X

A Worldly Affair

A La Carte Columns

December 29, 2015

Story By: Christina O Connor |

Sashimi Plate (market price). Photo courtesy of J-Shop

Sashimi Plate (market price). Photo courtesy of J-Shop

For 40 years, Hideyoshi Takasawa has been providing imported goods from Japan to local retail clients, including restaurants and hotels. About a year and a half ago, he decided to bring these treats to the masses, opening J-Shop on Young Street. It carries items such as fish, meat, vegetables, seasoning and more — all from Japan.

“We want to bring in the best quality products,” Takasawa explains.

BITING INTO TRADITIONS

With New Year’s approaching, J-Shop is bringing in items specifically for the holiday, much of which will be on display in the Osechi Ryori (market price). Items featured include black soybeans, herring roe, sardine, sea-tangle roll, red omelet, mashed sweet potatoes with chestnuts, red and white fishcake, grilled fish and ebi.

“Each item here has a different meaning,” Takasawa explains. The items all are featured in the dish with the hopes that they will bring something good in the new year. The soybeans, for instance, are associated with health and diligence, the roe with a growing family. The sardines are said to bring abundance, while the sweet potatoes and fishcake bring luck.

J-Shop’s most popular dish for New Year’s is Sashimi Plate (market price). The specific sashimi that the plate includes will depend on what comes in the next shipment, but Takasawa anticipates that there will be crab, ahi, salmon, red snapper and hamachi, among others.

J-Shop

1513 Young St., Suite 101, Honolulu
200-5076
Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Honolulu, HI 96826

Ilima Awards
Hawaii's Best