Benkyodo

To my own surprise, it appears that I have not given this marvelous place a review in the past though I must say that it was most definitely top notch.

Benkyodo has a good amount of history in San Francisco's Japantown. They have plenty of Japanese snacks and other goodies inside, but what I most know them for is their delicious mochi. Their mochi always has the taste of being freshly made which is a quality that is not easy to find. Everything from their mango mochi, strawberry mochi, redbean mochi, and more are just so good and never a disappointment. The mochi itself is just the right texture and not too thick while the filling is pure natural goodness without any artificial tastes. I would often make an order at least a week in advance just to get some of those sweet and delicious mochi.

Ahhh, disappointed that I am only reviewing a place just about to close, however this team deserves nothing but love and appreciation.

To start; if you are coming within their last week here are some tips and notes;
As of March 23rd, 2022; (about a week until they close)
-The first ppl in line arrived at 5:15 am
-My family and I arrived at 6:00 and we were 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th in line.
-Each PERSON; has a one dozen limit and a limit of 2 PER each fruit flavor.
*If you do the max of 2 each fruit flavor and fill the rest of the dozen your total is $22.20
--fruit mochis are $2
--all other mochis are $1.65
*THEY ARE CASH ONLY

The mochis are all to die for; however they are most known for the fruit mochis and the peanut butter mochi. Towards their last week they will no longer be selling the peanut butter mochi; so don't ask--they feel bad as is they are no longer providing it.

Also to every review who has said they are slow--yes they are; but I think its because they take time to help you and give you an individual experience. Congratulate them; smile; and be grateful.

Finally; all mochis are amazing; so I'm not going to take time and review them all. However strawberry mochi is back by popular demand and has taken over blueberry** Strawberry is generally seasonal and because so many ppl asked about it; plus the start of the season- strawberry is making a comeback for their last week.

ENJOY

I got to Benkyodo at 8:25 AM on Friday and didn't receive my mochi until 1:44 PM. When I got to the register and paid it was 12:22 PM. Since they did not have all the flavors out when I was at the counter they wrote down people's names and telephone number, flavors, and asked if they were willing to come back a hour later to pick their mochi up. I of course said yes, had my info written down, and ordered 2 of each flavor they had left. The woman instructed to come back in a hour and come straight to the door, no need to wait in line.

I came back to Benkyodo at 1:40 PM to pick up my mochi and they announced they sold out for the day. After the announcement they only let the people who are picking up (you cannot phone orders in, these were the people who were inside the store early in the morning, paid, had their information written down, and returned back a hour like they were instructed) inside. The woman asked for my name and had me recite my telephone number and I finally received my mochi.

The mochi is delicious. The texture is undeniably fresh, soft, chewy, with the right amount of sweetness. Literally everything you want in a mochi.

I'll be honest, I did not expect to wait five hours total for mochi but I'm glad I was able to experience it before the owners go on their well deserved retirement. (Benkyodo has been in Japantown since 1906 and the business is ending after 115 years on March 31!!). If you do stop by before the end of the month, please come EARLY and remember it is CASH ONLY. Also, please be kind and patient with their limited staff.

It's definitely sad seeing an iconic place leave but I know the memories will live on forever.

Disclaimer: Re-posting this review because Yelp's stupid moderators removed my original review. Not for talking about anal or gaping, but the reason my review was removed was because as a reference, I included a link to a Yelp Page for another business that was closing where someone created a Yelp page just for the long waiting line. So the link was not even for the business, but the waiting line.

Screw you Yelp intern. Ctrl + V.

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Benkyodo means affordable in Japanese. Too bad that since they will be shuttering their doors completely on March 31, 2022, the wait may not be truly "Benkyodo".

Benkyodo is a multi-generational 115-year-old mochi bakery that was founded after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. They have been hand pounding glutinous rice into these pillowy soft rice cakes daily since 3 AM for over 100 years.

The latest generation (wisely) decided to hang it up because it sucks waking up that early and business has steadily declined because nowadays people only care up the latest cool trend in desserts. Think overpriced mochi donuts shaped into circular anal bead shapes or breaded fish-shaped desserts gaped with vanilla ice cream that poop out red beans. I realize that's a lot of anal talk regarding desserts... but I digress.

My final visit will likely have been on February 15, 2022. The line was half way around the block and what I judged as a 30-minute wait at most ended up being nearly 2 hours. You may be thinking WTF? Well, once I waited 40 minutes I was committed... like everyone else in line that day. Furthermore, I was not going to be the only snowflake quitter.

Why was the line so long? Simply because everyone knows they are closing, they still make their mochi fresh daily, and they accept cash only. On weekends, I saw that some people posted on Instagram that they waited 4 hours. Wow.

The only good thing about the long line was I chatted up a regular, Frank. He had been coming here since the 1970s when he was a kid and even though he had been to Japan and tried mochi there, he felt that Benyodo's mochi was superior. He also added that he liked to come on Thursdays for their special mochi called the suama mochi that has no fillings. During the two hours we stood in line we talked about all kinds of things including the increasing crime, Asian hate, and Asians with guns (which is a club that both of us are a part of).

So... the question is this. Is it worth it to wait in line for one last bite of affordable and delicious mochi?

It depends on if you can find that free 2-hour parking since otherwise you will be asking the people in line to hold your place while you are constantly running back to the meter over and over.

However, the sacrifice may be worth it since you are pretty much guaranteed to be rewarded by your significant other when you get home so that you too can make rice-pounding sounds... in the bedroom of course ^^.

While the lines seem to be getting longer, if you have the patience and want to take a final bite out of a landmark San Francisco bakery before they are gone forever, head on over to Sutter and Buchanan.

* In case you missed it and are tl;dr, Benkyodo is CASH ONLY.

* Benkyodo is limiting each patron to 12 pieces of mochi per person and there are limits on their fruit mochi to 2 per person. Would the plural of mochi be mochis or mochii? I think it should be called mochi-mochi or mochi-chi because I like chi-chis.

* I was tempted to make a separate Yelp page just for the waiting line. It reminded me of this time in 2014 I waited 2 hours for hot dogs in Chicago for Hot Doug's and saw that people made a separate Yelp page! Foodies are the real deal. HAHAHA.

THIS IS WHERE I HAD THE LINK TO THE WAITING LINE THAT GOT ME FLAGGED. SMH.

I love mochi and this place has been on my list for some time now. When I heard they were closing to retire, I knew I had to go. My friend and I arrived at 8:30am on a Friday and the line was already down the block. We waited 3.5 hours to order and then another 1.5 to actually get our mochi.

We were limited to 1 dozen per person and came out to be around $21.

The ones we got were mango, blueberry, kinako, yomogi, habutai, and pink habutai. The fruit ones had actual pieces of fruit in it! I preferred the mango over the blueberry. I also love red bean so the yomogi with whole red bean was also one of my favorites. The mochi was soooo fresh and soft.

I'm so glad we got some before it closed!

Fortunately being an SF native, I've had the pleasure of getting to try Benkyodo numerous times throughout the years - from Mochitsuki to getting mochi on a regular afternoon, they have the best fresh handmade mochi in town. Also, fortunately for me, I've never had to personally wait in line as friends have had it delivered to me!

They have a variety of mochi flavors, my favorite being the strawberry and the more traditional flavors. They mochis take a good two bites to eat and are filled to the brim with sweet filling, and rice layer of the mochi being a good ratio as compared to the filling. I like how for each mochi, the flavor and color is also incorporated in the outer layer.

Sad to see that we'll be losing such an iconic establishment soon, it's a must try if you're visiting Japantown!

Happy to have tried this mochi before they closed!

Everything was super delicious and wonderfully crafted. The sakura, mango, blueberry, and kinako were my favorite. The soft mochi and sweet fillings were delightfully tasty.

The price points were good, and they were cash only. I went a few weeks ago and waited 2.5 hours, then last week and waited 5 hours with less selection. I don't know if it's worth it to go now, but if you can get some, enjoy it!

A tip: their baked goods are made on Wednesdays and Saturdays only.

It is well worth the wait!!!
I arrived at 5:30am on Tuesday, March 29th, 2022. I was 60th in line and got a full box of mochi! If you also want a full box of variety, arrive at least by 5:30am. Some of the first few people in line arrived around 3-4am.

It is dark and chilly before sunrise, so be sure to dress warm and bring a chair and a blanket.
Tip: there are very few places open early, so be sure to go to the bathroom first and bring snacks & drinks! I went to Les Croissants Cafe for a yummy chicken banh mi around 8:20am. They open early and also have a bathroom!

After they open at 9am, the line moves forward at an inconsistent rate due to people hopping in line last minute. I made it to the front with my group and purchased the box of mochi at 11:30am. It is cash only!

By the time I made it inside, these are the mochi that were left:
- WHITE HABUTAI: white mochi with smooth red beans
- PINK HABUTAI: pink mochi with smooth lima beans
- YOMOGI (mugwort): mochi with whole red beans
- KINAKO: mochi with smooth red beans with soybean flour
- KURI MANJU: baked with smooth white Lima beans
- AGE: donut with smooth red beans
- MANGO MOCHI: mochi with mango fruit filling

All regular mochi is $1.65 each, fruit mochi is $2 each. Fruit mochi is restricted to 2 pieces per person.

I tried the mango mochi first, and it was absolutely decadent. I can honestly say this is the best mochi I have ever had. The soft, silky, chewy texture of mochi melts in your mouth. The freshly mixed fruity mango filling with *real* mango chunks truly steals the show. It's not overly sweet, it's just right. The size is huge! I had no idea how large the pieces were. Overall, five star experience.

If you're going to commit to waiting 5-6 hours in line, come prepared! I ended up socializing with some of the people sitting around me and the hours passed by so quickly. Inching forward after the doors opened gave us excitement, almost like waiting in line for a ride at an amusement park. This is really a once in a lifetime experience. Even if you only end up with a couple pieces of mochi, or nothing, it is a fascinating spectacle to see over 100 people waiting in line before dawn.

I am grateful to have experienced Benkyodo mochi!

A well deserved retirement indeed.

**4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars**

With the news of Benkyodo closing in March, I knew I had to make a trip out to try the mochi! I came on a Saturday at 8:30 AM (opens at 9 AM) and with everyone trying to squeeze in one last trip, I left the store right after 10 AM. By that time, they had ran out of the kinako mochi but still had all the others. They told everyone in line that if there were certain flavors no longer available, you could pre-pay and pick up later in the day when the batch was ready.

We tried an assortment of mochis available and my favorites were the peanut butter mochi (sold in separate packs and they use chunky peanut butter!) and red bean mochis. I personally thought pink habutai (pink mochi with white Lima beans) and the fruit mochis were too sweet, even though the blueberry and mango mochis were unique by using fresh fruit.

The mochi was yummy and the softest I have ever had, but I'm not sure I would wait an hour again for it. I would definitely recommend trying this place at least once before it closes though so you can experience fresh mochi!

3/31/22

Congrats on your RETIREMENT!!!!
Well earned and deserved, 3 generations of success!

Benkyodo means "affordable."

Quality/Quantity - How can it NOT be good for a business to last 115+ years...?

Atmosphere - What a celebration on their last day.
There was an extremely long line out the door and everyone was here just to wish the family well.

Service - Again, how can it NOT be good for a business to last 115+ years...?
Are we sensing a theme, LOL.

Price - After 115 years and on their last day, price does it matter. Don't you just want to be a part of their history?

Owner Suggestion - Congrats again on the well earned and deserved retirement. We wish the Okamura family and Benkyodo team well.