Tokyo Central

Store name is Tokyo Central, but…
Delicatessen — sushi rice is too sweet,
Main floor– mixture of Asian products? Including Hawaiian food?

The sushi was not good. I got individually wrapped sushi since I wanted to chose my own selection. My selection cost between $ 1-​$ 2 per sushi with a total of $ 9. I got spicy scallop, unagi, ikura, tuna, Saba and crab. Unagi was not cooked well. It was chewy and cold. Saba and spicy scallop was a little fishy. Only the tuna was decent. I don’t think I would give it another go.

Mimi, who works at the poke station on Saturdays, is amazing! She’s very fast at preparing orders, engages with customers and answers all the questions. I usually drop by after 2 PM when the lines are shorter.
I love that their toppings are free! Great quality food at an affordable price.

I can literally spend all-​day at this place. This store has your regular grocery sections, such as the meat, produce, and seafood aisles, but they also have aisles with cute bento lunch boxes, chopsticks, containers, origami, adorable plushies, etc. There is even a section for matcha!!! Specialty ethnic items like Japanese curry mixes, noodles, and even pre-​cut meats are reasonably-​priced and can be pretty inexpensive.

Love coming here!
We go back and forth between living in Newport Coast & Takaido Tokyo, Japan and this is where we find the stuff we love back home in Japan.
The employees is what makes this place special, we absolutely LOVE Jeff and look for him everytime we are there. He is always extremely helpful and always a total delight to see!!!
Great selection, hard workers, love this place

I like this place a lot– sushi quality and price is reasonable;
Food court –is excellent!
Vicinity –clean;

Much, much better since the name change. Very organized and clean and super helpful. one time, I forgot my card and a really nice worker helped me get a temporary card. Great selection of everything from toys to the sushi bar, they have everything here you need. I am always looking at the beauty products here. This is the type of place for a quick shop to cook a quick healthy meal after work. Always an enjoyable experience. Onigiri and Itadakimasu!!!

Really nice store… Like Mitsuwa down the street but with more groceries, pottery and veggie section.
The to go food item section is huge. Larger i feel than mitsuwa and there is a hot area you can get what you want and pay by weight.
Its freezing cold in this place so the food court is like an ice box. Other than that this store is very clean… It is a lot of made in japan items. Fresh poke, sashimi… Sashimi plates and of course sushi rolls.
For the grocery section i do prefer shopping here than Mitsuwa. For the food… Its a toss up. I love the udon place at mitsuwa but tokyo has takoyaki on their hotbar everytime i go and its super yummy!
A must visit… It was an old marukai but the renovated on the inside… Things on sale you can just pay the 1.00 «membership» at the cashier and you are good to go.
If you are into over the counter japanese beauty products there are a ton here. Also stuffed animals… Ninja toys. My kids go nuts!
Arare isle isnt as big as mitsuwa but their candy section seems to make up for that.

Great grocery store!
Everything is fresh there! I always buy their Navel Oranges, Fuji Apples, Cuties Tangerines, Pineapples, Honeydews, and Kiwis. The freshness of the fruits and sushis encourage me to drive to the store sometimes twice a day! I love their simple sushi rolls to handmade poke bowls! Recently they have established a ramen bar as well which is extremely delicious as well! How could I forget about their buffet?! They have a section where you can pick up a box and put food in the plate like a buffet style. Their takoyaki and okonomiyaki is recommended.
They have variety of asian instant noodles such Japanese udons, sobas, and ramen; including Korean instant noodles as well. In addition, they have excellent snacks as well from sweet Japanese chocolates to their potato chips to RED BEAN ICE CREAM, which I highly recommend.
They also have cosmetics section for facial packs and other beauty products. In addition, they have a small section of cute Japanese dolls, such as Rilakumma, which is my favorite character. They sell cute chopsticks, bento boxes, bowls, erasers, pencils, etc.

I love this place! Forget Mitsuwa! Rating is in comparison to other markets, but mainly other Japanese markets.
Pros: It’s not as big as your usual Mitsuwa so it doesn’t get as crowded. Easy parking with decent sized lot. Plenty of products to choose from at a cheaper price than any other Japanese market that i’ve been to. Lots of random goodies too that are packed into this place. Kitchen utensils, everything that a normal supermarket would have, a pretty damn decent ramen shop, an animé section, a buy by the pound candy aisle, skincare, makeup, and etc. The list goes on. There’s also fresh sushi made there along with this other eatery that I forget what they were serving. The supermarket is very clean too. Cleaner than any American supermarket that i’ve been to and no comparison whatsoever to the Viet supermarkets in Garden Grove, Santa Ana, and Westminster. Friendly staff and very fresh produce.
Cons: It doesn’t have as much space so it isn’t as big as your usual Mitsuwa. This results in slightly less variety of things to choose from and also doesn’t have the usual big food court. It also isn’t as organized. Not that big of an issue and not their fault for lack of room.
Bottom line: I’ll definitely be back here again and if you’re in the area you should definitely stop by. They celebrate certain Japanese holidays like Girls Day and Boys Day and etc. During the month of these holidays there will be special aisles or racks that are set up to sell goodies in relation to the certain holiday. It’s really neat. Get the membership card for $ 1. It’s only $ 1 and you get to get in on the special deals and etc.

Girls day celebbration by pounding fresh mochi. It was pretty hard to pound with strength. They gave away freshly pounded mochi samples. Also have fresh mochis for sale. Very cool. Great to have a chance to make mochi.

I come to Tokyo Central after each visit to Book-​Off since it’s right next door. It’s really nice on the inside. Very organized & well kept. They’ve got a good selection for Japanese stuff & some local Hawaiian stuff too. I mean they have a lot of other country brands too which is great but mostly I come for my motherland’s foods. If you’re from the islands or Japan (I’m from both) & need a taste of home you’ll be able to feel at home here. Nice people working there too.
The cons of this place are #1 it’s extremely expensive. I’m talking 10 – 20 times more expensive then in Japan which in my opinion is too much. I just moved back from Japan not too long ago so when I see something I can get for a few dollars costing twenty something dollars I feel majorly ripped off. Mitsuwa Market is much cheaper… not as nice aesthetically but much cheaper. Another major con for me was it was FREEZING in there. I wanted to stay longer but couldn’t handle the cold & worried I’d get sick so I left early, literally shivering. Not an exaggeration. When I got back to my hotel I had to take a hot bath asap because my toes (wore flats) were icey. Turn down the A.C. please.
I like this store but because of the prices I can’t go as crazy as I’d like. I do enjoy their senbei section though… I’m an addict.

Love how there is individually wrapped sushi! It’s a great place to come have lunch, but it’s not always the freshest. Been here about 5 times and only once was it not so great. Would recommend it for someone looking for a quick bite to eat!

Of all the ramen places, Tokyo Central has one of the best tonkotsu ! Who wants to put up with the ridiculous lines, and LOUD shouting at an «unnamed» noodle bar.
Also my wife and I have also given up on going to sushi bars. Their lunch station boasts a variety of sashimi platters, chirashi bowls, poke salad, sushi combo, etc. the list goes on and on.
Walk to the back of the store and you can splurge on the freshest sashimi grade fish. Salmon, Kama, toro, halibut, this place is not cheap. This said, a sashimi platter at a sushi bar will cost you about $ 30 bucks. The only thing you need to do is invest in a decent sashimi knife. For 30 bucks at Tokyo central, you will get even better grade and three times the quantity. I only wish the Uni wasn’t so expensive :(

My wife likes Mitsuwa better for produce shopping. I like this one better since parking is easier and the venue is bigger for Japanese supermarket. If you want to have lunch at the same time, then the food court here is very limited. Only ramen which is not bad.

Can’t get to Japan any time soon? No worries! Just head to Tokyo Central. This Japanese supermarket is about the size of the H-​Mart chains, which east coast folks are probably pretty familiar with, and the layout and parking situation are about the same. It’s super accessible from the main road, which is great.
More importantly, this good-​sized market stocks everything from Japanese instant ramen to sake to miso pastes to assorted Kit Kat flavors. My friend snagged the hazelnut and loved it. They also carry other familiar and less familiar Japanese snack brands. Fresh produce, meats, and seafood are also aplenty.
In addition to their food and drink products, Tokyo Central also has a great selection of Japanese skincare, hair care, and cosmetics. Dolly Wink, my favorite liquid eyeliner, is available in different formulations and colors. Fake lashes galore! Super foaming face washes, touted by many YouTube vloggers as the best facial cleansers ever, were being sold for as low as $ 4.00.
They also have a kitchenware, toy, and accessories section. And surprisingly, they also carried many Hawaiian exports, like those popular chocolate-​covered macadamia nuts. Forgot to buy some souvenirs while visiting the 50^th state? You can pretend you didn’t here *wink wink*.
And perhaps Tokyo Central’s greatest attraction – its prepared foods section. Offerings range from nigiri sushi to Japanese-​style pasta to assorted rice bowls. The sushi, from what I tried, was average. It was perhaps about as good as what you could find in a Japanese convenience store, but for higher prices. The real draw, not a pre-​prepared food, but a dining option within the market, is the in-​house ramen restaurant. My friend said it was delicious and super affordable at around ten bucks. Not bad at all.
LA’s Little Tokyo is quite impressive, but it’s still an hour away. If you can’t get there, there’s always Tokyo Central. I’m a fan of their awesome prices and extensive selection and would recommend it to anyone who loves snacks, Japanese anything, and budget-​friendly grocery items.

Tokyo Central is the all-​in-​one Japanese supermarket I’ve been waiting for. It’s not as neatly organized nor does it have a large food court like Mitsuwa does but content is king here.
From a surprisingly hefty amount of animé merchandise to buy to a large variety of green tea products, multi flavored kit-​kats, and sake, Tokyo Central has it all and goes beyond what other Japanese supermarkets sell. It also helps that the one «food court» restaurant is Toraji Ramen, which is pretty good (I’ll review that separately). In addition to that, the seating area out in front is large and comes with a couple of microwave ovens and hot water dispensers, which is helpful if you buy a bento and tea and feel the need to devour both items right after getting out of the checkout line.
To buy things here you do need to buy a membership card at the cost of $ 1, which I did find a bit odd. However, the card does makes you a lifetime member and considering the awesome stuff you can get here, it’s a very small price to pay.

My review is for the ramen place in the food court area.
Their ramen is placed as my top 3 I have ever tried. Their broth is so meaty and flavorful that I never want it to end. The price is right and they are generous with their portions. They have 3 ramen to choose from and they are all great.
In the food court area, they also have pre-​made items (hot and cold) in a buffet style and they weight whatever you got when you check out. They also have packaged food such as all different types of sushi and Poke over rice or salad. My absolute favorite.
I highly recommend you coming here to check it out if you love good Asian food.

Looking for a japanese market, but not in the mood to deal with finding a parking spot? Come to Tokyo Central!
Looking to for a variety of asian ingredients, fresh seafood, without the fishy market stench? Come to Tokyo Central!
The market is impeccable, bright and clean. I love that there are organized clusters of items (Sriracha, green tea, yuzu) all grouped together so you can easily find them. The signage and product markers throughout the market are eye-​catching with their cartoon-​comic themed font & animations.
There is a sushi and cold food bar, as well as hot food self-​service area.
Bug scores for me was the hawaiian goods station (no more having to run around or order stuff online), sashimi fish selections, and extensive variety of noodle alternatives.
If you’re looking for a larger assortment of the standard 1 or 2 options of Shirataki Noodles you normally see at your neighborhood market — Tokyo Central holds a pretty large inventory. Score for me!
As with all japanese markets, Tokyo Central also has a decent amount of japanese beauty products.
A $ 1 membership card will grant you lifetime access to their sale items.
Awesome market! Definitely coming back to purchase my sashimi grade fish here when preparing homemade poke!
(17÷100, 2016)

Awesome Japanese market in Costa Mesa. I think this used to be a Marukai market back in the day, but I have to say TC impressed me on my first visit here this past weekend. They have your typical Asian grocery items, from fresh and frozen foods, meats/​seafood, produce, and packaged goods, to a hot deli offering delicious entrees and meals and a fresh sushi station. There is even a small ramen resto inside. The good sized deli area is what really impressed me. While we were there we saw staff bringing out large steam trays of fried rice, gyoza, meat skewers, and okonamiyaki. It looked and smelled so good we couldn’t resist and got a few items to-​go (I believe items are sold by weight).
I appreciate the fact that they carry unique items you won’t find at your typical American supermarket. You need some Sriracha beer? Check! Hazelnut or pumpkin flavored Kit Kat bars? Check! Kit Kat you BAKE in an oven? Checkity check check! A variety of fresh mochi (sweet Japanese rice cakes)? TC has got you covered!
There were also a few sample stations with employees cooking up and offering samples of things like sukiyaki and gyoza to hungry passersby. And what Japanese market would be complete without their section of super kawaii (aka, cute) chockis and adult sized animal costumes?
You need a membership card to shop here, but to be a member I believe the membership fee is ridiculously low at $ 1, so pay it and enjoy the awesomeness!

This place is absolutely awesome. For the past three weeks, I’ve eaten sushi and/​or poke bowls from Tokyo Central on a daily basis. Everything is extremely fresh and tastes great. Plus, during the day, if they are ever out of any sushi/​raw items, The friendly sushi chefs will gladly prepare whatever they are out of.
They also have a small Ramen/​soup eatery as well as other prepared food items in addition to their full grocery store.
Everyone here is very friendly and very helpful. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and check it out.

I really like that Tokyo Central has signs under their products written in English. they have suggestions on what you can use the products with. This is especially helpful when you have no idea what the differences are between the 5 brands you’re staring at.
They also have a cafeteria area with ready made food, a sushi section with sushi chefs, and a bakery.
Lots of cool things from Japan and Hawaii. So much food and fun little snacks to pick from. They also have a great produce section and sushi grade fish as well as frozen seafood.

Such a cute place! My boss had told me that this was revamped from Marukai and I finally had a chance to check it out.
While it doesn’t have a massive food court like Mitsuwa (Costa Mesa) I feel like Tokyo Central’s shopping portion of the store is more interesting. It has a great section of animé /​collectibles that includes figurines, Gundams, ridiculously adorable plushes, gifts etc. There are also more imported JP grocery items that I haven’t seen at Mitsuwa before.
They also have a section that looks like a buffet but it’s a choose-​what-​you-​want for $ 8.99 /​lb for food. Depending on what you get, this can get rather expensive. Particularly the «heavier» edibles like meat with bone and sturdy vegetables can quickly add up. You are definitely paying for the ability to pick and choose both hot and cold foods.
If you want a better deal, I say go for the sushi boxes. There are plenty of sashimi platters, poke bowls, various sushi combos. Yum! I got a mixed box of salmon, tuna, tako, atop of rice and it was fresh. 2 thumbs up.
They do have a membership though, which was only $ 1 for the TC Card. From what I understood, it doesn’t expire like the old Marukai cards (after a year).
Check this place out! It’s super fun and has all your gift-​giving, grocery, snacks and meal needs.

This place is hella cute!!! Mom and I happened to come in here because my Mom needed to pee, and I wanted to check out this place. Though Mom and I didn’t buy anything from here other than having ramen at their food court, it’s a pretty cool place to check out!
I digged the sashimi and sushi area — great place to get your sushi fix. Best of all, anything you buy in the market, you can eat there too! I thought the tables were only for the food court vendors, but nope, you can eat at the market too!
They have a huge wall of adorable kawaii stuffed animals (especially, Hamtaro the Hamster!) and a huge assortment of Japanese beauty and health products. Their liquor area is well stocked too and gorgeously displayed. I also dig their Christmas selection of assorted fruits, crackers, and cookie boxes on sales.
The seafood selection is so fresh and delicious, especially their sashimi section. So just wanted to rip out the tuna and salmon pieces and eat it there, lol!!! Their meat selection looks great too — thinly sliced meat for Shabu Shabu or yakitori dishes. Everything in their seafood and meat sections are nicely cut and packaged, and so you can just pick out the items you want and need.
Their veggies and fruits were well displayed — though a bit pricier than Mitsuwa by my house. They also have some sections of their fruits to try out samples. Their bakery selection didn’t look that good. Nothing worth desiring.
The market place is very clean and organized. Though the parking is a nightmare! It can get crazy crowded, but as long as you’re defensively driving, you’ll be fine.
Overall, this place is worth a comeback! Next time, when I’m in town for my facial and massage, I’m gonna pop in here first to get my sushi fix, yay!

How have I never seen or heard of this market before?! It’s like Mitsuwa but better! They have a huge toy/​collectibles section. They also have a gigantic sake/​liquor section with a lot of stuff imported from Japan. The place is very clean and organized. I have gone in there twice and it’s always pretty much fully stocked.
I haven’t gotten a chance to fully walk through the entire store but it looks very promising.

AMAZING!
Customized Weekend Poke Bowls! The keyword is WEEKEND! (Try coming on a weekday and you will be just be sad.)
The fish always tastes fresh and it is seasoned really well. They give you lot more options than expected and it is priced just right at $ 8 a bowl. The portion is actually really big, HOnestly this is the BEST in my opinion the place to get poke bowls on the weekend. Along with the Poke Bowl Customization Stand, the other varieties of sushi, salads, buffet food to select from is amazing. Everything just tastes fresh and well seasoned.

I go to a lot of Japanese market and I find that this store in particular offers food/​items catered toward general American consumers. I think this is a good business focus because it makes this store a unique place. For example, recently I had been looking for a ceramic bowl to make matcha green tea using the bamboo whisk and matcha tea powder. To my surprise, this was very difficult item to come by and find. I was very excited to find a good selection of green tea bowls at Tokyo Central!
Change since Marukai — no fees to get membership. You can just sign up for the rewards card at the cashier.

Everything here is cute — I like to buy a bunch of cute toys/​snacks/​accessories here because they make great gifts. This is also one of the closer Asian places to home, so I occasionally come here to buy Asian food/​ingredients. Their produce section is arranged so beautifully, I’d like to point that out…
I also really like the food they make here. I think their okonomiyaki and takoyaki are on point. Their sushi tastes as good as expected too. They have individually wrapped sushi for $ 1 — $ 1.50 (which I think is a rip off), but I think the concept is cute. Great alternative to fast food while keeping it fast! :)

Awesome place to pick up some Japanese goodies. We came here originally to see if we could find some snacks we want and this one drink that I miss so much from Japan.
When we got there, it was like we were sucked in. There were so many cute things there. I even bought a large stuffed animal for my sister and a lot of those stuffed animals that they have were only available online through a Japanese website. Buying it there saved shipping fee! There were plenty of snacks for us to choose from: green tea/​raspberry/​dark chocolate/​cheesecake kit kats! There were also many more that we only saw in Japan.
We also bought a piece of fatty salmon for $ 10, had them cut it, and we ate it like sashimi! It was so yummy! They had tuna and uni as well but we didn’t buy those. They also sold sushi in individual pieces, which I thought was kind of cute but kind of weird as each piece of sushi was individually wrapped.
They have some deliciously looking marbled beef. If only I lived in the area … if I did, I would buy some of that and grill it!
Too bad they didn’t import the drink I liked from Japan. But I would definitely come back just for their raw fish!

My sister told me about they remodeled Marukai to be Tokyo Central. She said the food court is pretty interesting. This past weekend we came here for lunch before heading to Ikea. On Saturday, it was surprising not very crowded for lunch. I remember it used to be impossible to find parking spot but this time it’s OK. Just have to watch out for some driver who is going the wrong way and trying to cut you for a spot.
We mostly came for the food court. It has a huge variety to choose from hot and sushi. The hot food is $ 7.99/lb and you pack up whatever you want. On weekend, there’s a Hawaiian Poke stand. Pretty good.
My husband and I got some hot food and poke for lunch. The teriyaki chicken was very moist, my daughter was happy with her rice and chicken. We saw there’s Ramen Yamada to go ramen bowl. I wanted to try it maybe next time. It’s cute food court where it also equipped with a microwave to heat up your food in case you don’t like it cold.

Ah yes, the wonderful and sometimes frightening (and often confusing) world of Asian groceries. Now, I may be yellow, but that doesn’t mean I’m immune to the hilarity of Asian products, especially after the translations go awry.
The photos I’ve uploaded speak for themselves, and they are only the beginning, but you get the idea.
As a grocery store, a Japanese grocery store, this place is awesome! Amazing prices on innumerable imported goodies that would normally cost you at least 50% more at places like Mitsuwa. Also, Japanese grocery stores are infinitely cleaner than any other Asian type of store, so that makes shopping here tolerable, even pleasant.
Staff work hard and are very helpful, and they are attentive to keeping the inventory clean, so don’t go and F it all up by poking around and leaving your change-​of-​mind frozen gyoza in the soy sauce aisle.
Meat selection is impressive. Nothing here is sold in mass quantity since Asians typically cook daily and don’t stockpile stuff a la Costco.
There’s too much to list so just come here and look around. You’ll find essentially everything you need and some things you don’t.
This is about 20 minutes from home but I’m happy to make the drive because it’s worth it.
However…
The food court area is questionable. Stuff sits out all day and I’m sure it’s fine but I just wouldn’t…especially with Japanese food. I mean, come on. Is it that hard to go down the street, any street, and sit down at a proper Japanese restaurant? You’re in Costa Mesa for crying out loud.
Parking is huge, and each spot is very large, but people still manage to color outside of the lines. SOMEONE needs to work on their fine motor skills (get it? har har).
In summary: If you don’t shop here, you’re an idiot. kbai!

Upon returning from a recent fishing trip, one of Brandon’s friends was generous enough to butcher up for us a stunning piece of the the yellowfin tuna he caught. According to Brandon, you can consume this sushi-​grade fish as soon as it comes out of the water… however, he suggests the secret is to let the meat settle for three days. Apparently he’s a tuna expert. Who knew. #justanotherreasontolovehim
Here is where MY expertise comes into play. Today is magical day three and, conveniently, my day off of work… so I set off for the Japanese grocery in town I hadn’t been to yet. Mitsuwa’s little brother from another mother, if you will. (And I ALWAYS will when it comes to cool *ish like Asian markets…) Where have they been all my life? Oh yeah, Costa Mesa, CA.
Situated at the corner of Harbor and Baker sits and unassuming little shopping center, of which the dominating presence is Tokyo Central. Unlike Mitsuwa’s insane parking lot, there were plenty of spaces. I parked walked into… JAPAN. Not really, but holy awesomeness! I could have spent HOURS just wandering the aisles admiring cute, animé-​style packaging and trying to (unsuccessfully) dechiper instructions on Japanese cosmetics.

The sake wall alone is mind-​boggling. I wished to god that I had a personal (Japanese) shopper with me to explain all of the incredible offerings to this clueless little white girl, but alas, I just had to snap Unilocal pictures of things I found amusing and find what I’d come for.
A while back, I wrote a review for a little place called North Shore Poke in Huntington Beach. At the time, I still lived in Illinois and was only visiting CA… but I HAD to have poke after I tried it, no matter my geography. So I perfected it in my Naperville, IL kitchen.
So all of that explanation leads to my trip to Tokyo Central. Because I can’t make North Shore’s waimea sauce without Japanese Kewpie mayo and sriracha. Shhhh, don’t tell them I told you.
I gathered my ingredients as well as some sweet onions, a fruit salad, a couple of Hawaiian sodas and a spicy California roll for lunch. $ 15. Maui Wowee, I’ll take it! Only two check-​outs were open, so the lines were long and inconvenient, but that’s really my only beef with Tokyo Central. I’ll definitely be back!