store owners. sometimes i almost question myself whether feng shui really did originate in the east or if it's just another made up trend conjured by rich fat marketing executives in the US.
what osaka-ya dOes excel in is their collection of items that bring me back to my childhood. seaweed-wrapped rice crackers.. wasabi peas.. rice cake mixes.. and best of all, calpico drinks. oh man. step aside safeway, when can i open an account here?!
a coworker of mine used to work here and claims the old japanese lady used to beat her on the job. this, i cannot back up. but she also says the old lady pretends to not understand english when spoken to.. just try asking her a question and you'd vouch for that too.
one-way streets and street parking make access a little tricky but it's well worth it!
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I loveeeeeee love love this place.....been an ardent patron of this small little shop because we are friends of a friend of the owner, plus where else can one go to purchase their lovely fresh mochi cakes for special Japanese cultural events and to satisfy my sweet tooth.
Although it is located in a rather nondescript spot, across from shady complexes, its is pretty accessible off the freeway and within walking distance of locals.
Since I was a stout little one at 3 feet tall, my parents have been driving my sister and I here for their sno-cones. And they are decent sno-cones since the actually pat down the ice so that it forms a hard yet fluffy amount drizzled with your choice of syrups. My childhood faves would be the cherry, punch (no longer offered), grape, lemon, and lime. The other Asian favorite would be their Kintoki, a huge mound of powdered ice hiding a scoop of our beloved red bean paste, drizzled with sugar water...If I am feeling inclined towards something a bit creamier, for about $2 more, you can request to add a scoop of their vanilla ice cream embedded within the sno-cone of your choice.
Inside the store, there are a variety of snacks, mochi cakes, and hot foodstuff (thanks to the warmer inside). I would definitely recommend their mochi, made on-site, for the nibblers and curious foodies.
Mochi is made from sweet sticky rice pounded over and over again to form a opaque dough-like matter that is then kneaded into rounds. These rounds are then stuffed with a variety of fillings: red bean paste or sweet chestnut paste. My recommendations would be the dorayaki (two pancakes around red bean paste (looks like a hamburger), the green mochi with red bean paste, and the baked mochi (bread baked containing chestnut filling). As with most tea cakes, they are quite sweet, so they are usually served with hot tea in Japan, hence the name. I usually purchase a dozen or so to give as gifts (omiyage), memorials, special occasions, or just to satisfy my sweet tooth. As these are pretty much made without preservatives, remember to refrigerate as soon as possible, or they could rot.
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What a neat Sacramento gem! The snow cones were HUGE. I decided to try the red bean cone and a watermelon. My companion had the bubblegum. The red bean was a bit too sweet for my taste. The watermelon and bubblegum tasted almost the same. I sort of wish they let you have multiple flavors. That said, the cones were really cheap and I noticed you can do an ice cream/sno cone combo. It is a fun stop to make on a sunny weekend afternoon.
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Smallest market ever! but the most comfy, and CHEAP! they have the basic essentials, and their manju's are great!
Go there, they have takoyaki, so-men, tsukemono, udon, ra-men, candy, etc!
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have you tried the snowcones in the summer?? amazing! but beware the line that wraps around the corner. order from the window outside.
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i love their manju....so fresh and tasty! they also make bomb snowcones during the summer time....and make sure you look at their business hours! lines can get long...but it's worth the wait! :) they also have bentos inside and other japanese foods! :)
MMM sno-cones. I just wish they had more flavors. The ice is ground up nice and small so it soaks up all the sugary syrup. I had a bubble gum flavored sno-cone, which tasted more like blueberry. Next time I will try the azuki (red bean) style sno-cone.
They also have ice cream, Gunthers freezes, and nachos. Inside the tiny shop there are Japanese food ingredients, candy, and mochi for sale. I was happy to pick up a large container of sesame seeds for much cheaper than at the Safeway. There are actually a few Japanese places I would like to try in the area- but I think they have tricky hours of operation...
UPDATE: I tried the kintoki but wasn't into it. The sugar syrup made it REALLY sweet and you had to eat quite a bit to get down to the red beans.$2.75.
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