Tokyo Food and Video

This store is one of the best Asian oriented food stores I have been to in Birmingham. There are others that have a larger selection of candy and seafood, but this place was cleaner than most. Everything was really organized, and they had an awesome drink selection. There’s also a lot of Hello Kitty stuff, and that made me a very happy camper.

Store hours says they are open until 830pm, but when I got there the place was closed. I saw someone inside, but she said the owner went to the bank. Well, why close the place when store hours clearly states that it is open until 830pm? Waited another 10 minutes and finally the owner/​manager arrives. I didn’t leave since I live far away and didn’t want to waste my trip here.

I’ll fess up that I wasn’t expecting all that much grocery-​wise from this shop, but it actually surprised me. The prices are more than what you would you pay in Atlanta, but then again, there aren’t as many stores of this kind here in Birmingham. I found the Japanese food items that I was looking for, save for one thing. I didn’t look at the selection of DVDs/​videos, but it looked to be quite big. Besides food, there is also some pharmaceutical and kitchen/​house stuff.
The woman who rang me up could use a few lessons in smiling and being friendly. Scowling employees don’t really help customers feel at ease. Looks to be a Korean-​owned establishment, judging from a business card I saw by the register.

I really like this place. It is as good as it gets for Alabama as far as finding Korean and Japanese food items. The gentleman who runs the place is a very nice guy and is helpful (even though his English skills are lacking). There is also a large selection of Japanese and Korean VHS tapes for rent (and I assume buy). The grocery selection is good and the prices are reasonable. If you can’t find a Korean or Japanese item here, you’re gonna have to head to Atlanta. If you’re looking for other Asian food items, such as Chinese, Thai, etc. your best bet is Super Oriental Market in Homewood.

Nicely laid out but small grocery. Packaged goods and frozen foods mostly but good stuff! Hard to not buy something! And I love the non-​American package design!