Asakichi, Arts, & Tea Ceremony Store — Local services in San Francisco

This place has left a bad taste in my mouth. I’m happy for the customers who have had great experiences here. I wish I was one of them. However, I feel compelled to write a review after my second visit.

Asakichi is a popular destination known for carrying Marukyu Koyamaen matcha. After seeing many positive reviews of the staff explaining in detail about the matcha, I decided to go there. When I visited there to ask for the matcha, the staff simply stated that they had it in stock without offering to explain in detail the different types when I was interested. When I chose the type of matcha I wanted and explained how happy I was to make a matcha latte…the lady made a comment stating “this matcha is too precious for matcha lattes.” What is the point of making that comment? What she doesn’t know is that the majority of the people who are buying the matcha are going to make matcha lattes.

My second visit consisted of an older man and a woman. I went up to the register and instead of saying “hello how may I help you?” I felt like I was a ghost. Both of them were having side conversations without acknowledging my presence until I had to say hello. I asked about the matcha in which they stated “sold out” in monotone…like they were annoyed that I interrupted their side conversation.

I will no longer be supporting this business. What I encountered was a lack of respect and basic good customer service. There’s plenty of good matcha I can buy elsewhere. I’m not going to be allow myself to be treated this way and be desperate for Marukyu Koyamaen matcha. There’s other high quality matcha that you can buy elsewhere or even online. Majority of their items are...

My go-to for Japanese stuff. They have a good selection of Noren for great prices. Definitely get your noren there and then head to Daiso to get the bar to hold the noren. They have very nice clothes too. Got a Giyu Hakama of wayyy better quality at a cheaper price than the store down the way. I got a great tea cup too. Made in Japan and very good quality. Next door, there's ones of the similar quality 2 doors down for twice the price. They have great porcelain products overall. They have these awesome little cat spoons for coffee and tea. They've got multiple colors. Freakin love them. They also have all these cute cellphone charms of demon slayer that can hang on your phone's pop socket. They have some totoro ones too. They always have more and more demon slayer stuff coming in. I'm a big fan because I just finished the series on Netflix so I always need more now. I like the mini scrolls and little figures. I always stop there to see what's new whenever I come to Japantown. Nice chopstick selection too. The supplies they have are endless. It's so small but so many things to...

Inside the shop, it feels so relaxing and homey. But don't break anything, that is considered sold merchandise. My only issue is this store has very narrow aisles,- it is not ADA compliant according to national law(5-6ft clearance in aisles). If I had my cane, I would have fallen or potentially knocked down a beautiful display, it is definitely not wheelchair friendly. Luckily, I didn't need my cane yesterday.

If you go to Japantown, this is definitely the place you have to make sure you stop by. They have calligraphy sets, genuine silk or cotton kimono, teapots, figures, chopsticks, and all sorts of imported goods. If you want a beautiful paperfan, they have those too. They mostly have cloth goods, including specialty things I didn't know...