Mitsuwa Marketplace

Such a fun supermarket and a great food court to match!
Lots of fun checking out various Asian snacks and delicacies and I tried the miso ramen at the food court. The ramen receives two thumbs up. So damn yummy

Super duper happy fun time!!!
Great variety of unique and rare state side products, food related and otherwise with a great selection of restaurants surrounding the food court. A must see and experience place for anyone is not a zombie.
Wonderful staff.
A+

Very well stocked store. It is a great experience every time me and my family go there.
We love the food court.
We love your green tea ice cream.
We love your book store.
We love your blue fin tuna.

SOOOOO love this place! Especially the new Japanese restaurant that just opened in the food court! I gave it 4 stars because I wish they were open later than 8pm. Otherwise, everyone needs to go there definitely! And the Hippo Pastry House is really delicious, and their pastries are really cute!

Mitsuwa has great sushi and amazing ramen. The sushi market is fresh daily, and the food court caters to every taste with Japaneese, Korean, and Chinese cuisne. The market portion is filled with goodies from overseas, and I especially love the bakery, so many creative and yummy pasteries. However, I think it would benefit from a widdening. It is extremely hard to find seating in the food court at most hours of the day, unless you get there at 10 and want to eat lunch that early… I’m not even sure if most restauraunts in the food court are open that early! A larger food court would make this location absolutly perfect.

Just go straight to the Ramen line if you’re going for a food fix. It’s cash only, heads up. Best bet is to go with the combination A or B. The lady at the counter will give you a little tutorial on how to order, as if you’re a complete retard who can’t decide wtf to order, have decidaphobia or just like to hold up the people in line behind you busy updating facebook about how stupid you look holding up the line.
If you have a sweet tooth hit the dessert café that’s pretty noticeable, they have some fantastically crafted pastries within.
Btw don’t try to clean up your own tray or return it whence it came, it might cause quite a stir as if you’re once again a total dumbshit who didn’t know people don’t clean up after themselves here. There’s little food cleaning ninjas hiding in the shadows waiting til you’re away and trays are assassinated.
Pretty much an Hmart with extra’s like a large bookstore, two dessert cafes and of course the food court. I wouldn’t come here to stock up on actual groceries but they have great thingies like Matcha (powdered green tea, get this if you like green tea) and sushi knives that are perhaps doubly useful as home security weapons. Expect lotsa Animé addicts perusing the place, thinking they’re in Tokyo.
The bookstore is fun, tons of things from very interesting books to art supplies and such. It’s a literal crack house of cuteness and cool shit in there.
Please enjoy :)

A neat Japanese market with various goodies; a bakery, restaurants and market. A bit pricey but it’s a neat place to visit with some tasty treats.

Mitsuwa used to be GREAT, now it has seen better days. Parts feel run down and grungy. Parts are empty. Much is disorganized and messy. Regardless there is enough solid stuff intact to score a solid 3.5 stars.
What’s good:
* The grocery store is still quite good. Large and deep selection of Japanese goods straight from Japan. Many things that you will not find elsewhere.
* The bookstore is now run by a new company and while its magazine selection is not as good as the previous version other aspects are better. Good selection of Japanese pens and stationary in addition to books.
* Liquor store will not blow you away but is solid with good selection (but not great selection) of often hard to find Japanese beer, sake, whiskey, etc.
* Half the food court. What’s there is good… See below for more.
* The bakery. It’s easy to feel as if you are in Tokyo while here, but why make people enter it through the grocery store?
The Bad
* Maintainance is poor. Bathrooms are disgusting. In general everything is old and worn.
* Food Court is a massive missed opportunity with huge lack of seating. It is crowded all the time virtually all day. People want to eat here. Yet they have no true sushi restaurant (only pre made ridiculously giant grocery store sushi) and its chaotic and messy. What’s there is good but it just should be so much more. They recently added a tempura place, smart move. The Ramen place is always good. The Udon shop and ice cream shop are both currently closed but claim they are coming back. The bakery entrance should be moved into the food court. Additionally the mostly empty cold cases and abandoned gelato counter should be removed. A large conveyor belt sushi restaurant would slot in there perfectly. Finally just clean it! The faux roof tops over the facades once were cute, now they are gross and covered in dirt.
* Many shops have closed. Once there was a toy store, a stationary store, a travel agent and a housewares store, now all gone. They have very cheap seating tossed in these spots as overflow for the food court. Rip this stuff out and design a nice large dining area here.
Mitsuwa is an inch away from being just stellar. Instead it misses the mark time and time again. But despite these shortcomings it is worth visiting and hoping that they get things back on track. It’s a fun destination worth a drive even from the city. If they would polish it up and correct some problems with the food court I’d visit 3x as often.

BRING CASH! The worst thing you can do is stand in line for a long time, only to find out it’s a cash only! The restaurants are currently going back under renovations so be advised! The food is as close to Japan as you’ll get without leaving the states. It reminded me of many of the Okinawa grocery stores and they have those delicious udon noodles! For God’s sake stop by the bakery and don’t you dare to leave without some goodies!

I absolutely adore this place. I don’t get to come here much, so when I do it’s like I’m a kid in a candy store. Mituwa is one big property with a bunch of smaller ones inside it. The biggest section is a grocery store. There’s also a bakery, a sushi grab-​n-​go stand, a sweets store, a bookstore, a video store, a cosmetics shop, and a food court. There’s a stall for alcohol products as well.
The grocery store is the most fun, and the most interesting. It’s full of so many products, both new and familiar. The produce and meats/​fish are insanely fresh; the fish is shipped in overnight from Tokyo!
My greatest weakness in this store? The sweets. There’s a huge assortment of cakes, candies, ice creams, and other sweet treats that makes me want to try them all. This past visit I walked away with quite a few treats for myself: kawaii Hello Kitty cookies, banana Pocky, matcha jelly-​filled Hello Kitty marshmallows, a box of Hello Kitty moon pies, kiwi and strawberry mochis, a coconut fruit cup snack, a mango ramune soda, a matcha cake roll, a freeze dried chocolate and strawberry ice cream, a strawberry and chocolate Yan-​Yan, to-​go portions of honey, Hello Kitty soy sauce, a heart-​shaped sushi mold, and a pair of sakura blossom chopsticks. Whew!
Oh yeah, I also got four flavors of ice cream: matcha, black sesame, red bean, and lychee. The matcha was my favorite– I recommend it!

Love shopping here. Great selection in their market. The book store is wonderful. The candy selection is adorable.
I only wish they still had that toy store.

WOW wow WOW wow WOW this place deserves all of the wonderful ratings it’s earned.
There are so many facets to Mitsuwa which make it so lovable… For me one of the biggest things is that it does not stink. I’m sorry, but with asian supermarkets, that is a definite thing (loookin at you, H Mart).
When you think of a grocery store and what they carry, Mitsuwa carries all of that, and then some– but everything is the real deal, from Japan. You will find cookware, bento boxes, toiletries, cosmetics, flatware, frozen foods, candy, snacks, grains, spices, seafood, etc, etc. All of the aisles you’d find in a Jewel, you will find here. But everything is way charming and Japanese. Hello, Hello Kitty kikkoman.
The first time I went I was happy to find lots of cookware and bento accessories– walked away with bento stuff + this amazing gingham parchment paper– because I’m the type of person who just needs gingham parchment paper. The second time, I went more food shopping, and was happy to find 2 liters of my favorite Ito En teas, SUN NOODLE RAMEN packages– this is the real deal stuff they use in the fancy USA ramen places – , fresh Pocky, very cheap and fresh veggies, cut up chicken pieces with skin on (harder to find than you would think). I was pleased to discover that all the grocery items were fresh– including the dried stuff.
PLUS there’s an amazing truly wonderful foodcourt. The ramen at Santouka (cash only) stands among the best bowls of ramen I’ve had in my life. The combo ramen & rice bowl/​donburi I love because it’s so bold. It’s like. Why WOULDN’T you eat a bunch of noodles and chase it with rice? Can I request the next pizza place I go to to offer me a side order of pasta, just cause… carbs? I regret to say I have yet to try any of the other places, because I am a ramen snob and can’t turn down an amazing bowl when it presents itself to me. The matcha place is also fun.
Also, since no one has said it (though I admit I haven’t read all 600+ reviews), there is a KINOKUNIYA here. It’s the bookstore everyone is referring to. As a ex-​new-​yorker who TREASURED and revered the Kinokuniya in NYC, I was sooo happy to see it!
Mitsuwa, maybe this is blasphemy, but you might be my favorite thing in Chicago so far.

So I joined my bud on a field trip to Mitsuwa Marketplace. Prior to today I’ve never been to Mitsuwa but have heard many good things about this Japanese-​branded grocery store and more. While our main goal today was to have lunch at the food court (ate lunch at Sutadonya and green tea ice cream at re Leaf — both yum), we also spent some quality time wandering through the main grocery store and a couple of the satellite stores surrounding it. We each bought goodies from Pastry House Hippo (to be reviewed separately) — great selection of baked treats!
Anyway back to the main part of Mitsuwa, which is a nice-​sized emporium selling Japanese and pan-​Asian goods. It is cool to just stroll down each aisle and stare at all the fun products, many of which are mainstream things in Japan but are quite hard to find here. Look at all this stuff I have seen during my trips to Japan over the years — Pocari Sweat, Calbee snow pea crisps, Meiji sweet treats, numerous matcha-​flavored goodies, and everything Hello Kitty (soy sauce, seaweed, everything!). There are all kinds of fresh and frozen foods to check out, including an exotic selection of seafood flown in from the famed Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. If you feel like recreating the meals at home that you just ate at the food court, you can pretty much buy all the necessary ingredients here. If you are lazy like I am, you can buy prepared foods to go such as packaged sushi (my bud says it’s pretty good here) or perhaps even a «Hamburg Bento» box. There are also colorful household wares including rice cookers, plastic containers, smiling sponges and back scratchers. You never know what you might need until you see it on a shelf at Mitsuwa (I bought a tea kettle).

This is the best Asian supermarket in the world. I might be a little unqualified to make that statement since this is the only one I have ever been in, but it is cooler’n shit.
The have an eating area with about eight different types of Asian food and I’ve never gotten anything that wasn’t absolutely delicious.
Plus it’s an Asian supermarket and a wine store and it all just adds up to a great place to go and eat.

How did I not ever review this place? I been going here since I was like 7 years old.
Love this place, and the bakery inside there is absolutely delicious. Seriously, everything in this market is awesome. Go go go

Great asian market mostly Japanese fare with som Korean too. The food court is really good and inexpensive too!
I had the soy ramen bowl and it did the trick for a tasty lunch. Moving to the area and looking forward to being a regular! Not as huge as the one in Edgewater NJ but cleaner and easier to shop.

I’ve been going to Mitsuwa for the better of 22 years, back before it got popular with non-​Japanese. :) Back when it was called Yaohan. Before the slight indoor remodel when there was an awesome toy/​comic book store with Dance Dance Revolution outside of the door.
Ahh, I love this place; it not only brings back memories every single time I go in, but it really is the first place I became slightly immersed in Japanese culture.
If you’re going for the first time, it’s easy to be overwhelmed. Here is what you’ll find depending on which area you start:
Immediate left:
Bookstore with magazines, novels, manga, stationary and pens/​erasers. Note that there is really nothing with any English translation.
Liquor store: Beer, wine, sake, and hard alcohol is available.
Around the corner on the left:
Cell phone store? This may or may not still exist. Rent space is known for being pricey, so some vendors don’t last long.
Kitchen/​stoneware store (where the comic/​toy/​DDR shop used to be, siiiigh): pretty stoneware, chopsticks, spoons… I’d love some giant bowls from here for ramen, but can’t justify $ 15+ apiece.
Video store: My ex-boyfriend’s mom drives out here daily to get videos from the video store to supplement what she and her husband can’t get on their satellite dish. She’s been doing that for decades. I’ve never ventured in, but I hope they continue to stay in business in order to service the aging (and not likely technically evolved nor inclined) Japanese residents who need that connection to home.
Middle when you first walk in:
Right now — massage chairs. Normally some beauty-​related products such as cosmetics and specialty items. Sometimes it’s roped off for special performances or selling items for special events (i.e. plastic Sanrio/​Animé character masks during the Bön Festival — see below).
Middle/​back:
Keep walking and to your left (across from cashiers/​baggers), there is an open case with prepared sushi. Keep walking and you get to the food court.
Food court: In all this time I’ve only eaten at the food court once (ice cream) and the only other prepared food I’ve had is ramen and yakitori at the annual Bön Festival when you can purchase food outdoors.
The food court is cash only, by the way, so come prepared. There’s an ATM inside, though, if you aren’t.
To your right:
Groceries and household: There is a market with fresh produce and fish, frozen prepared foods, canned and dried/​packaged goods, a candy/​sweets section, and a wall of imported drinks. I appreciate that there are organic items trickling in, such as with buckwheat noodles.
You can also purchase rice cookers and other kitchen items, as well as bidets. Someday, mark my words, I will get myself one. (Don’t judge unless you’ve been to Japan and have actually tried them!) :)
There is a bakery inside of the market place (to the right while facing the cash registers).
My only gripe is that groceries can be a bit pricier here than another Japanese market in the area. I guess it only matters if you know what each marketplace carries and shop selectively based on that.
Other cool things:
The end-​of-​summer Bön Festival — which is a Saturday in early August — is definitely something to check out! Aside from the food vendors, there is taiko drumming (Tsukasa Taiko — shout out to Kiyomi!), adorable kiddos dressed up in kimonos, fishing and other games for the kids, and the bon odori song/​dance that is performed by anyone/​everyone who comes to the practices. In the very least, it’s just awesome people watching.
To sum, Mitsuwa marketplace is a way to experience a little Japanese culture without buying a plane ticket. Native Japanese who do NOT live in Chicagoland actually travel on the weekends to come here… so realize how fortunate we are to have some Japanese markets in our area!

You have to give yourself a day to come to this place. This place is adventurous! They have so many different types of things.
I recommend to start by having something to eat at one of the small restaurants. The food here is so good! Then go shopping, so you can get your walk and not overspend on an empty stomach. Finish at the bakery so you can have your desert.
Great service! Bring cash for the restaurants and they do accept credit cards at store and bakery.
It’s always an adventure coming here.
Definitely recommend it.

I was impressed with the selection they carried from fresh vegetables to fish, kitchen appliances, and make-​up. They had roe (fish eggs) at a decent price and a whole selection of items you may purchase to make sushi like the pros. The guy behind the counter were prepping the fish and packing it. Such a skillful art. The meat selection was nice; I purchased some short ribs and waygu beef. The drinks were pricey but I was willing to pay $ 2 for a single serving bottle of juice as it was unique.
The Pastry House Hippo sold the goods a la carte. You grab a tray and a tong, then fill the tray with the goodies. They are priced ranged between $ 1 to $ 3 an item. The items are bagged individually then you’re good to go.
After filling our cart, we walked up to the pink registers to ring up our items. The cashier seemed like she didn’t want to be there but I didn’t mind, I was eager to get to the food court. There was a whole section that was empty an I found that to be odd. They served Chinese, Japanese, and Korean style foods. Men in suits had ramen, families had meat with rice, Husband and I grabbed duck with rice and hargow (steamed translucent shrimp dumplings). It was magnificent to say the least.
Last stop was at the book /​stationary store. I spent the most time here. I purchased cute journals and pens. I absolutely loved it here. Mitsuwa is a great place to check out if you’re in the area as there is something for everyone.

This place makes me feel like I’m in another country. They’ve got a variety of Asian groceries, but kinda pricey. They have kitchen utensils, pots, pans, hair products… I think they’ve got a little bit of everything Asian!
There’s a bookstore inside as well. There’s a food court with few restaurants and there’s also a bakery.
I enjoy visiting this market, though it gets quite crowded