Mitsuwa Marketplace - San Gabriel — Attraction in San Gabriel

I love this place almost as much as a hate Covid. I think it’s smaller than some of the other J- supermarkets but I’m not willing to go downtown at the moment, and I certainly am not going to have my elderly parents run around town searching for mochi. I took a gamble and thought it would be less crowded here than other places.

I really appreciate how they are keeping the staff and patrons safe by limiting capacity to 15 people inside. That being said, bring a book, layer up, and bring an umbrella because it can get sunny/cold/ boring. I think I waited maybe 35-40 min to get inside, around 11:30am? I felt kind of bad for some of the senior patrons waiting for so long, but I believe they do have senior hours on Saturday.

I went to go pick up stuff for ozoni soup for Japanese New Years, and was surprisingly pleased to find fresh mochi still available. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t frozen and then thawed, so I grabbed a few packs and some kamoboko from the freezer and called it a day. I heard the J-stores in West LA were sold out since the weekend, so was happy to find the items I was looking...

Being a Japanese national living in Pasadena, Mitsuwa has been wonderful for easy access to Japanese essentials. They do not have as many items as other stores like Tokyo Central or Mitsuwa in South Bay. However, I still find almost everything I need in this store. I regularly use this store to pick up rice, natto, tofu, gyoza (dumplings), kimchi, condiments, nori (seaweed) and thinly sliced beef and pork as well as some seafood. My kids love Japanese sweets and I highly recommend them for not being overly sweet, especially matcha related sweets.

I also love buying my shampoo and conditioner as I personally love the fragrance of Japanese products better than the products here in the US. But, if you're allergic to strong scent or perfumes, it might not be for you. They also have some basic skin care products as well at very reasonable price. If you are looking for basic items, this store will do just fine! Just as other reviewers said, you would feel pretty safe in there as they manage crowd control well and people are very responsible in wearing the masks the...

While smaller than many mitsuwa stores I've been to let me tell you this story is jam-packed with everything you could possibly need just be aware you might want to get there early for the vegetables or the fresh made items like the hamada ya bakery or the onigiri rice balls they sell fast older store but we'll maintained and over all a great stock of japanese favorites parking is a bit challenging as there is honestly not a lot of room to park but as people come and go quickly from the store I had no issues finding a spot although just a few were there might be tough for larger vehicles also and while it's been over a year since I have been to the larger Japanese grocery chains and smaller ones the prices do seem a bit higher here but that could also just be due to the coronavirus pandemic issue I would happily return to the store and shop again the staff and cashier and Patreons we're all...