Right along the Hudson River waterfront in Edgewater, New Jersey, with a clear view of the Manhattan skyline from the parking lot, sits one of the most distinctive shopping destinations in North Jersey. Mitsuwa Marketplace isn't just a grocery store. It's a genuine slice of Japan transplanted into Bergen County, and it draws crowds from across the tri-state area every single day of the week.
How It Got Here
Mitsuwa's New Jersey location has a longer history than the Mitsuwa name itself. It opened in September 1988 as Yaohan Plaza, the first East Coast location of Yaohan USA, a Japanese supermarket chain that had been expanding across California since 1979 under company president Kazuo Wada. The Edgewater store was actually meant to be part of something bigger: plans at the time included constructing an adjoining hotel with a Japanese communal bathhouse on the roof, an ambitious project intended to draw the surrounding community in further. That hotel project never materialized, but the store itself became a fixture regardless.
Yaohan's broader operations ran into financial trouble in the 1990s, and the company was eventually acquired and rebranded. Mitsuwa Corporation, now headquartered in Torrance, California and operating as a subsidiary of Japan's Kamei Corporation, was formally established in March 1998 and took over the Edgewater location along with several of Yaohan's other former stores. Today Mitsuwa operates 13 locations across California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Texas, and the Edgewater store remains one of the chain's flagship East Coast locations, still open 365 days a year.
What's in the Grocery Store
The core of Mitsuwa is its supermarket, stocked with an enormous range of goods imported directly from Japan: fresh and frozen seafood, including sushi-grade fish, seasonal produce, snacks, condiments, frozen foods, meats, and a genuinely wide selection of Japanese beverages. For many shoppers in the area, it's the only place within driving distance to reliably find specific Japanese brands and ingredients that don't show up in a typical American grocery store, giving the trip a real function beyond novelty.
The Food Court: The Real Draw for Many Visitors
Mitsuwa's food court has built its own dedicated following, separate from the grocery side of the business entirely. It features multiple stalls run by established Japanese food brands rather than a generic mall food court lineup, including Santouka Ramen, known for its tonkotsu-style broths, Tendon Hannosuke for tempura rice bowls, and Wateishoku Kaneda for home-style Japanese cooking. Beyond the main counters, visitors can find sushi, sashimi, and bento boxes made with genuine Japanese short-grain rice, along with donburi (rice bowl dishes), udon, and tonkatsu. Specialty dessert kiosks round things out with items like mochi donuts and coffee jelly, and a cafe serves matcha-based drinks and pastries.
Beyond Food: The Retail Side
What sets Mitsuwa apart from a standard Asian grocery store is the retail ecosystem built up around it. The complex includes a Kinokuniya bookstore stocked with manga, anime merchandise, and Japanese stationery, a Daiso 100-yen shop for affordable Japanese home goods, and a Shiseido counter for Japanese beauty and skincare products. A dedicated Japanese bakery, gift shops carrying Japanese delicacies, and a liquor store stocking Japanese beer, sake, and whiskey round out the retail lineup, along with rotating specialty shops that come and go over time.
Why It's Become So Well Known
It functions as a genuine cultural destination, not just a store. Visitors regularly describe the experience as feeling like a quick trip to Japan without leaving New Jersey, a combination of full grocery shopping, a real food court, and retail variety that few other Asian markets in the region have managed to replicate in one location.
Its location genuinely matters. Sitting directly on the Hudson waterfront with a Manhattan skyline view, and accessible via the George Washington Bridge or a direct bus route from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Mitsuwa pulls visitors from both New Jersey and New York City rather than serving only its immediate neighborhood.
It hosts real cultural events, not just sales. Mitsuwa runs seasonal festivals in its parking lot, including a summer Bon Odori traditional Japanese folk dance event and taiko drum performances, alongside festival food like yakitori, takoyaki, and shaved ice, turning the marketplace into an actual community gathering point rather than just a retail stop.
Decades of consistency have built real loyalty. Regular customers describe visiting once or twice a month for years, treating specific food court items, like the ramen shop's salt or tonkotsu broth, as a genuine local tradition rather than an occasional novelty.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Mitsuwa Marketplace open in New Jersey?
The Edgewater location opened in September 1988 under the Yaohan Plaza name, before the store was later acquired and rebranded as Mitsuwa Marketplace following Yaohan's 1990s restructuring.
What food is available at Mitsuwa's food court?
The food court includes multiple established Japanese food vendors serving ramen, tempura rice bowls, sushi, sashimi, bento, udon, tonkatsu, and donburi, along with dessert stalls offering items like mochi donuts and coffee jelly.
What other stores are inside Mitsuwa Marketplace?
Beyond the supermarket and food court, the complex includes a Kinokuniya bookstore, a Daiso 100-yen shop, a Shiseido beauty counter, a Japanese bakery, gift shops, and a liquor store carrying Japanese beer, sake, and whiskey.
Is Mitsuwa Marketplace only for people who already cook Japanese food?
No. While the grocery section serves shoppers looking for specific Japanese ingredients, the food court, bakery, and retail shops are built for anyone interested in Japanese food and culture, regardless of whether they're shopping to cook at home.
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