Ebisuya

I have been literally looking everywhere for a legit Japanese market like the ones I used to frequent to for years in Japan as a little one. I'm not taking H Mart or other Asian grocers with "all-things Asian". Not that I have anything against them, and I definitely frequent them for most of my Asian needs! But I was looking for a place with anything and all Japanese, and I happened to find it right next to our hotel in Medford of all places. They have full stock on just about anything you would find in a supermarket in Japan, from frozen goods and fresh seafoods to kitchenwares and school supplies. They even have a small restaurant with freshly made bento and made-to-order sushi, AND a fully functioning automatic Toto toilet/bidet in their restroom! For a while now I've been craving arabiki (Japanese sausage) and ever since I left Japan I've only had it once more at Japadog in NYC before they closed. I was nearly brought to tears of joy when I saw that they carried the sausages here, and instantly bought several packs to take home. Among other unique offerings they also had soy sauce dispensers with all different kids of soy sauce to self service from, and entire sections of Japanese pastries and snacks. We also ordered some fresh made bento and sushi, and were extremely pleased. The oyakodon was to die for, and it was made with haenuki rice, which brought back some fond memories as a child. The tamago nigiri was amazing as well, not to mention the hamachi, tuna, and octopus nigiri we ordered. The only downside, if being picky, is that they don't have any alcoholic beverages. They do have non-alcoholic beer, but nothing that would make you tipsy. No worries there for us, however. We can find them widely available elsewhere. Parking is on the street, so don't forget to pay the meter, it's only 25 cents for 15mins, or if you're like us, walk from the hotel. We could easy spend a whole day here if we wanted to! I know for a fact that we will be making routine stops here if we are in the Boston area again, it's definitely worth the trip!