Darumaya Japanese Grocery Store

Do not get confused with Darumaya and Daruma grocery store. They are apparently two different stores and not related.

Darumaya is located in Richmond. It is surrounded by many other businesses. Parking is plentiful. I came here to check out some of the items they have on sale here. They have items that you can't elsewhere. Most of their items are from Japan. I picked up some sushi here for dinner. I got the Chirashi Don here. They have 50% off on sushi all the time. Not sure if you consider it a good deal when prices are already higher than elsewhere. However, their sushi are quite tasty.

I would say this place is like a snack paradise. Yes they sell mostly candies and snacks.

I come to the store mainly for Japanese ice cream bars and bath salts.
Although they have an amazing selection of premium meats and seafood that is displayed beautifully, if given the amount spent, it's almost the same cost or sometimes less depending eating a premium Japanese restaurant for wagu and blue fin.

Being stuck at home for weeks, created a need to constantly wanting to munch on snacks so I was glad to discover Darumaya because it is not only a grocery store but a JAPANESE SNACK HAVEN.

They only allow I believe 6 people at a time in currently due to restrictions but it is worth! They had a huge selection of various Japanese chocolate (meji, kit kat, lotte) in larger quantities. Lots of chips, drinks (vitC, fiber, special drinks), gummies and more. I think they really do have one of the largest selection I've seen so far in Richmond for Japanese Snacks. They even gave me a couple of extra candy when I checked out so that's a plus!

Coming back here to restock my snack storage again for sure!

Truly a little gem- love this place for Japanese snacks and food staples. I always end up trying something new whenever I stop by.

For COVID they have a nice lineup policy that they enforce quite well. I went a Sunday afternoon and it was a slow trickle of people so not a long wait.

The shop itself is a snack haven, with discounted candy, seasonings, and mixes in the front (close to their expiry date so if you're looking for random snacks for the day it's great). The front of the store has walls of candy, chips, cookies and pastries. There's ready to go sushi and other food. They also sell fresh and frozen seafood and meat as well, including expensive Wagyu and tuna. The back of the store contains things like mochi, savoury sauces, noodles, teas, and drink mixes.

Service here is really good too- the staff were able to recommend me products based on what I needed for a recipe. Will continue to be shopping here because its always an adventure.

Always been a huge fan of this place. They have everything Japanese from snacks you'll never see at your usual grocery stores to fresh sashimi cuts. They even have meat selections like wagyu beef featuring both sirloin and ribeye cuts. The Japanese beef selections range from A3, A4 and A5 grades.

The meats are prepackages in different cuts and come in all sizes. You can get the thinly sliced or in steak form. Mind you though, some of these prices go upwards of $1500 for the more premium cuts.