Nijiya Market is a Japanese supermarket and a quiet institution of Japantown, at 1737 Post St in the Japan Center, a short walk from the lower Fillmore. In a neighborhood where most food shopping happens at corner stores, it is the real grocery: produce, pantry staples, fresh fish and meat, and prepared foods including sushi. It is a little hidden inside the Japan Center, and well worth finding.
A bridge between Japan and the United States
Nijiya was founded in 1986 by Japanese immigrant Saburomaru Tsujino, who opened the first store in San Diego. Its rainbow logo is meant to represent a bridge between Japan and the United States. The company sells organic vegetables from its own farm in Rainbow, California, and makes its own brand of rice, dashi, miso and other Japanese staples. It also publishes Gochiso Magazine, which pairs its products with traditional recipes and the history of Japanese food culture.
Visit
Open daily, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Japantown has its own merchant association, and Nijiya is one of the anchors of the neighborhood’s food scene.
