Mitsukoshi fresh stocks exclusive Japanese items you won’t find anywhere else - BGC

Mitsukoshi Federal Retail, Inc. merchandising and marketing division head Jennifer F. Start with operations head Mary Grace A. Reyes

Whenever we traveled to Japan, we wanted to take pieces of it home with us in the form of food. We couldn’t transport Hokkaido ice cream or A5 Wagyu in our bags, so we settled for candies, cakes and treats that were super-kawaii thanks to their artful wrapping and exquisite presentation.

Now you don’t need to travel to Japan to find specialty food items and worry about how to take them home. There’s one place in BGC that carries all these items and more.

Mitsukoshi Fresh stocks exclusive Japanese items you won’t find anywhere else in the Philippines, as we discovered on a shopping trip there recently.

Since opening in 2022, Mitsukoshi Fresh, a Japanese-themed supermarket inside MiTsukoshi BGC, has attracted not only Japanese expats but increasingly, Filipinos and foreigners living here who crave something uniquely Japanese. The mall itself feels like being immersed in a large department store in Tokyo—which is exactly what MiTsukoshi BGC is, as it celebrates its 350th year of operating in the city.

Carting up: Authors Scott and Therese are happy with their exclusive Japanese finds.

As Mitsukoshi Federal Retail, Inc. merchandising and marketing division head Jennifer F. Start told us, “What really sets Mitsukoshi Fresh apart is that we carry Japanese items that are exclusive to us, that you won’t find elsewhere,” like Tokyo Banana, boxes of individually wrapped soft cakes with banana filling that are a craze now among Japanophiles.

MITSUKOSHI FRESH delivers Japan’s finest to your neighborhood grocery, like healthy green drinks.

Or how about bottles of Little Kiss coffee and black tea liqueur, which are a real after-dinner treat? Whisky collectors will love their rare Okukuma Shochu that’s aged in Olorosso sherry casks.

The UCC Experience station in the middle of the store is a multisensory attraction, featuring The Roasters and Sumiyaki coffees.

Speaking of Hokkaido ice cream, Hokkaido is so famed for its dairy that Start says sticks of Hokkaido butter fly off Mitsukoshi Fresh’s shelves, even if they cost P1,000 each. But even if those are sold out until the next air-freight shipment arrives, fear not: Hokkaido chocolate, rolls, cheese, butter cookies and caramels are always on offer.

Start says that the precooked meals are their top sellers, like chicken karaage, chirashi bowls and sushi rolls, showing that the market for convenient, ready-to-eat and exclusive Japanese foods is going strong and expanding every day.

MITSUKOSHI BGC is located at the podium level of The Seasons Residences. To know more, visit www.federallandph.info/theseasonsresidences