The Pirate Review - Uwajimaya

Looking for products from Asia? Uwajimaya, in Seattle's International District, has about everything your little heart could possibly desire

There are many places to visit in Seattle's International District—Hing Hay Park, the Danny Woo Community Garden and Kobe Terrace Park, the Wing Luke Asian Museum, and numerous shops and restaurants to find Chinese herbs, Japanese animation and Asian seafood—but if you only have enough time to make one stop in the I.D., it should be Uwajimaya.

One of the largest and oldest Asian groceries on the West Coast, Uwajimaya was originally started by Fujimatsu Moriguchi, who in 1928 began selling fresh fish cakes from the back of his truck to Japanese laborers in the Puget Sound area. He named his mobile business Uwajima-ya, "Uwajima" being the city where he had learned his trade and "ya" being the Japanese word for store. From these very humble beginnings, Uwajimaya has grown to three supermarket-sized stores in the Pacific Northwest, all featuring Asian-imported groceries, gifts and household goods. The flagship store in Seattle recently moved a block south of its original digs, into huge and beautiful new quarters—the new Uwajimaya Village complex takes up a full city block and contains not only Uwajimaya, but a set of apartments, several restaurants, a coffee shop and an Asian bookstore.

If you're an adventurous cook, or simply curious, you'll love Uwajimaya's produce and grocery section. Along with the standard apples and mangoes and coconuts, you'll find fresh lychees, bamboo shoots, matsutake mushrooms in season, cute green baby bok choy, durian—the brown, spiky "king of fruit" that smells of rotten onions—and lots more. There's a huge butcher block for beef, fish and poultry, where you'll find the ubiquitous chicken feet, live seafood, and a cold case full of sashimi-grade fish, ready to be served. The aisles are filled with the standard ramen and curry rice, but also offer such delicacies as pickled quail eggs, dried cuttlefish snacks, hard candies in unusual flavors, and the steamed fish cake that first started the company. There's no better place in Seattle to stock up on soy sauce, mirin, and multiple varieties of high-quality rice. Best of all, for those who'd like to use these new ingredients but aren't sure where to begin, Uwajimaya offers cooking classes.

In back, Uwajimaya has a deluxe lunch counter; you can choose selections from the Chinese steam table, pick up some East Indian curry, get yourself some fresh-made sushi, or order half a barbecued duck to go. You can also pick up numerous selections from the Pan Amorë bakery, including mochi, specialty cakes and cream pan—a soft roll filled with cream custard that's surprisingly addictive.

Behind the registers, you'll find the household and gift section. Here are numerous pots, pans and kitchen gadgets (including about a kajillion rice cookers), raku-fired tea sets, imported fabric, housewarming gifts, Shiseido cosmetics, and of course the ubiquitous Sanrio display complete with cutesy Hello Kitty paraphernalia. Since most of the items in this section are imported directly from Japan, you're most likely to go into sticker shock here—but it's great for browsing. It's also easy to go wild here if you're an origami nut (guilty)—they sell loads of different kinds of paper in all shapes and sizes, and the price, if not dirt-cheap, is at least reasonable enough to convince you into buying several packets.

In the northeast corner of Uwajimaya is a glassed-in area that houses the Kinokuniya Bookstore, technically a separate business—but people move pretty freely back and forth between the two. Inside Kinokuniya is a wide variety of Japanese-language books, newspapers, periodicals, manga and anime; the store has a good stock of both translated and untranslated items. Kinokuniya is also a good place to pick up notebooks, incense and other gift ephemera.

Have you guessed by now that I love this place? I do! I can't help it. From the minute I walk through the front door and come face-to-snout with the Chinese dragon hanging from the ceiling, I just feel happy at Uwajimaya. You will too.

Arigato gozaimasu!

(By the way, if you're still wondering—it's pronounced just like it's spelled, oo-WA-jee-MA-ya. See, that wasn't so hard.)