Uwajimaya open in Renton Village

August 9, 3:46 PMSeattle Anime and Manga ExaminerEvan Edgerton

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Uwajimaya, the Seattle-based Asian supermarket chain, recently opened a new store in the Renton Village Shopping Center, filling the space left by the Thriftway that closed earlier this year. Though nowhere near as extensive as the Seattle location, the Renton Uwajimaya features the basics: a wide selection of (primarliy Japanese) Asian groceries, including sushi (made and shipped fresh to the store daily), as well as a Deli and small gift area. The store also includes a dining area, a selection of Asian-language periodicals, and a BECU Neighborhood Financial Center.

 So what is there for Renton-area anime and manga fans? Aside from the food and the various sweets associated with popular characters such as Doraemon and Anpanman, there's an aisle near the middle of the store (also containing Pocky and other snacks) with several small figures and toys for sale. These range from small Gundam models (mainly from the Gundam 00 series) to Ultraman figures to a variety of Pokemon candies. Admittedly, the selection isn't very large, but it might be worth checking out if you're in the area stopping by for some lunch. Also of note is Shane's Big League Sports Cards, a small shop just across the street that sells both Sports Cards and TCG cards such as Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh! if that's your cup of tea.

The store will be wrapping up the last week of its grand opening sales this week, details of which can be found on their website. The sale is being held at all Uwajimaya stores, and ends on August 11th, after which a "Hawaiian Food Week" sale will be held from the 12th-25th. Shoppers looking for a cheap dinner should also note that markdowns on the made-daily products such as sushi start at around 6:00 p.m.

Another point of interest: careful listeners may recognize several familiar opening and ending songs from popular anime series playing over the loudspeakers, such as "Sagittarius" from Nodame Cantabile, "Harmonia" from Naruto, and "Bouken Desho Desho" from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

 For more info: You can visit the Uwajimaya website, www.uwajimaya.com, for information regarding store locations and hours, sales, and events.