Still the best place for sushi ingredients, but I do not appreciate a store, corporate policy, to enact a mask mandate when even the overly aggressive California has not even brought back the mask mandate. Their small market now had a security guard enforcing mask use.

Good down to earth type ppl. Check it out

Its right across Tokyo and Main. They have nice selection of Japanese and Asian food. Line was really loooong to the cashier when we got there. Parking is limited. We drove around for a while to finally find to spot. Prices are a bit higher than going to a regular asian store but its specially geared more towards Japanese selection. Fresh and frozen food available.

The reorganization is just annoying. Used to be you could build a meal in your basket and know what you had. Need soy sauce go next door, need rice go next door. Need fish go next door. The old layout with less common stuff in the other two buildings worked so much better checking them out every couple of trips but generally one and done in the grocery was much nicer.I assume the manager gets to claim he increased sales but that’s because I have to swipe my credit card twice when it used to be once.

Love this place for all my Asian snacks and Otaku needs

Its Always Good Shopping there

Love this place. So much to look at. I could spend all afternoon here. Clean and the service is always friendly.

Wonderful Japanese market. Best place in town to get rice, sauces, tofu, meat for yakiniku, shabu shabu, or even just snacks. If youve ever lived in Japan, moved from Japan, need to make a proper Japanese dish, or just want to see what the fuss is about this is your store. Keep in mind the main market is just the food section. Theres a store next door that is... hard to describe. Think of it like a mini Target of Japanese domestic market products. Then there is the fun store, Tokyo and Main which if you have ever been to a Don Quixote in Japan... Its like that. The toys, the perfume, the stationary, the candy, the doodads, the stuffed animals, good stuff for gifts and at good prices. All 3 stores are awesome. Only thing that isnt is parking. Going on a weekday in the morning is best if you can swing it.

Great products, nice experience if you are not used to this type of markets, a lots of options for instant noodles, a bit price but that is expected from imported products.

Great market, small selection of fruits and veggies along with pre packaged foods and some yummy ready meals (hand rolls, onigiri, noodles, chirashi, sushi, sandwiches, and many other goodies).

Excellent customer care, very clean and the store is sanitized constantly. You can find just about everything you are looking for.

I like the layout post renovations. Theres less items in the shop itself (dry foods for moved to the building next door) but there so much more space to actually maneuver. Produce, meats, and cold items are still here

Love this place... great selection coming from Japan. super affordable

They have lots of Japanese drinks and snacks. Also next door they have lots of Japanese bento. They have great customer service.

Store has been changed up. They now have 1 store for produce and perishable items and 1 place for dry or pantry items. I like that the stores are bigger but it makes it difficult to just have to go into 1 shop. I have a lot of kids so multiple stores in 1 outting means multiple trips to the car.

If you love Japanese food this is the spot from seaweed wraps to Japanese snacks theyve got it all!!!

Lots of sauces, fresh produce, ingredients that was overwhelming. I wished I knew more food to include these ingredients. I recommend checking out the place.

Liked how clean it is! Great selection of japanese items, snacks, produce, frozen, pastry...love it. Will visit again and again!!!

They have a really great snack selection and the food is relatively cheap but good quality! The only downside is the parking lot is really inconvenient.

I absolutely LOVE going here to get some Japanese snacks and getting exclusive items since this includes the seasonal/holiday edition items. Kind of wished that the store can bring some of the collectable card things with your favorite character(s) on it that also come with a piece of gum candy just like they did for Touken Ranbu for a while. But overall I would give this place 10 out 5 stars if I could. Also their staff are very nice and sometimes its a bit fun to say common Japanese phrases for Thank you or say hello to staff. But I do miss the giant tree that used to be in the old store for Tokyo Central and I love the fun little socks that you can get in the Living store that have items for your daily needs.

One of my favorite place to satisfy my Japanese food crave.

This place still requires masks by their own choice, even though its not mandated anymore. No more business from me until that rule is changed

Very nice. Clean and well stocked. A little on the pricey side.

One of the best Japanese markets in San Diego: there are three separate buildings located together with one parking lot. The stores feature grocery items, household items, and souvenir/novelty gift/beauty items.They have a heavenly section of freshly prepared food items that you might normally only find in a convenient store, grocery store, or train station in Japan.They also feature anime and manga merchandise as well as novelty goods like Sanrio, San-X, Toki Doki, etc.Come in the early morning or early afternoon for the best section of freshly prepared food and bakery items.

I love coming to marukai for a lot of things. Ive gotten drinks and snacks here a bunch of times and have never been disappointed. I bought face wash the other day and it has been really nice to use, I would recommend a lot of the bath and beauty supplies here. It has a lot of cool things here so I would just come here and check out everything!

Marukai used to be our favorite Japanese supermarket in town, with friendly staff, good selection of produce and Japanese food, and nifty general merchandise. Sadly, their recent reorganization split their store into two separate buildings making shopping inconvenient and confusing, and the various products were largely replaced by bargain-brand Don Quixote products. I dont come here for dollar brand stuff, I came here to buy things that were good. I guess well go to Mitsuwa and Nijiya instead...

Miss Japan so much this place keeps my sanity, Im so grateful theres a place like this here.

This is a must go to if you are a fan of Japanese culture in general. I truly fell in love, I wanted to buy pretty much everything in the store :)The workers are so nice. Quality is superb and the food is amazing!I will defimetaly come back and make usual trips as they have great quality and good prices.

Thankfully, one of their employees came to my aid and aided me with my groceries. Im quite happy with their customer service!

That was the last Sunday I went to the store. I was amazed to see how tidy and polished the room was. The worker was very accommodating when he helped me find the substance I was looking for. In this store, I had a wonderful time buying things. Im going to give this company 5 star ratings. Nice service, guy!

Great store carries everything you may need plus more. Can be a little crowded with merchandise but still shoppable. Workers are friendly and helpful.

The best japanese market with the most awesome sushi in San Diego. Large selection of sake, ramen, kimchee, you name it, they have it.

Lots of similar stores in the area and this one is a little smaller, but I tend to like it better than hmart and mitsuwa

$8 poke bowls...WHAT? This place is awesome for a quick lunch. They have plenty of options. They also have a bunch of Asian and Hawaiian products and food.

The store was a bit sparse as far as groceries. Produce was very good quality and fresh.

All 3 stores are awesome I like comics and this place has little of everthing :)

Favorite week day getaway for sushi! Kids love going here. For grocery store sushi, its always fresh.

You can find hard-to-find Japanese goods in this store. Sauces, snacks, teas, sake and other beverages among other things. Some of the things I buy here are S&B Garlic Chili Sauce, Meiji dark chocolate, and raisin cookies with cream (pictured). Unlike the branch in Hawaii, no membership is required to come and buy things. I find it more fun to shop in a Japanese store compared to other international markets.

Everything that they are selling is not costly. The whole market place was so huge to move around, so its easier to pick your choices. Everyone was so warm and accommodating in providing all your requests. I recommend to everyone! I would like to come back here again and again.

Super crowded with tiny aisles but worth the trip just for their vast array of fresh food choices, bakery goods, drinks, ice cream, and even desserts. The staff and employees are super friendly and welcoming, while the store is very clean and well organized.

Newly renovated. Seems less items than before though

So the just reorganized everything in the stores, no more furniture in the middle store, as thats now the dry goods market. Hours vary by location, Tokyo and Main closes at 8 instead of 9.

Always love this market. We get a little bit of everything here. This particular day lots of fresh vegetables and meat 😋 Really good prices.

I would like to report this time for customers who shop at a Japanese groceries market in San Diego. We all know and understand and accept the situation where there are many lines at most of the grocery stores during Covid-19. Also, we saw many stores trying their best to move the line as fast as they can at the cashier section. For that reason, we respect the situation and wait for line. However, I have been seeing Japanese stores, Nijiya, Marukai and Mituewa make customers wait in line without taking care of it efficiently. Customers are just staying in line with no complaints. Since it is like that, I try not to shop there much or at the very least only in the evening. I dont know whether the stores just arent respecting customers or if Japanese people are just very tolerant of this. I felt like Oh...these stores take advantage of this societys behavior and do not take care of customers waiting in a long line and they do not concern about the customers time. Early this afternoon I went to Marukai to shop. When I entered the shop, there were not many shoppers at the store but the customers waiting in line went around the entire store (the customers waiting in line not 6 feet apart, instead being cart-to-cart and yet that long line). When I tried to shop I could not move my cart around easily because of the line. Then, I was worried about how long I would have to wait in line. When I went to check it, the line was not moving at all. I saw that many shoppers had a cart full of groceries. And then I checked the cashiers. There are usually 4 or 5 cashiers at Marukai, but right then there were only 2 cashiers working in this crowded store. And as I checked again and again, nobody was complaining; instead just waiting in line. At the same time, I saw an employee at the cashier who seemed to not care about the situation and was spending time with one customer helping her find some item at the store for a while. So I went to ask her Why are you not helping the line for the cashier section, look at the lines!, but she ignored me and laughed with the customer. Then, a manager came to me to ask what was going on. I told him, look at the line, why are you guys not working and why do you think people should accept waiting in line for a long time, why dont you consider that our time is also precious. then he told me If you complain like that to my employee again, I will escort you out of the store. in a very threatening voice. Then he sent the security guard to watch me while I was in line.Then at least the line started to move faster because every employee started helping at the cashier section including the manager. Nobody deserves this kind of treatment. Our time is also very precious, precious enough to not waste it on stores who dont care about their customers.

Love the three stores! Great ! Everything is great and the staff works like swiss watch! Never missed a beat!

Sorry Im a little late. Being careful with the covid. Anyway when I went there the other day I was planning to make one of my favorite Japanese cuisine Yaki Udon. And I found all of it plus a few more things that I will make sooner. This market is awesome and as usual, the cashier was friendly. Why not go see this place, and I know you will not be sorry. Thanks.

Nice market but no food court or other supporting shops.

I always find what i want here.

New owner i guess. Great price

This is a great place. Not huge but they have a lot. You really get a sense of quality from the goods sold here. I plan on making this a regular stop of mine.

One of my favorite Asian Supermarket to shop!

Great Japanese store, fresh produce, sashimi, Japanese style meat, ready to go Japanese lunch starts around $1.50 from the one rice ball and great selection of Japanese sake and friendly staff. Open from 8am to 9pm. 7 days a week, open even National Holiday 365 days! ( Holidays are might affect the business hours )It has been renovated on July 10th 2021.

Best place in San Diego for Japanese goods and groceries. Closet market to a Japanese combini you’ll find. Felt like I slipped into a portal back to Japan honestly. Also made me incredibly torn and nostalgic. Definitely worth the trip!

This store is usually very fun and interesting. Today it was mediocre because they had a low stock on most things. I couldnt find the things I usually get here.

Place is really nice, you can find a lot of different items here, price is reasonable and peoe are very friendly, if you are looking for real Japanese items, this is the place to visit. The fruit and vegetables they have are always fresh. Must visit place if you are in san diego.

Very good service and great products

It was great. Each shop was individually run. COVID spoiled things a little bit but the selection was awesome. Including the Hello Kitty wine 😍.

Awesome store so fun

Love it here! Easy to get Japanese grocery. Give 4 star because vegetables are usually not that fresh

This supermarket was very big and very pleasant that you can easily get the items you wanted. Their cashier was very patient and friendly. The items were not overpriced. I will be back here again and again.

Nice market with Japanese grocery. Join the membership program to get discount. Customer service are always friendly. Their Benton box are very reasonably price. They also have freshly made mochi!!

Love walking through the store, so many great choices of healthy food. Great supplier of Japanese ingredients with very reasonable prices. Excellent for getting Japanese beer at good prices.

Great Japanese store that has a taste of Japan. Come here for your grocery needs.

I bought one sushi and one sashmi pack, and asked for a couple more soy sauces. The cashier told me that a soy sauce was inside the package and he gave me only one soy sauce after that I asked him one more. He looked very upset at my face and gave another one, he never gave me my receipt. Later on I found out one package didnt have soy sauce. I dont want to back again this market.

Love their sushi

Expensive (most things are imported so I get it) but the store is always clean and tidy, staff is great, bathrooms are immaculate... I go all the time!

Best sushi ever. Very affordable.

Japanese market. A little taste of Japan right in San Diego. Excellent selection of sake that you cant get most places. Sushi boxes, hotel bread, and noodles galore.

Have an awesome selection of sliced meats..very fresh seafood, great selection

Great asian goodies and food.

Love the store people are friendly great products

Very clean and organized grocery store. They have an awesome selection of ready to go sushi trays and other foods. Staff is very friendly and helpful.

Pretty good selection overall good customer service just sometimes they dont have enough of a product when its a high priority product.

Excellent place to shop Japanese items. Staff is very friendly. A few tables available outside shop to eat all-made food bought inside. Microwave available next to cashier.

Decent selection at a lower price than many Japanese markets. One of the widest ranges of Sake Ive ever seen.

Holy amazeballs.. Japanese market from the heavens. Great selection of everything and more.

This is a good place to shop for Japanese grocery but Mitsuwa has more selections. What I like is that their compound of 3 stores has more housewares and gifts than Mitsuwa.

I freaking love this place! Sofa king much!

Busy Japanese grocery store decent prices helpful employees. Bento boxes are cheaper here then at mitsuwa down the street only not made fresh daily in store they are shipped in daily but still tasty all the same. Awesome prices on gohan that cant be beat at regular grocery stores

I love this store because I get things from Hawaii.

Selections are fewer than before but still good.

Very small and nice Japanese market

Good take-out sushi and other prepared meals, nice collection of sake!

My wife and I just moved to north county after living in Japan for two years. This store is truly amazing - I was pleasantly surprised by the variety, quality, and prices. I did not have a chance to try the sushi - it was pretty early in the day and there was only a few packages of sashimi available. I will be coming here often.

My mom loves it here. looking for Japanese products you can find it here

Love the service and variety of items

Great mini japanese market has good meats and fish,as well as essential items, workers are always so accommodating thank you!

Lots of yummy treats!

This store has so much stuff if you cant find it here they probably dont make it.

With excellent choice of meat selections and produce, Marukai meets all your needs for making Korean BBQ at home! They also offer beer, kitchen appliances and many other Asian delicacies. Definitely a win as everything is available in one spot.

Loved this place household goods store is great large selection

I am always going here for japanese goodies, good customer service and store was overall great. They have a wide variety of things from japanese snacks, drinks. Anime toys etc.

Japanese grocery store is always a staple in our house. If youre looking for good prices on Japanese food then this is the best choice in the area .

All the variety of Japanese ingredients that one needs!

When the Hawaiians owned it. It was excellent. But now that Don Quixote owns it its still excellent. Get you a very good price. All the Japanese. And other household items Furniture even. Get you a visit there. You wont be disappointed.

Japanese market, reasonable prices, lots of specials found around the store. Easy access to local freeway.

The bentos were disappointing. The rice was hard as a rock in both the futomaki and the California roll. The kariage chicken and the salmon were overcooked. I frequent the Costa Mesa and Gardena store and Ive never been disappointed. Maybe they do not turn over the bentos as frequently as other stores.

This is where you find bargain grocery items that are Japanese themed. You find decent quality salmon/tuna cubes that are perfect for poke or just homemade sushi at half the price of whole pieces from other markets. Their shabu (sliced thin for hotpot) lamb is another great bargain.

So fun. I dont know what half the stuff I bought is, but I know I will love it.

Friendly staff and good groceries and snacks!!!