Import Stores in Hiroshima: Your Home Away From Home

Dec 27, 2021

Import Stores in Hiroshima: Your Home Away From Home

People who come to Japan can be divided into three types when it comes to food. The first type is a person who continues to eat a typical Western diet. The second type is the type who decides to abandon all Western foods and “go Japanese” completely. The third type of person looks at both the Japanese and Western diets and swings between the two.

Whichever type of person you are, at some point during your time here, you will be very likely be overcome with a craving for some food from your native land. Maybe it will be from the thought of having something from your favorite restaurant or some traditional dish associated with an important holiday. Either way, you will find yourself wanting something familiar, comforting, and (usually) much, much more expensive than you would be able to buy it for back home. So, what do you do when this happens? What do you do when all you want are Tim Tams, Vegemite, Hershey’s chocolate, turkey, refried beans, or anything with spice?

Easy. You go to an import store, and in Hiroshima, you’re lucky to have a decent selection to choose from.

If you’re downtown, you can head to Shareo, the underground shopping mall, to stock up on all your favorites from Jupiter. I find that this store has many products/brands you can’t find at the other stores, and I believe they stock the best range of products like breakfast cereals, pantry staples, dried fruit, and different brands of chocolate.

Jupiter

One of the largest chain stores in Japan for imported foods is Yamaya, and there are branches throughout the city and further out in Hiroshima Prefecture. Many people assume they only sell alcohol but are pleasantly surprised when they discover there’s also food. Yamaya has a wide selection of beer, wine, and spirits, both local and imported, and is a good option if you can’t find what you are looking for at other stores. 

730-0051 Hiroshima-ken, Hiroshima-shi, Naka-ku, Ōtemachi, 1 Chome−1 (Shareo Underground Shopping Center) (map link)
082-242-7371
www.jupiter-coffee.com

Yamaya

The last import shop is Kaldi. Kaldi shops are scattered throughout the city; there is a small branch in Hiroshima Station and one in the Aeon Mall at Fuchu, which you can get to by train (Tenjingawa Station, Sanyo Line; the stop after Hiroshima Station). Of interest to our Australian readers is that they are the one shop that carries vegemite.

Map Link (multiple locations)
yamaya.jp
Store List

Kaldi Coffee

Of course, if you’re looking to buy in bulk, head straight to Costco and sign up to be a member. It’s located next to Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium near Hiroshima Station. They have everything you could want and more, but there are many obscure and cheap brands that you might not know, and there’s no guarantee that you will find the brand you want. I rarely go, but I know some people who go to buy things they miss terribly from home every week. It’s worth a look whether you decide to go all out and buy anything and everything, or you want to see what it’s all about.

Map Link (multiple locations)
www.kaldi.co.jp
Store List

Costco

Overall, import shops and their products are more expensive than you would pay back home, but it comes with the territory of being imported to an island nation. Also, depending on your shopping list, you may find yourself having to visit multiple shops to see everything. Either way, when you have that craving for something from home, you’ll probably be willing to pay whatever price or go to however many stores it takes to find what you are looking for. The search can be almost as rewarding as that taste of something from home. 

2 Chome-3-4 Minamikaniya, Minami Ward, Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture 732-0803 (map link)
costco.co.jp
082-890-0877

Mr.ちゅらさん, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons