Lauren Rivera 
At Mitsuwa, Edgewater residents can travel internationally without ever venturing outside their zipcode. Along with aisles stocked with goods imported straight from Japan, this Japanese grocery store at 595 River Road features a food court boasting authentic eats, specialty kiosks selling unique items, such as mochi doughnuts and coffee jelly, and a strip mall lined with Japan-based businesses. Read on for what to know about Mitsuwa in Edgewater, New Jersey, and how it transforms the average trip to the grocery store into an immersive cultural experience.
The Grocery Store
For those curious about what grocery shopping is like abroad, Mitsuwa provides a firsthand look. Japanese candy, drinks, produce, pastries, snacks, frozen foods, condiments, meat, and more are just some of the items available at this store. Plus, almost everything on the shelves is imported directly from Japan, giving Bergen County patrons a genuine feel for what it’s like to shop overseas.
Like any other grocery store, Mitsuwa also sells ready-to-eat meals, including egg sandwiches, sushi, and meal combos. Most items are the very dishes found in the food court (more on that below).
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The Food Court
Whether it’s to fuel up before hitting the aisles or to indulge in a post-shopping pick-me-up, the food court at Mitsuwa is worth stopping by. Located at the far end of the store, this area is home to various restaurant stalls, each specializing in different sets of dishes. Plus, for visual diners, almost all the eateries line their walls with detailed replicas of their menu items.
At Tokyo Hanten, the menu includes a variety of rice + meat combinations, like hamburg steak with fried rice, gyoza with fried chicken and white rice, and fried chicken topped with a fluffy omelet. Just around the corner, a lineup of ramen dishes is on the menu at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka. The Shoyu (soy sauce broth topped with roasted pork, scallions, bamboo shoots, fish cake, seaweed, and sesame seeds) and the Spicy Miso (chili miso broth with roasted pork, scallions, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and sesame seeds) are just some of the plates available.
Other foodie stalls include Mugimaru, specializing in udon noodle bowls + soba, and Wateishoku Kaneda, which serves a bit of everything: meat + soup combos, udon noodles, meat + rice bowls, and curry plates. Throughout the food court, diners can also find a multitude of kiosks serving all kinds of savory Japanese treats, including shrimp tempura, teriyaki eel, and musubi (a seaweed-wrapped rice snack filled with meats like salmon, tuna, spam, chicken, + more).
The Dessert
If there’s one thing every foodie can agree on, it’s this: no meal is complete without a sweet treat, and this is especially true at Mitsuwa, where there is an array of dessert options to satisfy every sugar craving.
Mochimochi sells mochi doughnuts in flavors like Ube Coconut, Oreo, and Yuzu White Chocolate. Right next door, Kai Sweets boasts a menu of ice cream sundaes served inside waffle bowls. Among the highlights, the flavors include caramel banana, butter sugar, green tea ice, Nutella, and red bean black sesame. Boba milk tea, coffee jelly (coffee-flavored jelly topped with vanilla ice cream), and character-themed pastries, such as Labubu, Kirby, and Pikachu macarons, can be found at this stall.
Kai Creamery, the sister dessert shop to Kai Sweets, features soft-serve ice cream in flavors like purple potato, matcha, black sesame, hoji tea, pineapple, and more. For those seeking a handheld treat, this spot also serves gluten-free chocolate-dipped mochi waffles on a stick. The BG team recommends Kai Creamery’s matcha soft-serve ice cream topped with a purple potato-flavored Mont Blanc, a French dessert paste layered over the ice cream.
Other dessert stalls include Oishinbo, a fish cake spot; ROYCE’ Chocolate, a chocolate boutique; and K. Minamoto, a mochi shop.
The Strip Mall
Located in the same lot as the grocery store are multiple other Japanese chains that complete the Mitsuwa experience. The strip mall, called Mitsuwa Marketplace, is comprised of five Japan-based businesses and a few other non-Mitsuwa-related tenants.
Ümacha, located directly across Mitsuwa’s exiting doors, is a cafe that serves boba tea, fruit tea, and lattes. This beverage spot also serves something called cheese cream tea, a popular East Asian drink consisting of usually green or black tea, topped with a foamy layer of milk and cream cheese. Ümacha’s menu includes cheese cream tea with and without boba in flavors like Jasmin Green Tea, Ceylon Black Tea, Hoji cha Tea, and more.
Right next door to that spot is Little Japan USA. This storefront is packed with anime + gaming merchandise, Japan-imported toys, figurines, and home + stationery items. It is also filled with all kinds of character plushies available for purchase, including Pokémon, Sonny Angels, and the Hello Kitty gang.
One door down from Little Japan is Kinokuniya, which sells manga, light novels, and all kinds of knick-knacks. The store carries both English and Japanese translations of its books. Any Studio Ghibli lover will also be pleased with this spot, as the store sells merchandise from the studio’s iconic films like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke (BG’s favorite), and My Neighbor Totoro.
BG pro tip: If any New Jerseyans find themselves on the Manhattan side of the Hudson, a stop at Kinokuniya’s NYC location is well worth it. Located at 1073 6th Avenue, the flagship store spans three floors packed with books, stationery, manga, and more.
Some of the other spots in Mitsuwa Marketplace are Daiso, a Japanese home goods spot, and Shiseido, an East Asian beauty + skincare store, the Edgewater Performing Arts Center, and the women- and Asian-owned hair salon Michi Beauty Salon.
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