Mitsuwa Marketplace

Mitsuwa used to be a unique experience as a full scale Japanese super market, but with the growth of stores specializing in Korean and Chinese merchandise in the NY-​NJ area in recent years, even though it is still crowded, it is no longer the only game in town. They offer a full range of fresh and dry goods, but what makes Mitsuwa stand out for us is the quality of their fresh items, particularly fish and meats. Other places may have more varieties, but the sushi quality tuna and salmon really looks and tastes great (even the end pieces they sell at significant discount over the prime cuts!). They have a relatively small prepared food area, but there are also other vendors within the same hall selling sweets and savories as well. The biggest difficulty can be getting there, particularly on weekends as the River Road on which they’re located has experienced a great deal of development since they moved in, and finding a parking spot even though they have their own lot is often a challenge as well.

3 Stars. The review is mostly about the establishment as a whole so please read through!
Came here on a Saturday afternoon so everything here is probably worst case situation. River road was full of traffic and it was a crawl just to arrive at the parking lot
Parking sucks. Although it seems like there are plenty of spots, it was definitely not easy finding a spot. I ended up finding a spot east of the marketplace but it was rather lucky. I suggest camping by the sides and avoid the center.
This place is crowded! Get ready to wait in line for food and a clean place to sit. I ended up getting a mixed platter @ Wateisyoku Kaneda. Food was okay for the 11 bucks. This was my first time coming here and after looking at all the store and prices… I realized this place is overrated. The best part is probably the marketplace where I think most people come here for. I just don’t see why you would come here just for the food. Actually, it Reminded me of the super saturated Japanese food places in Manhattan. Cool to checkout once, probably not again.

One of my longstanding and favorite supermarkets in the tri-​state area. You can get your snacks, ramen and sushi fixes satisfied with just one visit. Over the years it has changed names but I am glad it hasn’t changed the things that make it so popular and well received.
The food court is a bit hectic and you must remember to respect the line and get on it if you’re going to order. They move pretty fast and its worth every minute. The seating area is always a bit of a rush with everyone else also looking and waiting for tables to sit and eat too.

Japanese food WONDERLAND. It’s all about the food court here though, as the market itself is much like most of the Asian markets in NYC with limited selection of fresh produce and steep northeast prices. I’m so jealous of people who live here and other areas with Mitsuwas like southern California. We have 99 Ranch and Super H-​Mart in Houston but their food courts are nowhere as extravagant and developed.
Favorite stalls:
— Santouka Ramen, probably the best place to eat at Mitsuwa with the longest lines
— Wateishoku Kaneda, simple but tasty traditional style set meals.
— Hamada-​ya, one of the few Japanese bakeries you’ll see over here
— Matcha Love by Ito En, makes the most ridiculously rich soft serve I’ve ever had!

What a great collection of Japanese merchandises, snacks, raw, cooked and sushi-​grade fishes. This was definitely a very popular place in Fort Lee and I initially stopped by this supermarket to pick up some fresh fruits, vegetables… only to have left with two large ice cream cones of black sesame seeds and green macha tea. My biggest beef with this place was how expensive things everything was. All the produce were fairly standard in most Asian supermarkets, although fairly inflated in cost. The bakery was standard (as well as the long lines that preceded it), and I did not have a chance check out the mini-​restaurants connected to Mitsuwa. My opinion on the two icecream, def go for the black sesame seed, it’s absolutely complex and completely emulates the taste of the sasame seeds.

i love getting the triangle rice things here.
It’s cheaper than the korean places, although they don’t have as much meat as the korean ones.
it’s still half the price!
I love their random sales on japanese snacks.
The parking area can be a struggle if you come here during peak hours.
such as lunch rush, dinner rush and weekends.

We were able to find a parking spot within 5 min from entering into its parking lot. The key is to stalk a family or couple going back to their car with their bagged groceries or ice cream cones. As soon as I walked through the sliding doors I was in Japanese foodie lala-​land. You could get tempura, ramen, udon, soba, rice plates, sushi, red bean filled fishy pastries or cream puffs all in one place. If that’s even not enough, you could shop the market and bring back groceries to your home. It’s really a one stop shop for yummy Japanese food. In terms of finding a table, it’s probably best to find one while the others go crazy at the other stalls.
There were four of us so we hit up as many of the stalls our stomachs can hold. We got shrimp tendon tempura for a little under $ 10 — the batter was so tasty and not too thick. A miso ramen combo with char siu rice bowl — the boy killed it all. There were also sushi. It was so fresh! Before we left I got a matcha soft serve ice cream.

Food heaven and a premium version of sunrise market in Manhattan. Everything Japanese can be found here — hot dishes like udon, ramen, and tempera rice can be found here. Rich, milky authentic matcha flavored bubble tea and ice cream is available at Match Love. They also serve hoji-​tea ice cream (roasted matcha flavor). Pretty and yummy pastries can be bought at Minanoto Kitchoan (See my pics, highly recommended!!). MK offers seasonal specials like Sakura (cherry blossom) flavored pastries this time — Sakura Goromo (red bean cake), Sakura Mochi (red bean sticky rice cake) and etc; like strawberry cake. AND, my all time favorite chocolate brand — Royce! Try the champagne flavor — it’s addictive.
The supermarket part is HUGE — anything from deep sea fish, premium beef, veggies, to all sorts of delicious Japanese snacks, convenient ramen packs, to all kinds of Japanese cosmetics are available!!!
Outside of the main building, to your right, there are also cosmetic brand stores, and a cute Japanese book store at the corner.

This little foodcourt has a wide variety of japanese cuisines ranging from tempura and ramen to red bean cakes and bento boxes. The food always leaves me satisfied and the experience of taking a trip there is always fun!
Its usually busy on the weekends so if you’re with friends, half of you should scout for tables while the others order food. People will fight you. Have your elbows ready!

This place is a Japanese food mecca. They have a whole grocery of Japanese food and snacks and a variety of uncooked rice. It’s located right on the Hudson River with views from the cafeteria tables. The place is bright and pretty clean. They have several choices to enjoy lunch and/​or dinner. And a bunch of dessert stores including matcha flavored ice cream and creamyaki.
If you plan on eating there, here’s a few things to know:
1. Some stores/​eateries only take cash.
2. Save seats and tables before ordering especially if in a large group.
3. It gets really crowded on the weekends. Be prepared to wait in lines. Each eatery has its own separate, long line.
4. Some eateries, if not all, do not give or have take out containers. Order only what you can eat, or maybe bring your own containers for any leftovers.
5. Don’t expect the eateries to serve sushi boats or freshly made sushi rolls. Although one place offers fresh chirashi. Expect foods served with rice, noodles/​ramen and fried foods.
Enjoy! Arigato!

cant say anything more that hasnt been said already.
fresh fish for sushi at home is great.
food court is great.
ramen is ridiculous.
green tea soft serve is ridiculous.
great meal after a session on the driving range.

I love Japanese food as I am Japanese, and on a trip to check out my new apartment (I am moving to NJ from Texas), I was able to check out Mitsuwa~ it was great! I am so excited and happy that I will have a place in the area to get Japanese groceries and goodies to my heart’s content.
I came to Mitsuwa on a Monday~ it wasn’t too crowded, though I hear it gets jam-​packed on the weekends. Food court on one side, grocery store on the other. All of it good, and with a nice view of the Hudson and Riverside Park in Manhattan. Can’t complain much~ a more extensive update will follow in the coming months, but for now, really enjoyed Mitsuwa!

I wish I’m near this market. Admiring it, needing it from the distance. Mainly Japanese food products that you can’t find some of them at the Korean market here.

This is a Japanese Super Market… If you are like me, you will be excited with what you are going to find… they have a couple small restaurants type place along the left side where you will find pastries, ramen, rice, cake, ice-​cream, coffee, etc… and the other side is the supermarket… usually when i go i will end up spending over $ 60 just for buying little things here and there… Everything are fresh, but they are all very pricy… if you go there over the weekend, you might have a difficult time to find a parking… so there early!
Also, they always have events where they have different promotions from Japan… they are usually very good…
Oh! Also, bring cash with you… especially with the food vendors… they take cash only… :)

This 4 star rating is a rounded rating. I round up to a 5 when Mitsuwa has their annual events, which there are plenty of! Other than that, it’s a decent supermarket with a spot to eat! Why just a 4 then? Because there are more times in the year that a special event is NOT occurring!
Ahh, Mitsuwa Marketplace, a Japanese supermarket that contains many of the typical Asian/​Japanese goods that people are looking for. They also have a ROYCE chocolate (good quality chocolate!) and a store inside that serves small amount of things for your car. The supermarket itself is not large but what is large is the food court. They food court here wins in the fact that it has a ton of options, from ramen, tempura, rice platters, udon, onigiri, and etc.
Many people come here for the ramen at Santouka. In all honest for me, the ramen is very average. Yes the melty pork is great, but the broth and the noodles are sub par. I feel the best items here are the onigiri (not in the store, but in the food court area) as they have many options and I feel are more filling than the ones in the store. However, I give the ones in the store extra points if you are there near closing, due to the fact that the prices are discounted. You can also note that this is the same for the sushi, which gives you a great bang for your buck! What I also enjoy is the Nihonbashi Ten-​don Kaneko Hannosuke, the place that serves many different tempura bowls. One recommendation I have is to eat the tempura as soon has you have it though because it gets soggy quick. Furthermore, I always get the soft serve ice cream for dessert! One of the places that has a soft serve black sesame ice cream that I can enjoy.
I love going to Mitsuwa though when their annual events are occurring. I HIGHLY recommend you sign up for their mailing list so you know when these events are occurring. For grocery shopping, they will have specials going on from time to time where you can get items that are typically not at the store. Usually they are local to specific areas of Japan that they import for the week.
Two events you should make sure to check out for much better food are the Japanese Gourmet Fair (usually occurs for over a week just before summer starts) the Summer Festival (usually on a Saturday during the summer), and Hokkaido Fair (occurs for over a week usually in September). During this time they have a lot of chefs and cooks from Japan here to make various dishes, such as yakitori, takoyaki, crepes, desserts, and etc. I have tasted some great sashimi and fresh fish at these events. In addition, if you have not seen it, try to check out the huge Blue Fin Tuna Filleting event. They have a HUGE Blue Fin Tuna on site at the store and they fillet it in front of everyone. You can only imagine how fresh that sashimi is. Yes it is pricey, but if you have the cash to dish out, the quality you feel in your taste buds is awesome!
Was this TLDR? Then sign up for the mailing list, come here during their annual events, and you’ll have a much better experience here. However, keep coming here if you need to go here regularly for your Asian grocery shopping: P

Actually came here by pure coincidence…
Went to Palisades park for a nice jog (y’all should check it out) … after my run I wanted something nice and warm so I figured I’ll just go home and cook something but needed to pick up some stuff from Trader Joe’s which as usual was PACKED so I kept driving and bumped into Mitsuwa …
And let’s just say there was no need for me to cook…
I walked in and noticed this market has a food court better than the food court at the mall…
They have lots of sweet treats and lots of food … As I was walking around the food court I noticed they had ramen noodle soup … perfect for a chilly afternoon … and dumplings… come on who doesn’t love dumplings…
The dumplings I must say we’re a little salty but I was so hungry I devoured it and the pork ramen soup by far the best ramen soup I’ve had … it’s funny how every where u go — a new ramen spot opens but this is the place to go… the broth wasn’t greasy like most ramen noodle spots…
It was the best meal ever for reasonable prices…
As far as the market, I just browsed around and noticed they even have liquor… But I was so full I gave up browsing and left … next time I’ll look around first and then eat…
Did I mention I couldn’t leave without trying the matcha tea ice cream …
When I’m the area I will definitely make a stop here to eat
P. s. I just wish this place was a little cleaner, if you’re a germophobic STAY AWAY!

There is no place in all of New Jersey, New York, & the surrounding states quite like it. You could live here if you wanted. I envy all the locals who are within 20 minutes of this place. Paying toll at the Lincoln Tunnel is now the price of an entrée. One must space out trips here to save a pretty penny.
The best AND worst time to come is during the weekends. Explain. During Saturdays and Sundays, they will have restocked all the goodies– from your favorite snacks to the drink shelves to the sushi aisle. I believe their restock days are Tuesdays and Fridays. However, because of weekends, the place becomes flooded with every Asian person + their families + friends + aliens. I’m half kidding.
It becomes a Road Rules/​Real World challenge to nab a table in the expansive cafeteria. Once, I was scoping the joint for anyone who looked like they might be done eating, found a lady packing up her study papers and food. She took one look at me and decided to unpack everything. I kid you not. All of a sudden she was both hungry and studious again. People these days, amIright?
The groceries, namely the fruits & vegetables, are in pristine condition, orderly & also very pricey compared to any other place in America. It’s the breathing model of the phrase, «you get what you pay for.» This is also true of their hygiene and beauty products though you could find better prices if you search hard enough.
Their prepared food is one of my favorite aisles. Here you will find assorted sushi rolls, onigiri, fried chicken, miso-​marinated cod & mackerel (my favorite), and gyudon (beef bowl w/​rice) among other things that are ready to eat. Directly across will be one of the drink shelves stocked with both American options and Japanese pop sodas, milk teas and every artificial flavor known to mankind.
Another area you seldom see in the usual Asian markets: the packaged noodle section. Yes, they will have the ramen you’re accustomed to, but there are also different types of soba and udon noodles plus dipping sauces. If you’re looking for a healthy lunch option, create a simple broth with toppings and you’re set.
Lastly, they even have several bakeries onsite. I’m not really a fan of devouring sweet, baked goods so I opt for the soft serve ice cream at Matcha Love by Ito En. Though you will see the theme is green tea, I highly recommend their black sesame ice cream. It will be the smooth & creamy ending to your trips at Mitsuwa.

This place is crazy awesome! I never knew a place like this existed! This place has everything japanese! From ramen to wagyu beef and that sweet sweet fresh Uni. There are multiple food vendors in this place from fried pork with rice or a hot bowl of ramen. They have it all! The seatings at the food court can be packed. You would have to scout for seats and camp the ones that are almost done eating and hover next to the table in order to claim it before someone else takes it.
There’s a huge selection of fresh pre-​packaged sushi from hand rolls to sashimi. Fresh cuts of premium wagyu beef and all kinds of fresh seafood. There are also tons of varieties of Japanese junk food from mochi to shrimp chips.
This is a very busy market. The checkout lines are long.

It’s always a treat to go to Mitsuwa. I envy people that live in the area because Mitsuwa is a local spot for them while I have to embark on a 40– to 50-​minute journey to get there. However, the trip is worth it. Places like this are hard to find.
When I go there, I sometimes forget that I’m in Jersey. Signage in the store and flyers are written in both Japanese and English. While there are products from Asian countries like Korea and China, there is a huge selection of Japanese items — from all the ramens under the sun to various specialty items, meats, and fish (e.g. natto, wagyu beef, and sushi grade fish). And not to mention the sake. Oh, the sake. That aisle in the supermarket is an adventure, indeed. I go to the supermarket for specialty items and sake for the most part. I don’t really go for product here because I can get produce cheaper cheaper to me. If I do get anything from the fresh produce aisle, it will be an item that is difficult for me to find where I live (e.g. napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms, daikon).
Food court is always bustling. The lines can get ridiculously long, so I’ll only go to the food court during off-​peak times during the day. I have a thing for the rice balls at xxx, but every stall has something delicious to offer. When it’s busy, seating is pretty much limited. You’ll end up circling the tables like a vulture and trying to out race other people looking for seats. Parking is pretty much a similar situation when it’s busy. There are some spots in the back and to the left of the plaza, but not a lot. Just be forewarned.
It’s worth taking a trip to Edgewater to check out Mitsuwa. If you go, I also recommend stopping by the bookstore and gift shop in the same plaza, as well as checking out the view of the river. Highly recommended!

As someone who lived in Tokyo for a few months, Mitsuwa is a mecca for all things Japanese. It’s definitely a pain to get to from the city, but the supermarket + fantastic food court makes it easy to eat well and pick up everything you need.
Definitely schedule your trip around a mealtime, as you definitely don’t want to miss out on the food court. Mitsuwa offers everything a huge selection of sweet and savory, from classic ramen, tempura, and rice balls to ice cream, bakeries, and crepes. I unfortunately arrived just as many vendors were closing or taking last calls, but still managed to score a ramen and ikura set from Santouku; it was delicious and just the right size, but nothing I would solely make the trek to Mitsuwa for. I’m definitely sad I missed out on the soft serve from Matcha Love and the taiyaki stall, so make sure you come with plenty of time to eat and shop.
The supermarket itself has a fantastic selection of fresh and pre-​packaged Japanese goods, including huge beauty/​personal care and alcohol selections. The produce selection wasn’t that great and was a bit pricier (I actually preferred the supermarkets in Chinatown), but this also could have been because I came right at closing. Besides that, it was great to see a lot of the same snacks and products I enjoyed in Japan.
Next time, I’m coming early so I can take advantage of everything at Mitsuwa, including their freshly made/​pre-​packaged meals. It’s a great store for finding everything and anything Japanese in one space (especially if you live nearby), but nothing you can’t find spread out throughout Chinatown.