Japanese grocery stores in Europe

So far we have listings for Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

General notes on Europe: Japanese expat populations are the largest in London, Paris, and the business centers of Germany, especially Düsseldorf.

Let us know about your favorite stores, or comment on the ones already listed! (When the information in a comment is incorporated into the main article, the comment is deleted to avoid huuuge page syndrome.)

Belgium

Tagawa Superstore

Chaussée de Vleurgat 119

1050 Brussels

Recommended by Cacahuete

Denmark

Sanchie

Fiolstræde 32

DK-1171 Copenhagen

Danish web page [1]

Japanese grocery

Den Kinesiske Købmand

Nørre Voldgade 54

DK-1358 Copenhagen K

Danish web site [2]

Japanese grocery

France

See the France page [3].

Greece

Also see the Greece-Japan.com [4] site. (In Greek and Japanese mostly.)

Soya Athens

Apollonos 33-35 Plaka

10556 Athens

email: info [at] soyaathens.gr

English, Japanese, Greek web site [5]

Google Maps [6]

Food, gift items, tableware, etc.

Germany

See the Germany page [7].

Netherlands

Japans & Koreaanse Delicatessen Shilla

Gelderlandplein 32-34

1082 LB Amsterdam

Tel:+31 20-6428423 Fax:+31 20-4422361

Comments: “My choice. What the name suggests. Stocks frozen, packaged and a limited variety of fresh products. Also has a small prepared food section. Friendly folks. Their website is not operational, however, here one can view an ipx and opening times” : link [8] -(Basak)

Takuhai

Dutch, English and Japanese web site [9]

Online only shop (“Takuhai” means “home delivery”). Delivers in the Netherlands and to other countries - contact them and ask if they will deliver to your location. Payment is by bank transfer only.

Comments: “I’ve ordered from them several times and haven’t had a problem.” -(anon)

Yama Food

In the Shopping Arcade of Hotel Okura

Hotel Okura Amsterdam

Ferdinand Bolstraat 333

1072 LH Amsterdam

Dutch web site [10]

Comments: “It is a very small shop; a bit difficult to navigate. Also pricier. Very helpful owner,though. They claim to stock over 1000 products imported by them.” -(Basak)

Norway

Japantorget

Arbos gate 2

0368 Oslo

Norwegian webpage [11]

Portugal

General notes on Portugal: Intermarché [12], a French supermarket chain, has a growing Asian food section -(Ana)

Misato-Ya

R. Navegantes, n.º 368-A

2750-444 Cascais (área da Grande Lisboa)

Tel.: 214 849 450/4 Fax: 214 849 459

E-Mail: yasuragi [at] mail [dot] telepac [dot] pt

Comments: “All products have a portuguese translation, which is nice because even in supermarkets you don’t have a translation on some products.” -(Ana)

Slovakia

Seoul Plaza Slovakia

BAJKALSKA 5/C

BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA

02 4437 3900

Submitted by Alice

Spain

General Spain notes: There seems to be a growing Japanese expat community in Spain, especially of retirees.

If you read Japanese there is a terrific forum for Japanese expats living in Spain, here [13]. (スペイン探偵局)

There is a Japonica rice that is grown in Spain, called “Minori”, produced by Okura Y Asociados Products, S.A. Web site [14]. (But it has no contact info! Geez.)

Barcelona

Tokyo-ya

Calle. Comte Borrell, 334-336

　08029 Barcelona

Tel: 93 439 30 40　　　Fax: 93 419 9539

Mon-Sat 10:00-14:00, 17:00-20:00. closed Sundays and holidays.

Bus: Pl. Francesc Macia, 6,7,15,27,32,33,34,41,59,63,66,67,68.

Japanese website [15], Spanish website [16]

The site says it has fresh and frozen foods, folk art, housewares, sushi, onigiri and prepared foods. They will deliver.

Madrid

Tokyo-ya

Avda. Presidente Carmona, 9

28020 Madrid

Tel: 91 579 23 11　　　Fax: 91 570 7174

Mon-Sat 10:00-14:00, 16:00-20:00. closed Sundays and holidays.

Metro: Line 1 ESTRECHIO, Line 10 SANTIAGO BERNABEU

Also at

Calle. Jorge Juan, 75

28001 Madrid

TEL: 91 575 0556

Mon-Sat 10:00-14:00, 17:00-20:00. closed Sundays and holidays.

Metro: 2 and 4 lines to GOYA

Japanese website [15], Spanish website [16]

The site says it has fresh and frozen foods, folk art, housewares, sushi, onigiri and prepared foods. They will deliver.

Sweden

Sun Ai

Tegnérgatan 15

11140 Stockholm

Japanese and Swedish web site [17]

Groceries, housewares, books, sundries (including Hello Kitty stuff). Will deliver to Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.

Japan Food & Kitchen (JFK)

Swedenborgsgatan 28

11827 Stockholm

Japanese, Swedish, English web site [18]

Food, kitchen appliances, etc. Sells restaurant supplies too (like a sushi robot).

Switzerland

General Switzerland notes: The biggest Japanese expat community is in Geneva. You can also increasingly buy some Japanese ingredients at the department stores (esp. Globus). Migros and Coop both carry a few Japanese/Asian (mostly Thai) products.

In the last 5-6 years, there has been an explosion (well in Swiss terms) of “Asian” restaurants in the major cities. Quality and authenticity varies. Most serve some form of sushi.

This page [19] on the Laughing Lemon site (they offer highly regarded cooking classes in English and German, as well as catering) lists what’s in season in Switzerland. See this page [20] for dates and times of the markets in the major Swiss cities.

Basel

Wasabi

Gueterstrasse 138 (near the south entrance to the Basel Hbf)

4053 Basel

061 363 00 00

German web site [21]

Bento lunch takeout, sushi catering. Not a grocery store. (Note: Closed? Web site is still up though, so maybe call before going.)

Genève (Geneva) and Lausanne

Alimentation Japonaise Miyai (CLOSED)

45,Rue de Zurich

1201 Genève

Tel 022-731-4862　Fax 022-731-6781

French and Japaneseweb site [22]

Besides groceries, has bento and sushi that can be pre-ordered.

Mikado

Rue de l’Ancien Port-9

1201 Genève

Tel. 022 732 47 74, Fax 022 738 87 97

Tue-Fri 09:00 - 18:30, Sat 09:00 - 18:00, closed Sunday and Monday

Email: info at mikado-food dot ch

French, Japanese and Korean web site [23]

In recent years, Mikado seems to be concentrating more on the restaurant/catering side of things. Selection of groceries is a bit limited, though adequate for basic needs. Takeout sushi etc. are not bad. Delivers anywhere within Switzerland. (maki)

Uchitomi

Rue Ferrier 13-15

1202 Genève

Tel: 022 731 26 01 Fax: 022 738 52 16

geneve at uchitomi dot ch

Mon - Fri 9:00 - 18:30, Sat 09:00 - 17:00, closed Sun (no sushi or comestibles on Mon)

French web site [24]

also at

Ruelle Grand-Saint-Jean 5

1003 Lausanne

Tel. 021 312 40 01 Fax 021 312 40 02

Email lausanne at uchitomi dot ch

Mon - Fri 10:00 - 19:00, Sat 09:00 - 17:00, closed Monday and Sunday

A review here [25].

Also see moshi moshi [26], a site that lists Japanese restaurants in the Genève area in a tiny, tiny font.

Zürich

General Zürich notes: There are quite a few Thai grocery stores. Migros City’s fish department is pretty good for fresh fish. Increasingly, the morning markets are carrying Asian vegetables - in particular the Helvetiaplatz market and the Bürkliplatz market. At the latter, I’ve spotted things like shiso plants and fresh yuzu!

Aggarwal Indian Food

Langstrasse 62

8004 Zurich

(right near Helvetiaplatz)

Also stores in Basel, Bern, Langenthal

Tel: 044 241 28 79

Fax: 044 241 93 67

Monday - Friday 8 am to 8 pm, Saturday 8 am to 4 pm

German, French and English web site [27]

An Indian/South Asian store, but has many produce items that are used in Japanese cooking like taro roots, okra, bitter gourd, etc. and a few Japanese ingredients like miso.

Lian Hua Asiatische Lebensmittel

Birmensdorferstrasse 94

8003 Zürich

(Tram lines 9 and 14, several buses, or any S-Bahn that stops at Bahnhof Wiedikon)

also at

Schaffhauserstrasse 269

8057 Zürich

(Tram lines 10 and 14 to Berninaplatz).

This is mainly a Chinese store but has Thai, Korean and a small amount of Japanese items too. Fresh vegetables used in Asian cooking are available here like garlic chives (nira), winter melon, gourd, lotus root, etc. 15% off all food items on Saturdays. A wordier review [28]. (maki)

New Asia Market

Feldstrasse 24

Tel. 044 241 80 00

Trams 2, 3 or Bus 32 to Kalkbreite

General Asian store; not many Japanese ingredients but still useful. Has a few things Lian Hua doesn’t. (maki)

Nishi’s Japan Shop

Schaffhauserstr. 120

8057 Zürich (Tram lines 7 and 14, stop Guggachstrasse, or lines 7, 9, 10, 14 stop Milchbuch)

Tel. 044 363 11 63, Fax 044 363 28 92

Email: info at nishishop dot ch

Monday 13:30 - 18:30, Tue - Fri 09:00 - 18:30, Sat 09:00 - 16:00, closed Sun

Japanese, German and English web site [29]

Maki’s local! Small store with a surprisingly comprehensive selection. Sometimes runs out of stock of popular items like tofu, especially on weekends. See a wordier review [28]. (maki)

Thanh Hung Import + Export AG

Wehntalerstr. 280

8046 Zürich

Tel. 044 371 38 77, Fax 044 371 39 55

General Asian grocery store.

YumiHana

Schützengasse 7

8001 Zürich

Just off the Bahnhofstrasse, a couple of blocks from the main train station

Tel: 044-750 51 61 Fax: 044-211 57 59

Korean grocery store with a lot of Japanese ingredients, plus of course Korean goodies. Prices comparable to Nishi’s. See a wordier review [28]. Also has a small eat-in counter and takeout. (maki)

Also see this page [30].

United Kingdom/Ireland

See UK and Ireland page [31].

Europe-only mail order sites

Many places with web sites listed will ship to you within Europe, or at least within the same country. Visit the sites and find out!

• Japan Centre [32] ships all over Europe. This page [33] lists the countries to which they will ship food. Shipping is free within the UK over £30 worth of merchandise. They ship non-comestibles worldwide. In my experience, their shipping is expensive but very fast. Excellent service. In Switzerland at least the price including shipping is about the same as buying locally, so it’s handy for stuff that the local stores don’t stock.(maki) Recently teamed up with the 100 yen shop chain Daiso. Disclaimer: Japan Centre is a premium sponsor of Just Hungry, and we’re very happy to have them - we were happy customers of theirs way before they became a sponsor.
• Ja-Mart [34] is based in Germany and also states on their web site (which is in German, English and Japanese) that they ship to various countries in Europe. Besides food, they sell kitchenware, tableware, etc. including some 220V electrical appliances such as Zojirushi rice cookers.
• Wai yee Hong [35] is a Chinese supermarket in Bristol, UK. They will ship all over Europe.

Let us know about your favorite stores, or comment on the ones already listed! (When the information in a comment is incorporated into the main article, the comment is deleted to avoid huuuge page syndrome.)