Uwajimaya Village Seattle

I hate to be a voice of dissent, but let me say it anyway: Uwajimaya is certainly not bad, and it's really a mainstay for many people, Asians, Asian-Americans, Caucasians, etc., and a big part of...
Published by cat c. More

I hate to be a voice of dissent, but let me say it anyway: Uwajimaya is certainly not bad, and it's really a mainstay for many people, Asians, Asian-Americans, Caucasians, etc., and a big part of the International District, with its modern, pan-Asian flavor. And the fish market is excellent, probably the best in the city. The vegetable and fruit section is very good, as well, with far more variety than almost anywhere and the quality usually at least better-than-average. The food court, I guess, brings a lot of tourists as well as regulars, not much different from Westlake Mall (maybe a little more authentic). But from the beginning, I felt it was pushing out the smaller Asian groceries (at least at this end of the ID) and providing a QFC kind of experience to Asian grocery shopping. And the prices were, considering the volume of business, not inexpensive compared to the Chinese and Vietnamese groceries. a 15 cent reduction in price on something $2-$4 is peanuts. I bought a top-notchy Japanese Tiger brand electric rice cooker (which, along with Zojurushi, are far superior to the Chinese or Taiwanese brands, which don't do brown rice) for $170 on sale--which was still more expensive than what you pay online (including S+H). And the return policy on such things was essentially "once you've used it, you can't return it." I also purchase my Japanese rubber acupressure sandals, which I wouldn't have been able to find elsewhere, here. For a real Japanese culinary or grocery experience, I am afraid this is still not that close (I've been to Tokyo). Efficient, clean (especially as compared to most Asian groceries)...and very crowded, which is another reason I find it not the most relaxed grocery shopping experience. On the other hand, I'll have to admit that the Chinese/Vietnamese markets up on 12th & Jackson (Viet-Wah, etc.) are REALLY chaotic by comparison. But generally the staff, especially the cashiers, are pretty polite, which is more of an ingrained Japanese cultural/societal thing (the Chinese, by contrast, are "nice" to those they are connected to in some way--"guanxi"). And I don't really need a whole (long) aisle full of various kinds of hot chili sauce and soy sauce. Sometimes less is more. (Trader Joe's provides an example of where pre-selection and scaled down selection is actually a good thing). Living in Asia years ago, I actually enjoyed going to smaller specialty stores rather than the gigantic Western-style supermarkets which were becoming the rage (and indeed still are and have become the norm, even in China today). There is a certain charmless, sterile impersonal quality to these supermarkets (think especially of Fred Meyer). Thought the era of the shopping mall was over. For such a gigantic grocery enterprise, one would think they would have planned better restrooms, too. Some of the Western groceries--seemingly randomly selected--are second-rate, things that I would never buy at a QFC, etc. Don't know why their buyers do such a poor job there. Quality, not quantity, please...
Published by cat c. Less

If you lived in one of the apartments above Uwajimaya Village Seattle, you would never need to venture away from home again! The large flagship market boasts a WaMu branch, a nice Shiseido shop...
Published by Heather B. More

If you lived in one of the apartments above Uwajimaya Village Seattle, you would never need to venture away from home again! The large flagship market boasts a WaMu branch, a nice Shiseido shop (for the unfamiliar, Shiseido is a brand of upscale cosmetics geared towards the Oriental complexion), a beauty salon, an optician, a Kinokuniya bookstore (largely Japanese, but a good selection of books in English, too), a gift and housewares shop (everything from cards to rice cookers to fine artisan pottery), and a food court with a good selection of cuisines, in addition to their own deli. The grocery itself is primarily Japanese and was founded back in 1928 by Fujimatsu Moriguchi, who named his Tacoma-based enterprise "Uwajima-ya" (Uwajima store) after his hometown. He and his family were interred during WWII, but afterwards relocated to Seattle, where they proceeded to open a retail store. Uwajimaya has been there ever since. Uwajimaya offers Japanese and other Asian staples and delicacies, extremely fresh (read: sashimi-quality) fish, a wonderful selection of produce, cuts of meat popular in Oriental cuisine (including sukiyaki beef and pork), a good selection of Asian (again, primarily but not exclusively Japanese) wines and beers, a large selection of frozen foods, teas, snacks, noodles...basically everything one needs to cook nearly any Oriental cuisine at home. There's even a small selection of Western-style foods. The gift and housewares section is separate from the grocery, and is a wonderful place to find gifts for a loved one, yourself, or your home (when was the last time you bought your house a present? ;-) ). There are Japanese knives, woks, bamboo steamers, rice cookers, dishes ranging from teeny condiment bowls to huge platters, cards with lovely calligraphed kanjis, Sanrio for the little ones...I think they even have fabric and patterns there (they used to, at any rate). Kinokuniya is a wonderful place to browse for cookbooks, manga, and books about Oriental history, lifestyle, culture, and architecture--even if you don't speak the language, there is a large selection of books in English. I don't know offhand if there are books in languages other than Japanese and English, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if they did. We love to shop here, even though it's a long drive for us. We look at all the pretties, plan wonderful Asian meals and shop for them, browse the books, and then get lunch at one of the many stalls in the food court. Food Court offerings include: Aloha Plates (Hawaiian BBQ), Noodle Zen, Saigon Bistro, Shilla Korean BBQ, Thai Place, Yummy House Bakery (and oh, it is!)--even a Herfy's for the thoroughly unexperimental!
Published by Heather B. Less

So, so fun. Where else can you stick your hand in a tank and squeeze a geoduck? So what if your hand stinks afterwards? And also this is a great place to find weird gifts. You can find a present...
Published by Karina S. More

So, so fun. Where else can you stick your hand in a tank and squeeze a geoduck? So what if your hand stinks afterwards? And also this is a great place to find weird gifts. You can find a present for anyone....provided they're a little quirky.
Published by Karina S. Less

I love to shop here - they have such a fun variety of interesting Asian "stuff" here, a lot of which I have no clue what it is! (But that's ok!) I like to check out the fish tanks and wander...
Published by Heather B. More

I love to shop here - they have such a fun variety of interesting Asian "stuff" here, a lot of which I have no clue what it is! (But that's ok!) I like to check out the fish tanks and wander through the produce section and of course - the tea selelction is quite extensive. The prices are very low and the quality is high - a win for everyone!
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