Marukai Japanese Speciality Store: A Review

I guess you could call me a shopper. If asked, I don't really like shopping, however I do like getting a bargain. I like finding new and interesting stores. When visiting California, I have a list of places I have to visit while there. One such place is Marukai. A place I refer to as the 99-cent Asian store. Upon my recent visit, I was surprised and saddened to hear the location I frequented closed. This caused me to look online for an alternative.

I was excited to find Marukai is actually a chain store with other locations relatively close. There are twelve locations in California. Some are membership stores, some are non-membership stores, others are grocery stores while some are 98-cent stores fashioned after a 100 YEN type store. (Locations and website listed at the end of article)

The membership stores require a fee to shop. They are: Regular Membership are an Annual Fee of $10 while a Senior Membership (Age 62 and over) is $5 annually. If you aren't sure and want to visit for the day, you can purchase a trial membership for a one-day pass for a dollar. (What a bargain!)

I enjoy the 98 cent plus store. It is always an adventure and bargain. They carry Japanese food, Japanese health and beauty products, Japanese household items, and Japanese stationary products. Please note you will find items priced above 98 cents, they are marked well. They also have a few furniture items that sell for well above 98 cents, more like a couple of hundred dollars. Some shoppers are put off by this and think it is false advertising to state they are a 98-cent store. I however, prefer to view it as an adventure. You never know what you will find or discover. One other warning, shopping here might take longer than usual. Most items are in Japanese with little or no English. So if you don't know what the item is, it may take some time to look at the packaging and decipher the contents. For me, this is part of the experience.

Membership Supermarket

GARDENA
1740 WEST ARTESIA BLVD., GARDENA, CA 90248

WEST COVINA
1420 SOUTH AZUSA AVE., WEST COVINA, CA 91791

COSTA MESA
2975 HARBOR BLVD., COSTA MESA, CA 92626

Membership/Non-Membership Supermarket

LITTLE TOKYO
123 S. ONIZUKA ST. #105, LOS ANGELES, CA 90012

MARUKAI PACIFIC MARKET
1620 W. REDONDO BEACH BLVD., GARDENA, CA 90247
TORRANCE 3832 SEPULVEDA BLVD., TORRANCE, CA 90505

98cent PLUS / Super M Stores

GARDENA
1360 WEST ARTESIA BLVD., GARDENA, CA 90248

SUPER M STORE TORRANCE
22850 HAWTHORNE BLVD., TORRANCE, CA 90505

San Diego

MARUKAI MARKET
8151 BALBOA AVE., SAN DIEGO, CA 92111

MARUKAI LIVING
8125 BALBOA AVE., SAN DIEGO, CA 92111

DAISO JAPAN
8111 BALBOA AVE., SAN DIEGO, CA 92111

San Jose

CUPERTINO
19750 STEVENS CREEK BLVD., CUPERTINO, CA 95014

You can also find information online about their stores at http://www.marukai.com.