Benkyodo Co

If you love peanut butter than you have to try the peanut butter Mochi. It is amazing. At first I thought it would be overly dry, but the Mochi was moist and really balanced the crunchy peanut butter. This place is a must visit for good quality Mochi that reminds me of the stuff I got this past summer in Japan!

This classic establishment is a must-​go destination in the San Francisco Japantown! Playing a dual role of a American breakfast bar and a Japanese grocery counter, Benkyodo’s signature item is its handmade mochi — if you have not had their mochi and never went to Asia, you never had real mochi before!
Benkyodo’s mochi flavor selection is small but sufficient. Here, you will find the classic choices like the red bean paste or the more luxurious options like real fruit pieces. No matter which one you pick, expect the real delight of tasting the chewy, stretchy texture of handmade mochi made from grounded sweet rice. Until you experienced it, you won’t know what you are missing out if you had only packaged mochi! It’s really beyond words.
Although each piece is rather massive (two makes a good breakfast!), each one is $ 1.40, which is probably a good deterrent from eating too many. I highly recommend coming by and picking up at least one mochi to try out the real deal; I said at least one because you’ll probably return to buy a whole box!

One of the original businesses in San Francisco’s Japantown, family owned and operated since 1906, Benkyodo is a City staple.
Pardon my long overdue review, 20 years in the making.
Highly recommend the fruit-​filled Manju. $ 1.40 per piece of seasonal mochi: blueberry on weekdays, mango /​strawberry on weekends only. The silky mouth-​feel of the smooth lima bean filling that surrounds the fresh fruit is unlike any other mochi.
Age: fried Japanese donut filled with smooth red bean paste.
Pink Habutai: pink mochi with smooth white lima bean filling, basically like the Mango /​Blueberry /​Strawberry filled Manju minus the fresh seasonal fruit.
I really miss the chocolate and marshmallow-​filled manju they offered years ago. Once in a while peanut butter-​filled manju is available.
Whether you’re in the area or making a special trip, stop by Benkyodo for classic Japanese confections, handmade fresh daily.
They carry quite an assortment of packaged snacks and candy too (although you can purchase the store-​bought treats for far less at Ichi Ban Kan down the street).
Note:
Cash only;
Street parking is limited & metered;
Closed Sunday’s and major holidays.

Mochi heaven!!!
We’ve been trying to go here for quite a while, the last two times we came the place was close, however we finally caught it open and boy was it worth it.
We got three of their mochis, a blueberry and two of the red bean. Let me start by saying that there are very few places if any besides this one that make fresh mochi in sf, boy was their mochi amazing, pure heaven, it literally melts in your mouth. The blueberry one is probably my favorite, however they were all delicious.
I can’t wait to come back here, make sure to bring cash so you won’t make my mistake and had to walk to an atm to get cash argggg! If you love mochi this place should be at the top of your list. I wish they made mochi ice cream, that is the only thing I wish they would make.

CASH ONLY
I can’t believe this store has been around since 1906! This was definitely the best mochi I have ever had! Normally the mochi I get in stores is hard and lacks good texture. The ones served here are soo soft. You can order it to go and sit outside on the nice benches and people watch.
Each mochi is very reasonably priced at a little over $ 1. The lady at the counter recommended the strawberry mochi as it’s their bestseller and is seasonal. I am so glad she told me to get it. It was the perfect sweetness and I loved the little piece of fresh strawberry inside! I also got the green mochi with red bean and it was equally delicious although not a sweet as the strawberry. Highly recommend stopping by!

Benkyodo Company has been opened since the establishment of J-​town in 1906, which means this place is 109 years old! Please note that the shop accept cash only, and go early for the best selection as most of the goodies are usually gone by 2PM.
Initially I thought I entered the wrong bakery lol, because there was a small diner that sell fries & hot dog on the other half of the shop. The candies selection were quite overwhelming for me, especially when I don’t really eat candy… And I’m pretty sure you can find most of these in T&T back in Toronto.
So the mochi seems to be the best seller here as they are freshly made in house daily. If I remember correctly the mochi were around $ 1−2/each and they were being sold in boxes as well. I really wanted the strawberry mochi as it had actual strawberries inside, but it was already sold out by the time I arrived, so I settled for the mung bean mochi. The mochi tasted fresh and both the skin and filling of mochi were soft, smooth and not overly chewy. It was not too sweet either and the mung bean flavor really came through, just lovely!
I also got a blueberry pastry but I didn’t enjoy it as there was more dough than fillings, and I hated how mushy the fillings were. In general I prefer to have some real «bites» for the filling, rather than just a spread of a sweet paste.

Benkyodo has the best mochi in town! Not only are these little guys affordable at under $ 2 a pop, but they’re squishy and cute and absolutely delicious! The mochi is fresh and has the most delightful pillowy soft and chewy texture. My favorites are the strawberry and blueberry mochi, which are both stuffed with smooth lima bean paste and a fresh piece of fruit inside. The blueberry mochi are seasonal, but the strawberry mochi are full time. Other flavors include peanut butter and red bean, but they have a bunch of other manju (Japanese confections) that are more traditional. Some are baked and they even have one called Age, which is a small fried donut ball with red bean inside that’s rolled in sugar. Yum!
Keep in mind that they’re cash only and close at 5pm, so some of the flavors sell out towards closing. Benkyodo is a mandatory stop over for me whenever I’m in Japatown, but they’re easily a destination spot as well. The mochi keeps for a few days in your fridge so grab a box of ‘em while you’re here!

Benkyodo is definitely one of Japantown SF’s notable attractions. Benkyodo is Japantown’s longest running establishment, bringing handcrafted Japanese confections to San Francisco since 1905. Century-​old recipes still continue to excite and bring generations together. Inside Benkyodo you will find a small café counter that is a popular meeting spot for older Japanese generations to linger over Japanese sweet treats and good conversation.
This was my first time to Benkyodo Co. as I usually get my bean buns from Shuei-​Do Manju Shop in Japantown SJ. I really love the selections from both family-​run shops and the warm cultural connections.
Benkyodo has all your traditional manju flavors but has added a few enticing nouveau flavors to their line-​up including peanut butter, strawberry, blueberry and age (deep fried donut), really pushing the red bean envelope.
I loved the Age and the Strawberry manju. The Age is a donut-​manju hybrid bringing together a soft jelly center with a crispy sugary exterior. The Strawberry manju features smooth white lima beans with fresh strawberries and strawberry flavorings. I was glad I brought more than a few of the strawberries home with me as they were one of the favorites.
Discover one of Japantown’s most storied businesses and enjoy some delicious delicacies at Benkyodo. They are closed on Sundays so do plan your trip or visit accordingly.

They have the best wagashi (Japanese confectionary) that I have come across in San Francisco. I got 4 daifukus, one pancake wrap with mochi, and one mushi manju.
The 4 daifukus I got were:
— Regular daifuku with koshi-​an (smooth azuki bean paste)
— Pink daifuku with shiro-​an (smooth lima bean paste)
— Green daifuku with koshi-​an doused in kinako (roasted soybean flour that tastes similar to peanut butter)
— Yomogi (Japanese mugwort) daifuku with tsubu-​an (chunky azuki bean paste)
Out of the 4 daifukus, I would say my favorites were the pink daifuku and the green daifuku. The lima bean paste in the pink daifuku was sweet and delicate. The green daifuku was doused just the right amount in kinako, which is always a win in my book. The regular daifuku was also delicious. What fell short for me was the yomogi daifuku. I wish the yomogi flavor shined through a little bit more! I’m wondering if the plant is hard to get here. However, all of them had a great soft and chewy texture that you can’t get enough of.
Personally, I would not get the pancake wrap and mushi manju. The pancake wrap was delicious but I wish there was tsubu-​an in it to add texture, and amp up the flavor a little bit more. The koshi-​an inside the mushi manju was delicious but the manju itself was a little crumbly in texture. The perfect manju would have been steamed longer and therefore softer. So i’m taking off a star for both of those.
Service was amazing. The lady in the front told me that I should come back again and try the strawberry one and to call ahead and ask if they have any left before I come. I also loved they tie a little bow in your to-​go container. Very Japanese of them :)
Come here for the daifukus (that’s what they are called, not mochi. Mochi is just the rice cake). I personally think that’s what they do here best out of all the wagashi they sell. Also, CASH ONLY!

Hast du schon mal Mochis probiert? — Wenn ja, dann wahrscheinlich in abgepackter und industriell-​gefertigter Form mit künstlichen Geschmacks– und Farbstoffen versetzt. Hier bei Benkyodo gibt’s frisch-​zubereitete Mochis und — glaub’ mir — man schmeckt den Unterschied sofort!
Benkyodo ist eine Mischung aus japanischem Diner und japanischer «Bäckerei»: das eine zieht vor allem die Senioren japanischer Abstammung an, die sich hier oft auf eine Kaffee oder einen Snack mit ihren Freunden treffen. Das letztere lockt Foodies von nah und fern an… wie auch mich, der oft einen kleinen Umweg in Kauf nimmt, um nur ein paar Mochis zu kaufen die dann den Abend auf dem Sofa versüßen…
Für mich sind Mochis auch das perfekte Gastgeschenk oder Mitbringsel für eine Dinnerparty. Sie sind nicht nur super-​lecker, sondern in ihrer Vielfalt auch toll anzuschauen.
Achtung:
— Am besten kommt man morgens oder am frühen Nachmittag vorbei, denn gegen 16:00 sind die Mochis meist schon vergriffen.
— Sie haben nur bis 17Uhr geöffnet!
— Dienstags gibt’s Mochis mit frischen Blaubeeren und Mittwochs ist Erdbeertag!
— Cash only!
Und zu guter Letzt, hier ist noch ein Link zu einem Bericht über die Mochi-​Tradition:

The mochi has great elasticity which means it was freshly prepared that morning. The range between $ 1 and $ 2. Not bad for the quality.
Wish they made enough of the strawberry mochi’s to last longer in the day.