Los Angeles has more Japanese grocery stores than any other city in the U.S. Centered on Torrance and Gardena in the South Bay and extending to Little Tokyo, Sawtelle and Orange County, there are 22 stores from just three chains: Mitsuwa, Tokyo Central (formerly Marukai) and Nijiya. In this article, we have compiled the stores whose addresses and hours we could confirm on each chain’s official website. We hope it helps if you have just moved here or are looking for a store near your home.
What you’ll learn in this article
- Addresses and hours of 22 Japanese grocery stores in LA and Orange County
- What sets each chain apart (food courts, selection, price range) and how to choose by area
- Delivery services for when you can’t get to a store, plus shopping tips
Addresses and hours were checked on each chain’s official website as of October 15, 2026. Each company states clearly that hours “may change without notice.” Many stores have shortened hours on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day, so please check the official website before you go.
Store list (by area)
| Store | Address | Hours | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitsuwa Torrance (Del Amo) | 3525 W Carson St #164, Torrance | Daily 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | Largest food court. Santouka, Kinokuniya |
| Nijiya Torrance | 2121 W 182nd St, Torrance | Daily 9 a.m.–10 p.m. | Organic and house-brand products |
| Nijiya Rolling Hills | 2533B Pacific Coast Hwy, Torrance | Daily 10 a.m.–8 p.m. | On PCH. Small store |
| Tokyo Central PCH Torrance | 3665 Pacific Coast Hwy, Torrance | Daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m. | Hot buffet, food court |
| Tokyo Central Torrance | 3832 W Sepulveda Blvd, Torrance | Daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m. | Sushi and bento, party trays |
| Tokyo Central Gardena | 1740 Artesia Blvd, Gardena | Daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m. | Go Go Curry on-site |
| Tokyo Central & Main Pacific | 1620 W Redondo Beach Blvd, Gardena | Daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m. | Formerly Pacific Market |
| Marukai Market Little Tokyo | 123 S Onizuka St #105, Los Angeles | Daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m. | Inside Weller Court. Still uses the Marukai name |
| Nijiya Little Tokyo | 124 Japanese Village Plaza Mall, Los Angeles | Daily 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | Easy to stop by while sightseeing |
| Marukai Market West LA | 12121 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles | Daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m. | Large store on the Westside |
| Nijiya West LA (Sawtelle) | 2130 Sawtelle Blvd #105, Los Angeles | Officially listed as 9 a.m.–11:30 p.m. | At the heart of Sawtelle Japantown |
| Mitsuwa Santa Monica | 3760 S Centinela Ave, Los Angeles | Daily 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | Santouka, Kinokuniya |
| Mitsuwa Northridge | 8940 Tampa Ave, Northridge | Daily 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | The only one in the San Fernando Valley |
| Mitsuwa San Gabriel | 515 W Las Tunas Dr, San Gabriel | Daily 9 a.m.–8 p.m. | Closes one hour earlier |
| Nijiya Puente Hills | 17869 Colima Rd, City of Industry | Daily 10 a.m.–8 p.m. | Toward East LA |
| Tokyo Central West Covina | 1420 S Azusa Ave, West Covina | Daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m. | Eastern San Gabriel Valley |
| Mitsuwa Costa Mesa | 665 Paularino Ave, Costa Mesa | Daily 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | Largest in OC. Daiso on-site |
| Tokyo Central Costa Mesa | 2975 Harbor Blvd, Costa Mesa | Daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m. | Hot buffet, omusubi (rice balls) |
| Mitsuwa Irvine | 14230 Culver Dr, Irvine | Daily 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | Santouka, Hamada-Ya |
| Tokyo Central Irvine | 14120 Culver Dr, Irvine | Daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m. | On the same street as Mitsuwa |
| Mitsuwa Cypress | 4955 Katella Ave, Cypress | Daily 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | New store. Santouka, Omusubi Gonbei |
| Tokyo Central Yorba Linda | 18171 Imperial Hwy, Yorba Linda | Daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m. | Ramen and hand-roll sushi shops on-site |
What each chain offers
Mitsuwa Marketplace
A large store with a wide range of Japanese foods, Mitsuwa has seven locations in Southern California (four in LA County, three in Orange County), plus stores in San Jose, Chicago, New Jersey, Texas and Waikiki. The draw of LA’s Mitsuwa stores is the restaurant row inside. The Torrance (Del Amo) store has Santouka for ramen, Sutadon ya, Mugimaru + Toritetsu for udon and yakitori, Tendon Tempura Carlos Jr for tempura rice bowls, Yamacho Hasegawa for fresh fish, Hamada-Ya for bread, J.sweets for Japanese sweets, Mochill for onigiri (rice balls), Yamari for matcha and NAGOMI for sushi and prepared foods, as well as Books Kinokuniya, Shiseido and the Bandai Gashapon Official Shop (according to the tenant list on the official website).
Every store is open daily 9 a.m.–9 p.m., except the San Gabriel store, which is open 9 a.m.–8 p.m. and closes an hour earlier, so keep that in mind. Despite its name, the Santa Monica store is located on Centinela Ave in the City of Los Angeles, about a five-minute drive from Sawtelle Japantown. At the newly opened Cypress store (4955 Katella Ave), the retail tenants are still listed as “to be announced” on the official website, so more shops are yet to come.
- Official website: mitsuwa.com (store pages: Torrance / Santa Monica / Northridge / San Gabriel / Costa Mesa / Irvine / Cypress)
Tokyo Central / Marukai Market
This chain is run by Marukai Corporation, founded in 1965, and a few years ago many of its stores changed their name to Tokyo Central. As of October 2026, only two stores still carry the Marukai name: the West LA store (12121 W Pico Blvd) and the Little Tokyo store (123 S Onizuka St, inside Weller Court). There are 10 grocery stores in LA County and Orange County, and Little Tokyo also has Tokyo Central Little Tokyo Kawaii, a shop specializing in character goods and stationery (in the same building at #101B, daily 11 a.m.–8 p.m.).
It has the longest hours of the three chains: every store is open daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m. The official website says hours are 8 a.m.–7 p.m. on Thanksgiving, December 25 and January 1. Another feature is that every store accepts EBT and offers Instacart same-day delivery and curbside pickup. The PCH Torrance, Costa Mesa and Yorba Linda stores have a Hot Buffet, where hot prepared dishes are sold by weight. The PCH Torrance store has a food court with Jiro Style Ramen, Okonomiyaki Chibo, Kimukatsu and Pasta Stories, plus Fresh Rice Yasuda for omusubi (rice balls). The Yorba Linda store has Hand Roll Factory (hand-roll sushi) and Jiro Style Ramen, and according to news on the official website, a Kimukatsu Express is also set to open there.
- Official website: tokyocentral.com (addresses, phone numbers and hours for all stores: Locations)
Nijiya Market
A chain founded in San Diego in 1986 and headquartered in Torrance. Under the banner “Natural, Organic, Healthy, and Gourmet,” its selling points are its house-brand foods, vegetables from its own farm (Nijiya Farm) and additive-free prepared foods. Its stores are smaller than those of the other two chains and have no food court, but they carry a wide variety of bento, onigiri and sushi, which makes them good for picking up lunch.
In Southern California there are five stores, in Torrance (2121 W 182nd St, 9 a.m.–10 p.m.), Rolling Hills (2533B Pacific Coast Hwy, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.), West LA (2130 Sawtelle Blvd #105), Little Tokyo (124 Japanese Village Plaza Mall, 9 a.m.–9 p.m.) and Puente Hills (17869 Colima Rd, City of Industry, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.), plus one in San Diego. The hours on the official website are labeled “Temporary Store Hours,” and for the West LA store they read “9:00am–11:30pm.” That is much later than the other stores, so if you plan to go at night, it’s safer to call (310-575-3300) and confirm before heading out.
- Official website: nijiya.com (store list: Store Location)
How to choose by area
Torrance and Gardena (South Bay)
Many expatriate employees of Japanese companies live in this area, and 7 of the 22 stores are concentrated here. For big weekend shopping trips, go to Mitsuwa Torrance, where you can also eat at the food court, or one of the Tokyo Central stores, which are open until 10 p.m. For picking up prepared foods on a weekday evening, Nijiya Torrance is convenient. Along PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), Nijiya Rolling Hills and Tokyo Central PCH are about a mile apart.
Little Tokyo and Downtown
Even Little Tokyo, a tourist area, has two proper Japanese grocery stores: Nijiya inside Japanese Village Plaza and Marukai Market in Weller Court. Marukai stays open late, 8 a.m.–10 p.m., so people who work downtown can use it for shopping on their way home. Parking is paid, and it gets crowded on weekends. Taking the Metro A/E Line (Little Tokyo/Arts District station) is the easy way to get there.
West LA and Santa Monica
The area around Sawtelle Blvd is a Japanese restaurant district known as Sawtelle Japantown, and Nijiya sits at its center. For bigger shopping trips, head to Marukai Market West LA on Pico Blvd or Mitsuwa Santa Monica on Centinela Ave. These three stores are all within a 5–10 minute drive of each other, so you can visit all of them in one day.
San Fernando Valley and San Gabriel Valley
The Valley areas have few stores, and Mitsuwa in Northridge is the only Japanese grocery store on the north side. On the east side, your options are Mitsuwa in San Gabriel (closes at 8 p.m.), Tokyo Central in West Covina and Nijiya Puente Hills in City of Industry.
Orange County
In Costa Mesa, Mitsuwa (665 Paularino Ave) and Tokyo Central (2975 Harbor Blvd) are a five-minute drive apart, and in Irvine, Mitsuwa and Tokyo Central sit side by side on the same street, Culver Dr. Mitsuwa Costa Mesa has many tenants, including Santouka, Don Don Tei, Gyutan Tsukasa and Daiso Japan, and is the largest Japanese grocery store in Orange County. In the north, Mitsuwa in Cypress and Tokyo Central in Yorba Linda have joined the lineup.
Delivery services
Weee!, an Asian grocery delivery service, lists Los Angeles as a delivery area on its official website and has a dedicated Japanese food store. It advertises free delivery on your first five orders, but the minimum order amount and regular delivery fees are not clearly stated on the official website, so please check on the order screen. Tokyo Central stores offer Instacart same-day delivery. It’s easier if you split it up: have heavy items like rice and seasonings delivered, and buy fresh foods and prepared dishes in the store. We cover delivery options in New York in Japanese grocery stores in New York and New Jersey.
Shopping tips and things to watch out for
- Paying at the food court: At Mitsuwa’s restaurant row, each restaurant has its own register. Credit cards are accepted, but you will end up making several small payments
- Parking: Suburban stores have free parking lots, but the two Little Tokyo stores and Nijiya on Sawtelle have small lots that may charge a fee. It gets crowded at midday on weekends
- Holidays: Tokyo Central is open 8 a.m.–7 p.m. on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Mitsuwa and Nijiya post notices on their official websites shortly beforehand
- Year-end and New Year: Reservations and sales of osechi (traditional New Year’s dishes), mochi and toshikoshi soba (New Year’s Eve noodles) start in mid-December. Please check each store’s official website and flyers
- Stores we could not confirm on an official website: We have not listed addresses or hours for Seiwa Market, which has stores in Torrance and Costa Mesa, because we could not find an official website. Nijiya’s Costa Mesa store is also not on the official store list
Other cities have clusters of Japanese grocery stores too. For San Francisco, see A guide to exploring San Francisco’s Japantown, and for Hawaii, see Japanese grocery stores in Hawaii (Oahu).
Frequently asked questions
Which store has the biggest selection?
For variety of food and store size, it’s Mitsuwa Torrance and Mitsuwa Costa Mesa, and the same two stores also have the most extensive restaurant rows. If you also want Japanese household goods and even appliances, the large Tokyo Central stores (PCH Torrance, Gardena, Costa Mesa) are a good fit.
Are Marukai and Tokyo Central different stores?
They are the same company (Marukai Corporation). Many stores were renamed Tokyo Central, and as of October 2026 only the West LA and Little Tokyo stores use the Marukai name. The current official website does not mention the annual fee from the days when it was a membership store.
Which stores can I get to without a car?
Nijiya and Marukai Market in Little Tokyo are within walking distance of Metro’s Little Tokyo/Arts District station. Nijiya on Sawtelle is within walking distance of Expo/Bundy station on the Metro E Line. For the other stores, a car or a ride-hailing app is the realistic option.
Summary
The basic approach to LA’s Japanese grocery stores is to use the three chains for different purposes: Mitsuwa, where you can also eat at the food court; Tokyo Central/Marukai, open until 10 p.m. with a large selection; and Nijiya for organic products and prepared foods. If you live in the South Bay, you have plenty of choices, and even the Valley areas and Orange County have one or two stores in each area. We will update this article as soon as we learn of store openings, closures or changes in hours.
Sources and references (checked October 15, 2026)
- Mitsuwa Marketplace (store pages)
- Tokyo Central: Locations
- Nijiya Market: Store Location
- Nijiya Market: About Us
- Weee!: Asian groceries delivered to Los Angeles
This article is also available in Japanese.
