Kotobuki Oriental Market — Local services in Citrus Park

We live 2 hours away, but for us, the drive is worth it. This mighty little Japanese grocery store is a gem which has been in business in the Tampa area for 28 years because the owner of this store is very warm and friendly. She is the star of the show! She will talk to you, joke with you, laugh, help you find whatever it is that you are looking for, just generally make you feel welcome, and then you will get a heartfelt thank you for shopping her establishment when you leave. Her prices are comparable to the Asian stores in my area, (actually, some items were priced lower, like the calpico concentrate and curry). We've come to the conclusion that since there are certain Japanese products we just can't seem to do without, just on principle alone, we'd rather drive a little farther and give this kind woman our business instead of frequenting the store we used to shop at for many years because of their cold indifference and overall rudeness. Everytime we shopped there, without fail, we regretted it and honestly felt mistreated. But now, we don't have to go there anymore. That alone is worth the...

This place was simply amazing. While it is a Japanese market I was not expecting anywhere near what they had available. If you need any type of Japanese ingredient, I can assure you that you will find it here. Not only was the selection great but the store owner is the nicest lady you will every meet. I can honestly say that it is worth a trip just to meet her. It is very rare to find someone so nice and helpful today. Most businesses treat their customers like an inconvenience but not here. It will be my first time making a Japanese recipe and I was looking around the store for all the ingredients. The owner actually took me to each one and even gave me tips from her own recipes. I strongly recommend you visit this shop at least once as I'm sure there is something...

Relocating can be cumbersome if not tedious trying to find places that you enjoy shopping at, a place you can find a little bit of everything you were once accustomed to... Sweet places on earth to find familiar products from afar, yes you’ll enjoy this tiny village style market with a bundle of delightful and fanciful goods such as a small selection of fresh vegetables, miso, a selection of hard to find individually wrapped specialty cakes from Japan, a small variety of top quality rice in regular 25lb sizes, unique Asian utensils, as well as cooking instruments, a little bit of everything Asian and more!!! The absolute plus plus is that the storekeeper speaks both Korean and Japanese fluently, is welcoming and beautifully pleasant to...