Sakuraya Japanese Supermarket — Local services in Vancouver

Hi all, I hope you are all doing well and are staying safe. Since covid, I haven't been paying much attention to my shopping experiences...just wanted to get in and get out...but for the most part, any shops that I visited made tremendous efforts to keep us all safe while doing are shopping...kudos to you all! Anyways, Sakuraya...I had noticed this store years ago, and had been wanting to check it out for the longest time. In googling for 'wasabi' powder, the name Sakuraya popped up...how convenient and what a great excuse to visit. The store is located upstairs over a Korean supermarket below. Walking up the stairs gave me the impression of a store tucked away in the nook and cranny of a building in Japan. It felt like I had somehow transported to Japan! These are the BEST places to experience the food and culture, and Sakuraya does not disappoint. Although I believe they do not carry any fresh or cooked product(correct me if I am wrong),but as far as l could see, they pretty well carry everything else that you would need in order to replicate the cuisine yourself. Their prices seemed reasonable-even(dare I say)"A Good Deal!" I will need to revisit another time and wander a bit longer to confirm. ....did I mention their snackies?!..omg..yum....

We only just recently discovered this hidden gem. Sakuraya is owned by the same people who run the Korean market on Broadway, called Kim's Mart. It is located right next door to Kim's Mart and is accessible via a flight of stairs leading upwards.

They carry all sorts of Japanese goods. I picked up a few bottles of pink coloured Sakura cola there, and some prepackaged seasoned kelp which I like using at home to make onigiri. Usually I do it all from scratch using dried up sheets of Dashi Kombu. The prepackaged ones will save me a lot of work the next time I want to make them!

We also found many items that were expired or close to their expiration date. There were huge discounts on these items. (eg. boxes of powdered drink mixes) We're fine buying these kinds of products as the "Best Before" dates don't necessarily mean "No Good after..." to us! I appreciate that this store openly admits that these products have expired or are near their expiration date. Gotta love the honesty!

Quite heartbroken to learn that this place has been put on the market and may be gone soon. Boo hoo! We only just discovered this hidden gem. If this place does go, hope that we can squeeze in a few more visits...

Echoing the other reviews here – i found the prices very reasonable. You'd probably find the best prices for the same product here compared the other stores in Vancouver. In terms of Japanese specialty food store, they're probably one of the biggest I've been to in this area. They have frozen and shelf-stable products and a few household cleaning products as well. I didn't see any cooked food, sashimi or sushi though. Location is relatively easy to get to on foot or transit. Didn't see parking, but I guess you could always just find street parking. You have to go up a short flight of stairs, lined with old greenish, mouldy carpet. It would normally sketch me out, but there are enough welcoming posters to reassure me. Definitely worth a visit if you're...