Mitsuwa Marketplace

Mitsuwa Corporation, doing business as Mitsuwa Marketplace (Japanese: ミツワマーケットプレイス, Hepburn: Mitsuwa Mākettopureisu) and commonly referred as Mitsuwa, is an American chain of Japanese supermarkets headquartered in Torrance, California. It was formed in March 1998 from Wanoba Group Inc.'s acquisition of Yaohan USA after the parent company, Yaohan, filed for bankruptcy.^[5] On December 21, 2012, Kamei Corporation acquired Wanoba Group Inc.^[6]

Mitsuwa is one of the largest Japanese supermarket chains in the United States, operating 13 store locations in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Texas. It features an extensive array of imported Japanese goods and products. In addition to their supermarket, most locations also offer food courts featuring mainly Japanese and other Asian cuisine. Some also host Japanese retail stores and services, such as Books Kinokuniya, Daiso, and Shiseido. Because of this, it is often referred as a mini-mall.

Under President Kazuo Wada's international expansion plans, Yaohan established subsidiary Yaohan USA by opening its first location in Fresno in 1979. Yaohan continued opening stores throughout California, such as Torrance and Costa Mesa.^[5][7][8]

In September 1988, Yaohan opened its first East Coast location in Edgewater, New Jersey.^[9] In September 1991, Yaohan expanded to Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It opened as the largest Japanese supermarket in the American Midwest.^[10] Both locations planned on constructing hotels with a Japanese communal tub on the rooftop. The purpose of the projects was drawing in local communities from around the areas. However, for reasons unknown, the projects never came to fruition.^[11][12] In 1992, the Torrance store relocated to a larger space in the city's eastern edge to account for increased popularity amongst Japanese-Americans.^[5]

In September 1997, Yaohan declared bankruptcy, citing the 1997 Asian financial crisis, stagnation of the Japanese retail market, and company debt of ¥171 billion, or $1.42 billion.^[13][14] In March 1998, Yaohan USA executives branched off to form a new company called Wanoba Group, Inc. and acquired the American locations. They used the assets to form a new subsidiary called Mitsuwa Corporation and rebranded the supermarkets as Mitsuwa Marketplace.^[15]

Throughout the 2000s, Mitsuwa continued operations. On January 25, 2009, the Los Angeles location in the Little Tokyo neighborhood closed due to Korean investors purchasing the property for $35 million.^[16][17] On December 17, 2011, Mitsuwa opened a new location in Irvine, California, their second supermarket in Orange County.^{[18] [19]}

On December 21, 2012, Kamei Corporation, a Japanese trading company, acquired Wanoba Group Inc. for $27.8 million with plans of retaining their management team and keeping business intact.^[6][20][21]

In 2017, Mitsuwa expanded to two U.S. states outside of California. On April 14, 2017, they entered the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with a store in Plano, Texas, the biggest city in Denton County. It was chosen for their large Asian population and the recently relocated headquarters of Toyota Motor North America from Torrance, California.^[22][23] On May 15, 2017, Mitsuwa opened in Waikīkī, Hawaii, with a new location at the International Market Place.^[24][25][26]

In 2019, Mitsuwa completed a major infrastructure renovation of the Chicago location with improved lighting, wider aisles, new walls, new flooring, and new restaurants to their food court.^[27] The company also announced it was relocating their Torrance location from Western Avenue to the Del Amo Fashion Center, debuting on February 12, 2020, with a modern, sleek look.^[28] The former building was then demolished in 2023 for a new project.^[5]

On January 21, 2023, Mitsuwa opened a new supermarket in Northridge, California, near California State University, Northridge. It is one of only two stores in California that does not host a food court, the other being in San Gabriel.^[29] On August 22, 2023, Mitsuwa renovated Waikīkī's food court into a food hall called The Japan with six new vendors.^[30][31] On November 1, 2025, Mitsuwa opened a new location in Cypress, California, their third supermarket in Orange County.^[32]

Mitsuwa offers a wide variety of imported Japanese products that are not often available in American grocery stores. The store carries a wide variety of ingredients essential in Japanese cuisine, like miso, rice grains, soy sauce, tea, and a variety of dried noodles (e.g. ramen, udon, soba). They are sold alongside popular Japanese snacks and drinks. For example, Calpis, Pocari Sweat, and Pretz. Mitsuwa also pre-packages Japanese convenience food daily, like onigiri, bento, karaage, and sandwiches. Mitsuwa NAGOMI, the supermarket's sushi deli, sells a variety of pre-packaged sushi, including inarizushi, makizushi, and nigirizushi. For non-food items, Mitsuwa provides Japanese cosmetics, kitchenware, and toiletries. They include rice cookers, chopsticks, bento boxes, and Japanese-style dishware.

Mitsuwa is best known for having food courts and specialty retail stores at most locations. The restaurants offer mostly Japanese and other Asian food, such as ramen, katsudon, and tempura. Some locations also offer Japanese specialty retail and services with key stores like Books Kinokuniya, Daiso, and Shiseido. Some Mitsuwa locations also have stores with Bandai Gashapon vending machines, and One Piece Card Game products and merchandise.

At most locations, Mitsuwa hosts a calendar of festivals and fairs. Often, they are sales events to promote deals and discounts on goods using free samples, demonstrations, limited supply, and guest celebrities like Japanese comedian Kenji Tamura. The events have highlighted store brands (i.e. Ito En, Koikeya), specific cuisine (i.e. sake, Berkshire pork), foods from Japanese prefectures and regions (i.e. Hokkaido, Ishikawa, Tōhoku), and anime (i.e. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Naruto: Shippuden).

The New Jersey location hosts an annual summer festival, or natsu matsuri, around August. The outdoor event showcases various entertainment filled with music or dance. These include bon odori (spiritual circle dance), taiko (percussion), yosakoi (energetic festival dance), hula dancing, and local band performances. For food, local vendors sell a variety of savory and sweet food, such as takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and kakigōri. They also offer traditional games and activities, like yo-yo balloons, karaoke, and cosplay contests.^[33][34]

• San Francisco County
  • San Jose
• Los Angeles County
  • Northridge
  • San Gabriel
  • Santa Monica
  • Torrance
• Orange County
  • Costa Mesa
  • Cypress
  • Irvine
• San Diego County
  • San Diego

• Honolulu County
  • Waikīkī

• Cook County
  • Arlington Heights

• Bergen County
  • Edgewater

• Denton County
  • Plano

• 99 Ranch Market
• H Mart
• Kam Man Food
• Marukai Corporation U.S.A.
• Nijiya Market
• T&T Supermarket

• Official Mitsuwa Marketplace Site
• Mitsuwa Marketplace – NJ Store (in Japanese Language) (Archive)