Review 41 (2026) I received text messages that I won the prize!!! I got 4th place Door Prize. I got their original Rice Factory Tote bag. Thank you so much. I ordered " Organic Umeboshi from Kishu Japan, and Sasashigure Rice from Japan. Sasashigure is one of the top quality rice in Japan. Sasashigure is a rare, traditional Japanese rice variety and the parent rice of Sasanishiki, one of Japan's most beloved varieties known for its elegant flavor and light texture. With a delicate aroma, clean taste, and firm texture, Sasashigure offers a refined sweetness and a less sticky texture compared to many modern rice varieties. Its balanced flavor makes it an excellent choice for Japanese cuisine, sushi, and onigiri. Today, Sasashigure is considered a rare heritage rice due to its limited production and careful cultivation. I also received $25 credit !!! Thank you again. I will order Sasashigure again if still available. Thank you so much. read more

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You've heard Made to order? Let's try Milled to order! If rice is life, you'll appreciate The Rice Factory, which specializes in rice sourced from different regions in Japan, such as the Yumepirika and Nanatsuboshi from Hokkaido, Koshihikari from Niigata, and etc. Including special limited types. This place is located in Kaka'ako, along Kawaiahao St., near Ward Ave, right across Hana Koa Brewing. Not the easiest to spot, but look for a small, stand up sign, and the parking entrance is right there with a few marked stalls. The Rice Factory is more so a small, boutique store selling many rice-related items, such as utensils, toppings, rice snacks, sauces, and etc. Also has a decent variety of miso. No heavy industrial machinery here! There's clear scatter chart describing the level of sticki-, firm-, and sweetness. Choose from various weights and the percent of milling (0% = Brown Rice to 100% = white rice). Overall, the Rice Factory is defintely a unique store with a decent variety of Japanese rice. It's a little pricier compared to the usual stores. Friendly, helpful service. Worth coming here to try once a while! read more

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I've been coming to The Rice Factory every year I visit Hawaii. I've carried bags of rice home in my luggage more times than I can count. That's how much I believe in what they sell. Which makes this review frustrating to write. The rice is exceptional. The sourcing is thoughtful, the seasonal varieties are genuinely special and if you care about Japanese rice, this place deserves its reputation. The service does not. On my latest visit I walked in with my family, including my two and four year old. If you've ever shopped with kids that age, you know you're already working overtime keeping little hands off displays, making sure nothing gets broken, trying to be respectful of the space. Not once did anyone greet us. No hello. No welcome. No acknowledgment that we'd even walked through the door. When I asked what I thought was a perfectly reasonable question whether I should buy the limited seasonal rice or the variety I'd enjoyed on a previous visit the answer felt dismissive, almost like I was wasting their time. If you're building a business around expertise, helping customers understand the differences shouldn't feel like pulling teeth. That's the entire point of having knowledgeable staff. Yes, the parking is inconvenient. Yes, the prices are premium. I can live with both because the product is genuinely excellent. What I can't understand is why a store built around craftsmanship seems so indifferent to hospitality. I still bought the rice because it's that good. But I left feeling like my business was expected, not appreciated. I sincerely hope they improve because I'd rather support them than look elsewhere. But if another shop opens with rice of this quality and people who simply smile, say hello and take a minute to help customers make a decision, I'll switch without thinking twice. The rice earns five stars. The experience earns one. read more

Musubi lover... This is the place to get your fix with The Rice Factory at the Kaka'ako Farmers Market every Saturday mornings and knowing it's from the rice factory I just had to give them a try. Love the friendly vibe here as the staff is nice to answer my questions with so much to choose from it was the Sukiyaki Beef for me with white rice it's all made to order so it will take a few minutes but it all comes beautifully packed and easy to eat as you browse around the farmers market though on this day it was going to my work peeps who always take care of me and this was the perfect breakfast to start our day. Loved the options here as you can also have it with brown rice and and some fresh iced tea and conveniently bags of the their rice as well to take home but love this spot that knows how to have a "rice" day! Thank you! read more

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Great products, unique products and the rice! High quality rice. If you say there's no difference, you are mistaken. There is a difference. Picked up some dashi, Wafu steak sauce, rice, Onolab vegan kimchee, and some konbu mix for my miso soup! Staff is friendly and helpful. Did I mention the store is so Kawai! read more

The Rice Factory in Kakaako is a hidden gem for anyone who loves premium rice. They carry a variety of Japanese rice for different uses such as sushi, musubi, mochi or general purpose rice. One of the coolest things is that you can actually choose the milling percentage, from brown rice to white rice or anywhere in between, which really lets you tailor the taste and texture. Beyond the rice, the shop also has a wonderful selection of items to pair with your meals--teas, furikake, pickled goods, sauces, and more. Parking is limited with just a few stalls, but the quality of the rice and products make it worth the stop. Definitely a go-to spot if you're looking to bring authentic Japanese flavors into your kitchen! read more

A friend wanted to check out The Rice Factory in Kaka'ako, and I always wanted to check it out years ago! Thanks to all who posted photos and the rice being milled here. Parking was confusing since there's only one stall and I think two stalls on the side. There are other parking stalls but it is for the other shared businesses. Some customers made a quick purchase because they know what they want. Being here for our first time, we tried to look around. So many items that can be used with rice and some other products from Japan. I don't cook much rice at home lately but I appreciate the restaurants who serve Japanese rice. You can surely taste the difference. In Waikiki, I used to go to the former Seigetsu restaurant in the Waikiki Shopping Plaza! They had excellent Japanese food served with Japanese fluffy soft rice which was made in gas rice cooker! To some, they can't tell. I decided to buy this cute 3 lb just milled rice bag of the top rice brand called Yumepirika! The freshly milled rice was warmed and placed in such a cute rice bag! It makes cute gifts to give and the three pound was the affordable size. I haven't cooked it yet but I think it's best to cook it soon! The rice cooker makes a difference but the one at the store for $730 Zojirushi Pressure/rice cooker was way more than I want to spend on the rice cooker. If you haven't been here before, it's a nice experience to get freshly milled rice right here in Hawaii. They do ship to the mainland. The Rice Factory is located near Ward Avenue on Kawaihao St. can easily be missed. read more

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Short grain lovers and those looking to add brown rice to their white rice. This place is it! If your one for fresh milled flour then why not get fresh milled rice! The rice is amazing. They offer 2lbs to try and if you like it you can get larger sizes. The rice is different. I find there's a little learning curve when cooking their rice but once you get it it's amazing! It's worth it! read more

Rice galore! Here is where you can get freshly milled imported Japanese grown rice. The staff are incredibly welcoming and kind. They explain the varieties they carry and how you can choose what % you want the rice to be milled. When you buy rice, they will also include a sandwich bag of the milled rice bran, which you can use for pickling, thickening soups, add to your rice, etc. The shop also carries lots of various condiments, toppings, sauces, drinks, and souvenirs. We got curious about the amazake that was on special sale and they gave us free samples to try. We left this place with 3 bags of rice - koshihikari, yumepirika, and nanatsuboshi - and 3 bottles of that amazake. Just last night, we cooked the koshihikari rice. It was so delicious! It was soft, sweet, and the sticky rice breaks apart to individual grains in the mouth. If you are interested in trying Japanese rice varieties directly imported from Japan, get some the Rice Factory to try. read more

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Updated review since I always forget to take pictures of the shop. Always delicious rice. Personnel is friendly and welcoming. Service is impeccable. The place is always clean, tidy, and they have a bunch of fantastic finds. Love this place! Rice maybe a bit higher in price, but 100% worth the price if you're a rice lover. read more

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Having just arrived home from a trip to Japan, it's great to find similar items that you wished you bought there! The ladies are so kind and store is charming and immaculate. read more

Always friendly people & great service. Love the selection of rice from different regions.

My absolute favorite store on island. This rice is so good, I can't have rice from anywhere else anymore! Their service is incredible and all the grains have descriptions so you know the difference. You can pick how much you want the grains to be milled, anywhere between white and brown. They have gift boxes with beautiful packaging and small portions of multiple types of rice. They also carry other specialty goods, such as specialty shoyu, furikake, and other rice related condiments. This is a hidden gem and absolutely worth a visit! read more

The Rice Factory - Our rice haul! 4 five pound bags and two smaller bags - Specialty Food Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I recently took a really great class on fish cutting and knife sharpening at the Rice Factory provided by OKONOMI Hawaii. It was very personalized, intimate, educational and enlightening. Together with the high quality rice they provide, I thoroughly enjoyed this experience. read more

The Rice Factory - Specialty Food Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Loved trying the different rice choices. It's such a great gift for Hawai'i locals and there are so many other fun little gift items, like different kinds of furikake, miso, chopsticks and little serving bowls. read more

If rice is life... you need to go here. It's a small store front but packs A LOT. Rice is polished and packed to order, staff are super knowledgeable and friendly, great selection on rice/toppings/seasonings. read more

The Rice Factory - Specialty Food Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Staff very attentive and answer all your questions. They were able to let me know what my friend usually orders. They had lots of items to add on top the rice. Fun. Parking lot is small. read more

Good product nice people I recommend this if you want high-quality rice from japan,, excellent package and good customer service all around

I've been coming here for my rice and "omiage rice gifts" for years. Their selection of rice is incredible and customer service is exceptional. If you are confused as to a certain rice, they will gladly assist you. I went a few days ago and got my 5lb bag of Hokkaido rice and got a $10 credit ( for all the rice I buy!). They have cute gifts you can give people for birthdays, showers, etc. You can watch your rice milled while you wait. A must try visit for anyone who likes premium rice. read more

The Rice Factory - A 5lb bag of Hokkaido rice. - Specialty Food Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Walking by and saw the sign , kind of an industrial area. Walking in and it looks like a neat cute shop in Japan. So clean and organized , I love it. They carry japan products related to rice. A nice selection of Sake, rice crackers, mochi powder ,dried mochi, mushroom flavor sauces you rat with rice, dried krill, amazake and so much more. I see a group of workers behind the counter working on foods with rice. Just passing by today but will be back! Friendly irashai!!! read more

I live dangerously close to The Rice Factory and now all other rice has been ruined for me. This specialty rice shop imports all its rice from Japan and really knows its stuff. You can pick from any of their varieties of rice, using a helpful chart of stickiness vs. firmness as well as information about where it's grown and what uses the particular type of rice is best suited for. They freshly mill their rice and you can pick anywhere from brown to white for your milling. Sizes include 1, 2, 5, and 10 lbs. You can also buy a variety of imported Japanese dry goods (furikake, nori, etc), shoyu, bowls, ceramics, and chopsticks here too. It's the perfect stop for any rice-lover or home cook in your life. They also made really beautiful gift packages of 3 vacuum sealed rice blocks you can mail to loved ones on the mainland. Most importantly, all their rice is DELICIOUS! My favorite is the Koshihikari so far, but I can't wait to try more varieties. read more

Visit The Rice Factory in Kakaako for amazing rice from Japan! I had been eyeing The Rice Factory for awhile, especially after viewing email offers and online reviews from fellow Yelpers such as Lyla D. I had driven past the store, located on Kawaiahao Street (cross street Ward Avenue) on numerous occasions, piqueing my curiousity. Made an online order when I needed party favors for a gathering of beloved buddies. It was easy to do and I looked forward to pickup day, so I take a gander of what they offered. Luckily, the parking lot was wide open, as the other 2 businesses were closed for the day. Needless to say, I was able to snag stuff for myself, lol. Sign up for Five Star rewards for points. read more

If you are a rice lover and enjoy eating, the Rice Factory has different types of freshly milled rices to chose from. They also have different selection if Soy sauce, nori, furikake etc. read more

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So, after two years of having my reviews for The Rice Factory stall at the Kaka'ako Farmers Market merged with their storefront in Kaka'ako, I finally made an effort to go to this location. Also, I think my husband appreciates the effort more because this location is a shorter walking distance to and from our home since he's my willing and able "pack mule" on our Saturday morning outings into the farmers market. I found out what I had been missing at our farmers' market experiences is this store's ordering process and commitment to providing Hokkaido's best single-farms and seasonally available rice to your palate. To say "rice is rice" is to ignore the care and passion these small farms put into their crops. The in-store experience differs from its more casual farmers' market stand. The store has its own designated parking lot and currently limits only six customers to the shop. In here, you'll find many imported foodstuffs from Japan that will enhance your meals and the rice that you select or Japanese serving dishes. You'll see several bags of rice featuring different farms and suggestions for their best uses. We've been buying Nanatsuboshi and Koshihikari varieties and didn't realize that we could CHOOSE the milling level or removal of the husk and bran from the rice kernel and polishing. Walking in, we observed the 6-person limit and kept our face masks on for COVID-19 healthy safety. Immediately, we were greeted by a female worker who I've seen at our visits to the farmers market. I think she recognized us by her enthusiastic welcome and graciousness. I already had decided on ordering the Yamagata Tsuyahime variety since we hadn't tried this variety before. Ordering was an easy 3-step process: 1- select the rice variety, 2- choose the milling level (if you need help, they have an excellent display next to the bags of rice), and 3- select the amount of rice. I requested white rice or 100% removal of husks and bran in a 5-pound bag. I chose the 5-pound bag because it is recommended to store this rice in the refrigerator and the small area in our home refrigerator fits this purpose. The worker went to the backroom, where she milled and packaged the rice variety we had chosen. Meanwhile, I browsed the shop and noticed several interesting items such as brown rice pasta and a variety of furikake that I've not seen before. Within a few minutes, the worker popped out from the milling room with our bag of rice, we paid for our purchase, and we were off to enjoy the day. Please note that you're purchasing rice that has been selected from their quality selected farmers' harvest. The appearance, aroma, flavors, and texture of the cooked rice is an elevated experience from your everyday short-grain rice grown in California so expect to pay for the quality. The price ranges from $13.99 to $22.99 per 5-pound bag, dependent upon the rice variety. Pricey? Yes, but trust me, your palate will thank you! read more

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If you eat rice, then you should try out The Rice Factory. They sell Japan's finest selection of rice from farmers in Japan. As far as I know, Hawaii doesn't have a locally owned rice farm, so this is as close to farm to table as you can get with rice. Located on Kawaiahao St, kinda kiddy corner to or across Hana Koa Brewing Co. The shop seems to share a small parking lot with 2 other businesses, and has about 3 dedicated stalls to the shop. Inside, the shop is on the petite side, but sells many, many other items besides rice! Basically, if you cook Asian-style, they most likely have what you need, from Ponzu, to bowls, to rice paddles, and even confectionaries. Keep in mind most of these items are not local, but imported from Japan. They also do business at our local farmer's markets on Oahu, but they run out fast at the markets so go early. Get on their mailing list to get updates! ;) Is the rice expensive? YES, you pay a premium, BUT the price is worth the taste... to meh at least. If you've ever been to Japan and enjoyed a delicious Japanese meal, gohan (rice) is always part of the menu. If you've eaten at Tonkatsu Tamafuji, then you've had their rice. If you just like eating rice, then you should try a bag from hea! Being that I'm part Pah-kay (Chinese) I hadn't really seen the reasoning for spending 30-something on a 10lbs bag a rice when growing up, we spent nearly half as less and got almost twice as much rice to eat. So here's how my journey to this shop started... One day, I decided to tried a $28 bag of Koshihikahi from Don Q's, and noticed even in my free rice cooker I got from the bank, the rice was different. The taste was unique and I couldn't quite put my finger on how that was, but the rice was tastier, and fuller for grains that were obviously smaller than what I was raised on. Next, while having been bitten by a travel bug and visiting Japan twice in one year, I had a Japanese friend visiting the island and played tour guide for the day. I happened to remember fellow YE Randy S. checking into this shop called the The Rice Factory and realized I too, have not been here, so made this one of our many stops for the day. Think we spent 45mins in this lil'shop and had to cancel 2 of our planned stops because of this. We bought all kines of stuff, but I got my first 10lbs of Yumepirika that day. Choose this because Hokkaido was my first visit to Japan and I fondly remember the rice, dairy and everything else tasted waaaay better than home. When you get yours, you'll see the grains are shorter, but FATTER or LARGER than typical calrose rice. What's really unique and adding to the value of this gohan is that they mill the grains right then when you purchase your picks. You can get brown to half and half to full white. That's probably why the grains are much healthier looking that supermarket grains, Now, when I see calrose grains my parents still eat, I think "hoo da skinny da rice." Now that I'm a lil' more educated in both my knowledge of gohan and taste buds, I see the worth in these special grains. Heck, I even bought an expensive electronic rice cooker over the free one I got from a bank. Yes, that too made a difference in the rice experience. So, if you have some change to spare for some of Japan's finest grains, then come to The Rice Factory for all your gohan essentials. I will be back for more myself, till then Grind On! Pau! read more

The Rice Factory - 10lbs of Yumepirika 100%... - Specialty Food Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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The quality and taste of the rice products is on a higher level. It changed the enjoyment level of my meal. The customer service is equally elevated. This has made me a loyal customer for certain! read more

The cutest little store EVER! Near Asahi Grill, this cute lil store is on Kawaihao street. There's a small parking lot with about four stalls, and it seems you can also park on the street right in front of the store. As of Dec 2020, there's a six people limit due to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. The stores has a variety of rice (duh) as well as some complements to go with your rice, like furikake, shoyu/ponzu, miso, etc. and during the holidays they're also selling cute lil gift boxes of assorted rice types! We've gotten two bags of rice (and they mill it for you in the store!) and an assortment of their furikake, miso, and tsukemono and have been very pleases with everything! The workers are all so sweet and hardworking and can answer any questions you may have :) read more

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I used to buy and eat the least expensive rice. I'd ask myself, "why do you want to spend extra money on something that just fills your stomach?". I didn't taste the difference between the rice grown in California and more rice grown in Japan. Even after years of regular travel to Japan I didn't understand why rice tasted so much better there. Now I know. Whiteness, luster (shine and translucency), aroma, texture, flavor, stickiness, softness all matter. If you're eating an inexpensive local plate lunch or bento or supermarket sushi roll you are probably eating Calrose. It's the most recognized variety of medium grain rice available. You can also readily find short grain Japanese rice varietals grown commercially in California or Japan for sale in markets. But if you want something different, the Rice Factory is a game changer. Most Japanese think the rice they grew up eating is the best. That's because in rice growing areas Japanese are used to being able to buy fully husked rice that they mill to order on demand, weekly. It is not uncommon to find machines to mill your own rice for free. Even fully urban Japanese can get packaged rice that has a "milled on" date while we are lucky if the packages of rice we buy in supermarkets even tell us what year it was milled. At The Rice Factory you can choose from several Japanese rice varietals: Nanatsuboshi and Yumepirika from Hokkaido; Koshihikari from Uonuma, Niigata; Koshihikari from Nagano, including a Kamiakari sub varietal grown for the Rice Factory's owner; and my favorite, Tsuyahime from Sakata, Yamagata. All the rice comes from single source farmers. All of it is shipped unmilled, still in husks. You order your rice and it is freshly milled for you to order, according to how much of the bran you want removed. Go home with your new purchase and have a bowl of that freshly cooked rice. Then compare it with what you already have on hand, or a take out side order of rice from Zippys. You'll soon know why The Rice Factory is a game changer. read more

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Last weekend, The Rice Factory celebrated their 8th anniversary by offering Okonomi from Chef Yuji Haraguchi by pre-order, pre-pay with just 30 sets available daily over the 3 days. The Okonomi was a perfect light early dinner and I'm all for pre-pay. The Rice Factory also offered Tamafuji Tonkatsu rolls on a first come, first served basis but by the time we picked up our Okonomi at 1:35pm, the Tonkatsu rolls were long gone. Patrons lined up an hour before sales started and they were sold out in the first 10 minutes... read more

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Very small, unassuming little shop located in a somewhat industrial area in Honolulu. Super friendly staff who can explain the different types of rice and milling percentages and help you decide what's best for you. Once you order your rice from their wide variety of selections (in different weight increments - 1 lb, 5 lb, 10 lb), you can watch them mill it right there in their side room, and the rice is warm when given to you inside the bag. We ordered a few varieties in their small 1 lb bags, and the little bags were so cute and could be great gifts. Their little shop also has other items to purchase, like rice accessories (rice paddles, chopsticks, etc.) and some other food items as well. read more

The rice is polished to your liking, and the Japanese rice is always fresh. There is no harm in buying it. I only buy Japanese rice here. Really recommended. 好みの精米をしてくれて、とにかく新鮮な日本米。買ってみて損はありません。私はここでしか日本米を買いません。ほんとうにお勧めです。 read more

What a find! Looking for a wow gift to present? We received a "Thankyou" from a friend--a beautifully wrapped in a Japanese fabric -- a box gift set of special rice and shoyu, The wrapped gift looked so classy, stunning! Our family decided to present this as a gift to special attendees of a Celebration of Life gathering. Rice is a gift of life! was the message. Store representatives were very helpful. We have gone to buy rice, condiments before but we're unaware of the gift set options. Check out the Rice Factory for special unique gifts! read more

I purchased a gift rice set to sample 6 types of rice from TRF online. I accidentally inputted the wrong address, and immediately contacted TRF, and they were very helpful and respectful about the whole situation. Really great customer support. I tried all of the rice over the span of a month and can without a doubt say that the rice I received is some of the best rice I've ever eaten. Honestly, I've never had such fresh and delicious rice - most of the time I purchase koshihikari from shirakaku at my local grocery store - and don't get me wrong, they also have pretty good rice, but the rice I got from TRF was just marginally better. Most of the rice grains I got were full and undamaged so cleaning the rice was so easy. My favorite of the 6 has to be either Tsuyahime from Yamagata or the Yumepirika from Hokkaido. I also found the descriptions of what the rice would be like and what to serve it with to be extremely helpful. I hope to come by the store in person one day, perhaps after the pandemic calms. read more

The Rice Factory - Individual grains of rice and very full and unbroken, perfect for sushi. - Specialty Food Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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First time to buy rice from there! But it was will worth it. Got couple other items like Konbu powder and some puffed rice snacks. Got 5lb bag of Niigata rice. Looking forward to tasting it soon. Last time I was in Niigata I ate so much rice as it was wonderful! read more

I visited this place on June 3rd and over the past weeks have rice sampled each of the rices in the Rikka sampler pack as white rice (which still includes one brown rice). I have rated them and include a Brief description. The rice was stored as recommended by the rice factory workers. I also included a review of the soy sauce and ponzu I got. As a disclaimer, when rating the rice, it was based off of just the plain rice right out of the zoujirushi rice cooker (after 10 min wait period as mention in instructions). I did try to eat the different rices different ways and mention a couple, but my rating/description is based off of the rice being plain. Also, when I reheated, I just stuck the rice in the microwave for about a minute- no paper towel trick. These opinions are my own perceptions of the rice and May differ from others. I followed instructions included to make the result consistent among each of the rices. 1. Yumeprika I can see why they say it's their best seller. It is the lightest, fluffiest, and most defined kernels of all of the rices. It doesn't make you feel weighed down after eating and is definitely high quality. My family's unanimous favorite. Also had a nice shine to it. Reheated: didn't stand a chance, it was so good we ate it all so there was no leftovers. Idk if that's good or bad.... tasty rice, but you eat more because it's so good....lol 2. Koshihikari Light, fluffy, defined kernels of rice. Similar to yumepirika in my opinion, but not as light fluffy, or defined. I tried this first and liked it the most until I had the yumepirika. Reheated: still light and fluffy like previous day, didn't need a wet paper towel to reheat. Kernels less defined as first day 3. Nanatsuboshi Similar to tsuyahime but little more sticky and firmer instead of soft, with defined kernels. Made fried/crispy musubis (see pictures) with it that turned out really delicious! Reheated: tastes a little better than before, a little less sticky, and somehow got shiny? Idk how. Got me. Doesn't need the paper towel trick. 4. Oboroshi Drier than the rest of white rice, not as dry as brown, not sticky, similar to jasmine rice. Can't imagine I'd be good for musubis but probably for some really good fried rice. Reheated: little drier than the previous day, but not that noticeable. Wet paper towel needed at rice eater's discretion. 5. Kamiakari Defined hearty, nutty, better than the premium brown rice from Marukai. I should note though that I'm not a fan or brown rice in general, so I have a bit of a bias, but taking that into consideration it was pretty good. Reheated: drier than previous day, probably would have helped to use the wet paper towel trick. 6. Tsuyahime Taste the closest to premium rice from the super market. Sticky, soft, and defined kernels only one I didn't care too much for. Seems like I'd be the best for musubis. Reheated: little drier r groan when it was fresh but I prefer this texture. Not as good for making musubis at this texture. I would say it was better for not using the wet paper towel trick. I do want to note that even the ones at the bottom of my list, are still very good, just not as good as the ones higher up, in my opinion. I can see how depending on what you're making, one rice would be better than the other, but this was based off of just the plain rice. Honestly any of these rices are way better quality than anything you can get from the store. The kernels are all quality whole kernels, which I'm not sure how to describe it any other way than that but, when you try it, you'll know what I mean. If you still aren't sure which to pick, the Rikka sampler pack was a great way to try all with out committing fully. I definitely figured out which one I'm gonna buy a bigger pack of! Each pack in the Rikka is 1 pound and makes about 3 RICE cups, which they sell too (Not to be confused with regular US cups). I will also say that after eating this rice, it has definitely made me a lot picker about my rice. If i eat rice from anywhere else, I don't really care too much to eat a lot of the rice (I'll eat just enough to balance out the oil in the food so I don't get a sore tummy). I do also want to note that the rice is pricier than your conventional grocery store rice as I believe the cheapest one is ~$14 per 5lbs and can run anywhere upward of ~$22 per 5lbs. Where in the grocery store the premium rice they have runs ~$10 per 5 lbs, So if you eat a lot of rice, it might be more of a special occasion rice. But if you can afford it, are living alone or with just a sig fig and/or eat a moderate/small amount of rice, I'd say it's well worth it. Buy this rice! As a pro tip! Ordering before arriving is probably best as they mill the rice there. The first time I went I didn't know and waited about 30 min. When I went with my friend yesterday she was able to just pick up since she ordered it prior to going down. read more

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I went there recently for the first time. I was always given their rice as gifts and always enjoyed it. The service was so good that they got my woofer to buy more than what we went in for, lol. The shop has additional tie-ins like ceramics, food, utensils, etc. The shop and backside appeared to be very clean. The rice we got was very good, as anticipated. I hope many people buy from there so we all can benefit from a fresh rotation of rice inventory. read more

This place was highly recommended by my ophthalmologist, so I decided to check it out, and although I haven't eaten the rice from here (I've only given bags of these fancy rice as gifts--they make excellent gifts, by the way), I've been told by friends who I gave the rice to, that the rice is awesome! The people who work here are super nice, patient and courteous, and are willing to explain the different rice (all from Japan) that they carry. The store is on the smaller side, but filled with a lot of good stuff, including many things to eat with rice (furikake, ume, etc.). Ordering online is quick and easy too! I will definitely be back to get some yummy rice for myself! read more

Great freshly milled rice products. You can get real gourmet rice here in any milling from brown rice to our snowy- white rice. Each package has directions to follow to properly cook the rice. Although its in broken English you'll get the gist of the preferred method: wash properly, soak, cook and let it steam. All rice should be cooked this way, especially this rice! Yes, this rice will cost a bit more but its very fresh and flavor- packed. read more

The Rice Factory - Specialty Food Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Absolutely a great outlet to find great quality Japanese rice and related seasonings. Cute little store with lots of Japanese products as well as rice. read more

The rice is milled here fresh and that must make all the difference in the work. We tried their Hokkaido white riced milled. So soft fluffy and good tasting. No words can describe it for me. Just try it. Expensive but worth it to mez read more