Japan Centre

Based in the centre of London, right near Piccadilly Circus underground station, is the best place I’ve been to for Japanese food, drinks, and treats.
The immediate entrance does not have much, but you very quickly go up the escalator to the main store. This is when you find out that while it’s not the largest store, it’s very reasonably sized for the location. The chilled food section immediately in front of you contains so many food options that it would take quite awhile to get bored.
They also have a deli, frozen food section, a meat counter, and a well sized collection of booze and snacks. That may all sound a bit dull but it can be challenging to find many of these items.
It’s simple. If you want Japanese goods, you go to Japan Centre. They even have a hot food stand outside.
And for those like me who aren’t normally based in London, their website delivers.

It was fine. We got the 50% off take out sushi at 8pm so a meal for 2 people for 10£ — can’t complain. Fish is fresh but the maki were kinda dry and fell apart.
Interesting story– we’d heard about the 8pm markdown but there were no signs. It was 3 minutes to 8 so I asked 2 separate staff who said they knew nothing about this. The man at the sushi counter actually said they do not do this, maybe I was thinking of somewhere else! Wonder if that was a tactic to get us to pay full price?!

Love this place, since I’m a big fan of Japanese snacks. (Anything that’s matcha flavored hehehe) Apart from snacks there’s also hot food and groceries, Japanese books and magazines and bento boxes etc.

A Japanese supermarket with hot food options, they’re a little expensive (both on the supermarket and hot food sides) but the food is quick, hot and good. They discontinued my favourite item a while ago (double heat beef with udon noodles) but at least they still do beef sukiyaki. It’s not made fresh to order but it is topped up on a regular basis.
The sushi looks good but I’ve never tried it, normally going for the hot options. I generally prefer to buy my sushi freshly made instead of prepackaged, no matter how recently it was prepared.
I normally buy my curry base from here and the price is comparable to elsewhere but there are items here that are way more expensive than buying in Chinatown just a short walk away, for me this is the place for Japanese essentials, not general Asian food shopping.

Trying to avoid flocks of tourist groups? Head here early.
Given that it’s right off Piccadilly Circus you can expect this place to be heaving with people from nationality that decide to visit London. But I think that speaks volumes for how great this Japanese supermarket come café this is.
Sushi is a steal, all freshly made with a huge variety to choose from. You’re not looking at paying out the nose here, everything is cheap as chips without the actual quality suffering for it. If you’re more inclined to favor anything adorable, if you manage to beat the other cute hunters, you can pick up Hello Kitty/​Totoro shaped sweet custard buns for around £1 fresh from their bakery. There’s a great selection of mochi, red bean pancakes and all kinds of wonderful baked goods to pick up too.
If you’re looking for a taste of Japan without having to pay the actual plane fare, then this really is the place to visit. Want to whip up some great Japanese meal at home? Got you covered with everything from frozen dim sum to pink noodles to sauces and even sweets. Need something to eat your noodles out of? Again, Japan Centre have your back! Home ware, kitchen ware, cat shaped soy sauce holders for your pack lunch boxes? Yep, they have that too!

2 weeks ago I visited the Japan Centre, which is near the Piccadilly Circus station. In front of the Center they are selling some hot foods such as different buns and also Matcha ice cream and shaved ice. By stairs you can go directly into the actual part of Japan Centre.
This Centre is an actual japanese supermarket! Many different sweets and snacks are sold here. Same goes for drinks, which includes Ramune. Also Mangas, J-​Rock magazines, and japanese Maneki neko are sold here. I liked the fact, that they sell cute character bread such as a Totoro looking bread. Of course there is London and not Berlin which means you need to pay much money for all, that you wanna buy there. That made me buy nothing this time didn’t wanna spend 4,00 € for a character bread. But if I’ve saved up enough I’ll return next time and get various things! My next visit to London and Japan Centre will definately happen. Very great store and better than what we have in Berlin. Sadly. Thanks and keep up the good work, Japan Centre!

Not sure how I missed this place for so long (perhaps due to the semi-​hidden entrance) but I’m glad I found it now. Upon entering and reaching the end of the escalator up, you’re suddenly surrounded by a vast selection of Japanese food (both hot and cold), cooking ingredients, sweets and snacks, as well as some household cookery items and other miscellany.
I’ve only been a couple of times, and picked up a few interesting snacks. Everything’s (usually) labelled with English so it’s not too scary when deciding whether or not to buy the brightly-​coloured packet of food staring at you from the shelf.
However, it should be noted that (presumably due to the import process) everything is fairly expensive here. It also seems to be very very busy (possibly to the layout of the shelves, which doesn’t particularly help — aisles seem very narrow). But if you’re looking for something authentically Japanese I would wager they have it here somewhere.

I love their fresh ready to go meals… if you get there at the right time a couple of hours before closing time, you’d fine some amazing bargains for fresh sashimi and sushi that go for half the price! They also offer hot food and you can sit in the to enjoy or take away. This shop also offers all the snacks and Japanese cooking ingredients you’d ever need all in one place. Love!

Really surprising in a very busy area but somehow not extremely crowded inside; guess it’s well hidden. Crazy Japanese snacks and drinks! The sushi is delicious and really not too pricy. Perfect spot to go and buy ingredients for Japanese cooking at home.

I love Japan Centre!
I’ve come here a few times to buy nori, rice, and fish for at-​home sushi making. This place is the Mecca of Japanese food in London. The selection of products is seriously impressive, especially for a shop located in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Piccadilly Circus. The staff is also really helpful and friendly!
The only downside is that a lot of the prices are really marked up. I can’t seem to walk out this place without spending less than £30!

What a cute selection of Japanese snacks and goodies, in the hustle and bustle of the city! In addition to a bunch of packaged snacks and candy, they also have books, small toys, cooking & eating tools, pastries & bread, and freshly made food! It’s a lot of fun to browse around. Be prepared for price inflation due to cost of importation.
The food is sold at a separate deli-​type counter. We couldn’t resist grabbing some sashimi since legit Japanese food seems to be difficult to find in London. It looked, tasted, and smelled so fresh! (And by smell, I mean the lack thereof.) You can eat a full meal here, or grab takeout, too! Think noodles, fried food, gyoza, and more.
The staff is quite friendly and the place is clearly well maintained and spotless. If I lived in London, I’d probably come here often.

You can find a lot of Japanese things there! It’s perfect for authentic porcelain, chopstick, sake, rise vinegar and so on.
You can also buy they sushi and sashimi set which looks delicious :) and the price is alright

This place is delicious and hits a lot of the right notes for me. Affordable sushi that still has the right tang of vinegar, the right ‘mouthfeel’ (I hate that word; forgive me for using it) of rice? It’s hard to find in Londontown. Japan Centre is the spot to go for affordable grab-​and-​go sushi that doesn’t make you cry. There. Soundbite *that*.
[there’s an extremely wide range, too, from both white rice and brown rice *and* combo options. I don’t see brown rice as regularly on offer here as I used to back home in ‘murrica, so it’s nice to pop in for a brown rice /​avocado maki when I’m in the ‘hood]
I had heard a lot about Japan Centre before I finally visited which was probably its downfall; I built expectations up way too high. Moving to London from a place with 4 Chinatowns, it’s hard not to compare (I know, I know; this is unfair!).
I flip flop:
i. some of the prices hit me hard (like, say, my very favourite Japanese gummies which are 1.25 at home and 4 pounds here), but then I’m soothed by the selection of sake!
ii. I find the bakery section and selection disappointing, but the hot food «cafeteria-​style» dumplings chock-​a-​block full with pork and kimchi make my day!
Y’see? Flip flopping.
Snacks and dried noodles and ramen bowls, etc. etc., but really I come back and back for the grab-​and-​go sushi. And you should, too!
Special shout-​out to the wakame salad: you get a nice pre-​packed plastic container of it for 4 GBP and it is seasoned *perfectly* with just the slightest chili kick. Seaweed, sesame, a touch of heat — it’s my fave wakame salad in the city.
Unilocal note: many «non-​raw-​fish» sushi options here, from a seared beef nigiri to maki filled with teriyaki chicken and cooked prawn and pickled veggies, etc.

Review summary… oh how I love this place! (There, that was easy… wasn’t it?)
I’ve been lucky enough to work near here off and on for the past few months, and almost always pop into here for a healthy lunch… it’s miles better than Yo Sushi and Wasabi, not that those places are bad, they simply have more varied options here that come across more authentic. (Don’t even get me started and the gyozas, glorious gyozas!)
A testament to the wonder of this place is that I always go in for the standard lunch items, but walk out with something else all to often… whether it be Green Tea Kit Kats, some type of dessert I’ve never seen before, a random condiment, or even bowl adorned with something random, I can’t help but pick a treasure when popping in. My last trip in I actually purchased some «very hot» something a rather, in a salt and shake type container, and let me tell you… whoa! I’m always surprised when something that is advertised as hot actually is so… I split a container with a friend and he couldn’t finish his, and while I did… it was definitely a scorcher, I couldn’t even pretend otherwise… a bit of a surprise given wasabi is the only other thing I associate Japan with when it comes to spice. I digress.
The place itself is well organised, and almost always bustling… the staff are still friendly however.
One of the things I really like about this place is that while it’s very «Japanese», it’s not over the top… while that in and of itself is an amazing thing to be immersed in and definitely reminds me of certain parts of Tokyo, it’s nice to be able to go here and just browse through what they have sans distraction… this is especially nice given the area in the midst of a heavily touristed area.
If you like sushi, Japanese food and/​or groceries, or just a bit of random, then you simply must pop in here if in the area.

If you’re a fan of Japanese culture and food, then this is your place to be. I got a few asian friends and when was in London they wanted to go in here to do a bit of shopping.
Store isn’t big but it is packed with so many asian products. They really used the space well to fit in everything. There is cooked food also they sell that’s cooked by their chefs.
My friends wanted to get some green teas and other food thet I have no idea what it was. I only recognised the sesame ball-​thing lol
Nice little store. I guess if you grew up in asia or used to have something from there, you will pretty much find it here.

(Review is for the to-​go food only)
Came here this afternoon for the first time with a friend who’s been before. I had no idea such a treasure trove of Japanese food and products was here next to bustling Piccadilly all this time.
The 3 stars is for the food… and a perplexing ordering system.
I ordered the double heat beef soup with Udon noodles, and my friend had something else. You get a large to-​go bowl, and for the quantity £6.40 was definitely reasonable… I just wish it tasted better than it did. It wasn’t awful by any means, it just wasn’t great. My friend ate a rice-​based dish and wasn’t wowed either, but our disappointment didn’t linger too long thanks to the good price-​points.
I hardly cook, so I’d have no business visiting to buy food products/​groceries there (otherwise I’d give it 4)…but if you want authentic Japanese groceries & products, this will be your heaven!

With the demise of the Japan Centre on Lower Regent Street, this branch has become even more of a firm favourite for me
With a street snack stall (decent takoyaki) at its entrance, you enter by riding an escalator. At the top, you’ll find a medium sized supermarket selling Japanese and a few other Asian foodstuffs and a canteen style restaurant
I mainly come here for some of the best value sushi and sahimi in the capital. I buy both pre=packed or I sometimes buy raw fish from the fresh fish counter to slice and eat at home
If you have a recipe requiring Japanese ingredients, this is a good place to find them. Japan Centre supplied me the raw materials for a pretty good version of Nobu’s black miso cod recently
I haven’t tried any of the restaurant food from this location yet as the seating space is minimal
Well worth a visit

I miss my Mitsuwas from living in California. That was like the Disneyland of Japanese markets. But Japan Centre is a good substitute in the meantime.
Japan Centre is good in that you can get a variety of Japanese things, from salad oil to (14 quid…) Green Tea Kit Kats, Hello Kitty shaped buns, sushi, udon/​ramen/​soba, meat for shabu, comics. Hot food ends at 9 pm, but you can get discounted sushi if you come at night. And octopus balls by the entrance too. There isn’t a lot of fresh produce if you’re looking for that, you might as well go to Chinatown for that.
Selection of instant noodle is awesome too, they sell green tea soba zomg!

Oooh I quite like the new location for the Japan Centre.
I like the sparkly walls as you go up the escalator into Japan-​land. I also love that it reminds me of a small inaka supermarket in Japan.
My colleague and I went in today to buy lots of instant ramen to give away at our ramen event tonight. We needed 70 cup ramen, in as many flavours as we could find. The Japan centre had sooo many in stock, that even with us removing 70, of various types, we hardly made a dent in their well-​stocked shelves.
They lose a star because you can buy many Japanese goods elsewhere cheaper. However I don’t think anywhere else has such an impressive selection.

So now the Japan Centre has moved to a new location. After the large Japanese department store mitsouri closed down in regents at all the business in the same block seem to have moved elsewhere. The Japan Centre has relocated to the end of Shaftesbury Avenue closest to Piccadilly Circus.
Upon entering the store you have I go up an escalator, which is going to make it difficult for anyone with any access needs to enter. As you ascend into the new store you pass a mosaic of mirrors on the wall, which is very dated.
On arrival into the store it isn’t as big as the previous store and I couldn’t see an eating area, but he hot food hasn’t arrived yet. As they have only opened under a week ago on my first visit the store still felt like it was being unpacked. I did notice however that they now have a bakery selection of freshly baked Japanese goods.
Compared to the last store it’s just not as nice and it’s going to take some getting used to. It’s just a shame that they had to leave.

Pour faire ses courses japonais, c’est parfait. On peut y acheter des petits plateaux de sushi ou autre pour (pas trop) cher. On peut manger sur place moyennant un supplément.
Très pratique avant d’aller voir une comédie musicale…

Ein absolutes Paradies für Japanische Waren!
Wer aus Deutschland die Japanischen Waren überhaupt nicht oder nur total teuer und ohne große Auswahl kennt aber gerne hätte, sollte hier mal unbedingt reinschauen.
Ich fand die riesige Kühltheke absolut genial. Viele Sorten Mochis, Puddinge, Japanische Desserts, Kuchen, Sushi, Gemüse etc.
Ich bin auch mit vielen Sachen fündig geworden, die Essens-​Spielereien sind. Kleine Figuren-​Förmchen, die zum Formen /​Pressen von Reis oder einem gekochten Ei dienen.
Verschiedene Bento und Lunchboxen usw. Bön Bons und Gummies aller Fruchtigkeiten ;-) die ich auch liebe.
Es gibt sicherlich in London noch mehr Asia– oder Japan-​Läden mit all den Kleinigkeiten, die das Herz begehrt, aber dieses war der erste Laden, den ich bei meinem Kurzbesuch betreten habe. Dementsprechend war meine Euphorie und meine Augen groß! ;-)
Wir waren zuvor im dazugehörigen Tea Shop und Restaurant nebenan.
Das Essen war absolut lecker und sehr sehr gut und authentisch. Die Auswahl war groß und exquisit! Die Preise für Londoner Verhältnisse und Niveau des Essens waren günstig.
Ich hatte eine japanisch-​chinesische Nudelsuppe mit Char Siu (gegrilltem marinierten Schweinefleisch) und Spinat.
Sehr Sehr lecker und eine riesige Schüssel! ;-)
Der Tee schmeckte auch hervorragend.
Es war probbevoll an dem Wochenende zum Mittagessen.
Wir hatten Glück recht früh dort gewesen zu sein, so daß der Schwall erst nach uns eintrudelte.
Es ist ein schönes Restaurant. Die volle Mittagszeit ist nicht gerade ein relaxtes Ambiente, weil die Geräuschekulisse einfach enorm ist. Aber das Personal und der Service sind absolute Spitze. Sehr freundlich, sehr aufmerksam, schnell und höflich.
Für kleine Appetitanreger stehen hausgemachte Wasabi-​ummantelte Erdnüsse parat.
Ein sehr authentisches und vertrauenserweckendes Essenskonzept (sie haben mehrere Infoschilder gehabt, die etwas über ihre Prinzipien und Auswahl an Zutaten und Zubereitungen für ihre Gerichte informieren).
Im Untergeschoss befindet sich die Take out Theke für Sushi und der Tee Spezialitäten und Süßigkeiten Shop
Hierher komme ich auf jeden Fall wieder.
Im Untergeschoss befindet sich auch die Toilette. Die ist kaum zumutbar im hintersten Eck. Um dorthin zukommen geht man durch enge verzweigte Gänge und kommt sich vor, wie im Hinterausgang oder Personalausgang. Das ist ein echter Punktabzug. Allerdings fand ich dafür alles andere so perfekt und überaus toll, dass es insgesamt bei 5 Sternen bleibt.