Mitsuwa Marketplace

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Mitsuwa Marketplace

I've been craving Japanese food lately. Ever since leaving Okinawa I haven't eaten good sushi or been able to find sesame seed salad dressing and my favorite drinks (melon soda, apple tea, Aquarius). After lamenting to a fellow co-worker who had also lived on Okinawa, he suggested I go to Mitsuwa Marketplace. It's the largest Japanese supermarket chain in the U.S. I figured if anyone would have the items I was looking for, it'd be these guys.

To my surprise, when I walked into the San Diego Mitsuwa Marketplace there was a bookstore, two restaurants, and a clothing and craft section. I plan to go back and try the restaurants as they were both very busy (so it must be good, right?) and they served soba. Somehow I managed to miss the sushi counter so I'll also have to go look for that next time I'm in the store.

I wandered up an down the aisles until I found the sesame seed salad dressing. As I grabbed the biggest bottles I noticed the price tag...$13 each! The bottle wasn't nearly as big as those I bought for $5 on Okinawa...maybe half the size. Anyways, even with a ridiculous price I still bought a bunch to ship back to friends on the East Coast who I'd be raving to about the dressing.

I then went to the beverage aisle where they had melon soda and Aquarius for sale. Just about ever other kind of tea imaginable was for sale except Apple Tea...boooo 😞 A bottle of Aquarius or melon soda would typically cost me about $1.50 on Okinawa. Here the drinks cost me $3. Not as bad as the sesame seed salad dressing but come on!

I understand the prices being higher because it's a specialty store and nearly all the products are imported but I still felt ripped off! Oh well...until I find a better solution, this will be the place I go when I'm needing to get a fix on my Japanese food cravings.

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