Yaoya-San — Local services in El Cerrito

For the US, I was very happy to see many of the things I used and liked in Japan.

Some of the things were a little expensive, but I think I understand. Maybe they have to be. I guess I get that.

Now, if anyone from the store staff reads this, let me start by saying that I really like your store. I was not expecting to find yuzu goshyou. And I was not expecting to find nissui brand canned sardines. But I did. And a lot of the sauces, vinegar, shiso, beni shyouga, etc. Nice.

I guess if I had anything I would have liked to find, and hey, I don't know if it's feasible with export/import laws, but I'd like to show my dad and my friends what real Japanese beer is like. Because you can buy Sapporo, Asahi, and Kirin in The USA, but it's not the same product.

And I'd like to show them a truly authentic Kirin chuhi, a canned highball drink, and a Strong Zero. But maybe there are some reasons I never see these Japanese products here. Import taxes, laws, I don't know.

And I forgot to look at the rice, because there were so many other things. I hope you have some rice from Akita Prefecture. And I know Niigata is making a play for being premium... anyway, I didn't do that, but I plan on coming back.

There were not a lot of products that I hoped to find, me personally, that I did not see. So this is my go to Japanese store. I'm going to guess based on what I saw that the owner is from Kyushu, but that is a bit of a reach. If I'm right,...

Not as great as it used to be— once upon a time, packed with all sorts of Japanese household items from face cream to hair dye to chopstick holders, and best of all the fantastic Japanese school supplies, of a higher quality than at the now ubiquitous Daiso’s. But still worth a visit.

They’ve opened up the wall between the general store and the grocery. Not sure if two businesses merged or they always owned both.

Last week got some superb locally grown sweet potatoes, excellent kumquats and decent fish. Conclusion: for top quality fish, you need to go to Tokyo Fish market. For extra extraordinary Japanese produce, you have many alternatives in the bay area, including the produce section of Tokyo Fish. However, if you want to stay local in El Cerrito, this store deserves your support.

The floor could use a serious cleaning and the lighting in the grocery is hit or miss. I’m not sure that this is still Japanese owned, most of my experience with our Japanese American community has been in spotless surroundings. It seems more Hawaiian influenced...

I have been shopping here regularly for years, including Sashimi/sushi materials and they are always fresh (not sure what the other review is about!!).

I’m born and raised in Japan so have very high standards for a Japanese store. I get 99% of what I need here, even a particular miso my mom uses in Japan. Also they have pre-cut cabbages (for 75 cents lol) and pre-shredded daikon which makes making a Japanese salad a breeze. Their dressings are great. Try the ones that is called Pietro.

I also buy thin sliced pork belly and beef for shabu shabu here and freeze them.

Great selections, authentic, and they have Hawaiian, other Asian condiments etc as well.

Their organic green tea in a bag is to die for. It tastes approximately 240% better than Berkeley bowl green tea. Trust me I tried.

The employees are long term and it’s always sweet to see a small pop and mom store thriving like this.

Really convenient if you’re driving from Berkeley to Richmond direction to pop in and pop back out to...