Mikawaya-Confcty

I suspected this shop might close earlier this year when the woman told me there wasn’t any frozen komochi «in back» when the fresh stock was sold out. I like the taste and texture of Mikawaya komochi best (with Fugetsudo a close second). It becomes soft and gooey when heated and doesn’t become rubbery as it cools in anko (sweet red bean paste) like some komochi can become if it’s older than a day or so.
The Japanese women that ran the small shop would freeze the excess komochi if it didn’t sell quickly that day, so there was usually some «in back» if they ran out of freshly made goodness. Frozen is the way to go if you can’t get fresh, which gave Mikawaya an advantage over Fugetsudo-​delivered mochi, because someone was there to manage stock.
Anyway, I said I suspected sales were slower earlier, but that’s been true for some time and Mikawaya has always been there, doing its thing, near the obento section on one side, and the Hamadaya bakery on the other. It somehow endured, even after the once family-​owned company was bought by a venture capital company a few years ago for the other part of the business, the much better known Mikawaya Mochi Ice Cream product line.
Now it’s gone.
Sure, there’s a small rack with Mikawaya mochi near the Fugetsudo rack, but it feels more like a faded remnant, especially since there hasn’t been fresh komochi for several weeks. I keep hoping I’m checking on the wrong days.

Before I begin, let me just say that I hold a special place in my heart for Mikawaya manju. I have been cherishing and devouring it since my childhood.
I have been going to the Mikawaya in Gardena for ages and I was so sad to see the «for lease» sign in the window. It really broke my heart. I miss the quaint little manju store run by little old Japanese ladies that barely spoke English. I miss the hand written signs and price sheet that they would always stare at as they rang up my order on their cash register. I will forever miss it.
The closing of the Gardena location was like someone ripped out my heart and witnessing this location was the equivalent of them showing me my still beating heart as I collapse on the ground. It is located in a giant supermarket off to the side and is basically just a stand where you get your manju and take it to the check out counter… THE FREAKIN CHECK OUT COUNTER!!!
The taste and texture of the wonderful manju has not changed… but I was appalled at the limited selection they had. I hope this is just a result of my coming at the wrong time, but they had absolutely none of the manju I was looking for (I never had this problem at the Gardena location). I was so upset that I ALMOST left without buying any for my family and some chi chi dango for my son… ALMOST.
I guess I’ll have to take some trips out to Little Tokyo for my manju fix from now on :(

I was sad to see Gardena location close, but very happy to see I can get my Mochi fix!
I have not been to this location, but I called to place a big order and? Mediko was very helpful.
Their Mochi is delicious and the have a large variety. My kids love strawberry chi chi dango, (little cubes, way better than gummy bears) and I also buy Suama (sweet rice, pink stripes) and Duamo (?whole sweet bean inside) and Pink gyuhi (white sweet la bean inside).

Located in Mitsuwa marketplace, I always visit this little booth for some daifuku. This time on my trip I got a small box treats from the case. I tried the ones that I was very curious about after seeing them on Mikawaya’s website. I also bought a packet of butter mochi and Anball.
I was surprised to see some mochi from Fugetsu-​Do not too far away on a different shelf which I went ahead and purchased.
It wasn’t until I got back home to Vegas that I ate the mochi. The butter mochi and anball wasn’t that great. I only had 2 of the butter mochi and threw the rest away because I saw that the other pieces were developing some dark mold like spots. Everything else that I got from the case tasted fine. Despite my disappointment with some of the other treats I still look forward to getting some more mochi when I visit again.

I don’t pretend to be a mochi connoisseur, but I do enjoy eating these little sweets on occasion. I also find that they make a great little casual gift, which is what brought me to this Mikawaya.
I like this place because they have gift boxes of various sizes, and even wrap them up for you all nice and pretty. I chose a box of 16 which came out to about a 20 spot. I got to try the peanut butter and the taro, which were both soft and had a good balance of sweetness. Although you can probably find slightly better quality mochi somewhere nearby in Gardena, I found this place to be super convenient. I will definitely come back here the next time I need a little gift that is both presentable and tasty.

Mochi lovers unite! What a sweet spot for traditional Japanese desserts…
As Unilocalers and the LA Times have documented to no end, Mikawaya is a Los Angeles institution when it comes to mochi and traditional Japanese sweets. Mikawaya apparently was started in 1910, with its original spot located in L.A.‘s Little Tokyo. The same family has run this business from its inception, though the business was closed for a period when the purveyors were sent to the Japanese internment camp during WWII. (Bummer!)
Mochi — all sorts of great sweets, to include your standards: Daifuku, Mochi-​gashi, Koh-​mochi, Manju, etc. Try it all!
***Location: The shop is located *inside* Mitsuwa Japanese Supermarket in Torrance, CA. To add to the confusion, it resides *inside* the market itself, not among the food court or shopping arcade. You’ll pay for your Mikawaya purchases at one of the Mitsuwa cashiers.
Pricing: Reasonable, but not cheap. One weighty piece of Daifuku mochi, for instance, will run you about $ 1.35 a piece. But, it’s awesome and worth it.
Service: I miss the chubby Japanese dude who used to wait at this counter. The crotchety Japanese granny working the shop is a downer.
Dining Tip: Buy your mochi and enjoy it with a cup of hot Mat-​cha (traditional Japanese green tea) at the tea shop located in the Mitsuwa food court (Yamamoto Yama?). A perfect pairing = mochi + green tea! Yum!
Note: This is but one of many of Mikawaya’s shops throughout SoCal. Visit the Little Tokyo spot where you can get mochi ice cream!

chi chi dango = 5 stars
i only had the chi chi dango from this mochi stand, but that’s all i need. everytime i get mikawaya chi chi dango it’s soft and fabulous. this time i had strawberry & pineapple. i just wish i could find them closer to sf.

My least favorite Mikawaya.
I love mochi. I love Mikawaya. The workers here seemed to be depressed and upset all the time. They were polite but not really helpful.
The mochi tastes the same as other Mikawaya but this place has the worst service IMO.
3 stars!
Mikawaya is yummylicious!

I love @MochiIceCream from Mikawaya and now I have another favorite Mikawaya treat… Chi Chi Dango… strawberry flavor!
I have been on the lookout for the small mochi that you put on top of shaved and frozen yogurt and I thought the perfect place that I could get this would be at Mitsuwa Marketplace. I looked all around Mitsuwa and only found the mochi that you would have to cook. When I got to the cashier, the cashier pointed to the Mikawaya store that is inside the marketplace and said that cooked, ready to eat small mochi could be found here.
I didn’t find any of the small white mochi that you can find at yogurt places. I did however find small mochi of different flavors. They call this chi chi dango. They have different flavors like blueberry, coconut, pineapple and strawberry and it costs $ 3.25. I was torn between getting pineapple and strawberry. I ended up getting strawberry. (Why strawberry? Hehe, maybe because it is pink, my favorite color… haha but in all seriousness, I am usually a fan of strawberry mochi and so wanted to see how this was.)
I used the strawberry chi chi dango for my shaved ice creation at home. I liked the strawberry mochi a lot. So soft and sweet. It was the perfect little treat. Yum! (See my shaved ice creation here:
)
I am still in search of other places that I can buy the small plain white mochis for topping shaved ice and yogurt. Unilocal friends, if you know of any places, please let me know :). I will however be back here because I am definitely a fan of the chi chi dango! I loved the strawberry and will be back to try out the pineapple!

This Mikawaya is located inside the Mitsuwa Market and carries a decent selection of Japanese glutinous rice confections. I came here with fellow Unilocalers Anthony N and Ching T to grab something to go, and was pleasantly surprised to find my favorite Taro Gyuhi here.
I decided to get a package that came with Taro Gyuhi, Peanut Butter Mochi, and Chofu ($ 3.45). The first two came with sweet fillings that were rich in texture to couple with a soft glutinous rice outer layer. Taro and Peanut Butter are my go-​to flavors at Mikaywaya, and the Chofu that came with plain mochi wrapped around with a layer of semi-​sweet pancake hits the spot every time.
I also got a package of three Red Bean Daifukus ($ 3.45) that came with textured red bean fillings to combine with a thicker and heavier glutinous rice exterior powdered with sugar. These mochis were easy to bite into but the overall balance of softness was still rougher from the inside out than Benkyodo – my favorite mochi spot of all times.
Service was patient and hands off until the customer makes a decision. I didn’t have cash but was offered to pay at the market’s checkout counter. I’m interested in trying Chikaramochi, and Sakuraya before deciding if I should return.

Hmmmmm… Well… I purchased a couple of mochi cakes from there the other day. Mochi (gyuhi-​skin) is a lot softer and stickier, and Anko (bean paste-​filling) is tougher /​more powdery comparing with mochi cakes from Fugetsudo, Chikaramochi, and Sakuraya. I know it takes skill to do so, but I would like the filling to be a little softer to compliment and balance with the skin.

This is a mini mochi stand actually inside the Mitsuwa market itself. So it’s really convenient if you’re already shopping for some groceries because you can pick up some mochis and pay for everything together when you go to checkout.
I got a package of the chichi dango pineapple flavor and they were these tiny bite-​size SUPER SOFT melt-​in-​your-​mouth mochis with a subtle pineapple flavor. They’re seriously the softest mochis I’ve ever had! Everyone who tried some really liked them! They also have other flavors like blueberry and strawberry.
I also got a package of the cute fruit-​shaped mochis with the red bean or white bean filling. I personally didn’t really like the ones with the filling in them as much, but the mochi part was again superrr soft but also pretty sticky. I think I’ll be sticking to the plain chichi dango mochi from now on. :)

Got the Orange and Taro Gyuhi. Both resembled what they were supposed to taste like and were very pretty. see pics!
Gyuhi is a softer variety of mochi and featured in sweets that originated in the Kyoto area.
4 pieces for $ 4.60 is a tad bit of a treat but why not. I just hope i see J soon enough so that these don’t spoil before then!

Since I thought that Mikawaya makes such great mochi ice cream, their fresh manju would be pretty good as well. Boy was I wrong. I had a daifuku and a taro mochi and the outside was tough and hard while the filling for the taro mochi had no hint of taro whatsoever. I think I’ll stick to Fugetsu-​Do when I’m in LA and Benkyodo when I’m in SF.

Same goodies offered in the Gardena branch but INSIDE the Mitsuwa Market location. Very convenient if you’re coming to shop for groceries and/​or coming to eat at the food court! You can pick out the prepacked mochi and manju or pick your own variety from the obaasan that runs the stand.