As soon as you pick up a weekly circular at the entrance to Mitsuwa, it becomes obvious you've entered a new world. "Enjoy Tasty Eel on Midsummer Day of the Ox!" the supermarket promotion exhorts. Odds are, you have no idea what Midsummer Day of the Ox is. But by the end of your visit, you'll probably be tempted to celebrate it with a healthy helping of soy-marinated eel.
Step into this Japanese food emporium, which has 9 locations scattered across California, Chicago, and New Jersey, and you're no longer on a simple quest for groceries—you're on a fully immersive tour of Japanese culture. Guided by Mitsuwa's official mascot Mi-Tan, a white bear-like creature wearing grocery-store overalls and a warm knit cap, signs throughout the store explain the medicinal benefits or cultural significance of everything from burdock root to marbled Wagyu beef. The Japanese obsession with seasonality is on full display, as the entrance to the produce aisle features fleeting, exotic produce, from wintry yuzu citrus to summery cherry blossoms.
At Mitsuwa, the food—and Japanese culture itself—reaches out to you. Cartoon characters festoon packages of tofu. A sashimi department offers pre-cut slabs of fish, just waiting for you to arrange them on rice. And in the food court, endless display cases house plastic food replicas, enticing you with surprisingly life-like models of ramen, katsu, and rice balls.
But Mitsuwa is more than a mere supermarket—it's, as they call it, a "marketplace." A food court just outside the supermarket often hosts "gourmet fairs" that celebrate the unique regional foods of Japan, from the sweet hairy crab of Hokkaido to the legendary fried chicken wings of Nagoya. Cultural performances vary from demonstrations on Japanese curry to samurai swordsmanship.
For Japanese-Americans, it's an oasis of their food-obsessed culture. For everyone else, it's probably the first place you'll encounter spicy cod roe—and the first time you'll be tempted to actually try it.