If you love Japanese culture, food, and want to visit a neat place and kind of feel like you are…read morevisiting Japan, you need to visit Mitsuwa!
Not only is there a food court of different Japanese restaurants to try, there is also a grocery store, bakery, bookstore, and stores that sell ice cream, traditional desserts, as well as crepes and boba tea! My family and I visit here often every year and we like to try the different foods and desserts and then check out the bookstore and grocery store afterwards.
My favorite foods so far have been the beef udon soup with a soft boiled egg, shrimp and vegetable tempura, miso soup, and Japanese curry with rice, beef, and vegetables (carrots and potatoes). My son always gets the chicken and beef on a stick and my daughter usually gets a garlic pork dish with white rice but I forget what this dish is called. My husband also enjoys the beef udon soup like I do. I swear that whenever my food is finished, I am legit sad! The crepes are good, there is a variety of boba teas to try, and the ice creams are delicious! Lychee has been my favorite so far but I have yet to try the matcha, red bean, among others! You can get a small sample of different ice cream flavors too, which is nice! I sampled the red bean flavor so that will be my go-to next time!
At the grocery store, I love buying Happy Turn snacks which are like a sweet and salty crunchy cracker (maybe it is made of rice?) that are individually wrapped and mochi from the fridge area. Finally, I usually like to buy mochi from the store right next to the bookstore. The mochi from this location is the best! I usually buy multiple flavors to take home and eat at a later time! You must try these!
My kids love checking out the bookstore and they usually pick something out for me to buy for them - whether it is a book, keychain, etc. There are magazines, anime figurines, soft plushy toys, pens, and stationary, etc. It is interesting to browse through the things they have there! You cannot bring food or drinks inside but they do have a shelf at the entrance where you can place your drink there if you like.
The first time visiting here, the majority of the customers were Asians and as the years have passed, there is now more of an influx of non-Asians who simply love the food and appreciate the culture, which I think is neat! The first time I visited here was with my college roommate who was from Japan and she recommended this place back in 2009 perhaps? I have been visiting ever since with my family. We travel more than an hour from Wisconsin to come here but it is 100% worth the drive!
Also, the cashiers and workers there are quick, efficient, and friendly. I have even been able to practice a few of the Japanese phrases I have learned with a couple of the cashiers too (I asked if they spoke Japanese first)!
Overall, Mitsuwa is my happy place! Great food, interesting finds, different culture, and everyone there looks excited to be there. This is as close to visiting Japan as I can get until I keep learning more Japanese and save up enough money to go visit Japan someday! This is my dream! In the meantime, we will keep visiting Mitsuwa!