Tokyo · Hiroo and Azabu
National Azabu Supermarket
National Azabu is an imported-food supermarket at Minami-Azabu 4-5-2, opposite Arisugawa Park. According to the official website, the supermarket opened in 1962, and the current building was built in 2012 on the site of the old one, which had become outdated. It has vegetables and fruit, meat, dairy, general groceries, wine and spirits, and toiletries.
This is not a kosher supermarket and it has no supervision. According to the FAQ page of Chabad of Japan, which has no date, it carries among other things frozen bagels, tortillas, bread and pitas, and wine with a hechsher, and prices are high. What is on the shelf changes, so check the hechsher marking on every package.
Good to know
- Which hechsherim are accepted: the Jewish community in Hiroo accepts OU, OK, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and Badatz in its kitchen. According to its guidelines from 2009, some Japanese products without a hechsher were also approved for use in the kitchen: plain flour, sugar, salt, unseasoned white rice, pure honey, regular coffee, regular Lipton tea, GABAN spices and Kikkoman soy sauce. This is the community's list for its own kitchen, not a general hechsher.
- If you are looking for a specific product, you can ask by phone before you come: 03-3442-3181.
- The chain has another small branch in Hiroo Garden Hills, near the community synagogue, open 10:00-20:00 and with no parking. This branch has customer parking.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of National Azabu Supermarket.
- HereNational Azabu Supermarket
- 1 min
Arisugawa-no-miya Memorial Park More to see
Right opposite the supermarket, across the road. A Japanese garden from 1934 with a pond and a stream, and ducks on the pond. In November the ginkgo leaves turn yellow.
- ~3 min
TruffleBAKERY Hiroo Food
A bakery near Exit 1 of Hiroo Station, on the way from the supermarket to the train. Not kosher.
- ~5 min
Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library More to see
At the top of the park's hill. In the cafeteria on floor 5 you may eat food brought from outside, so you can buy products with a hechsher at the supermarket and sit down to eat them there. On weekdays the library also has a restaurant, not kosher.
- ~14 min
Jewish Community of Japan More to see
The community synagogue in Hiroo: a mikveh, a library and a meat kosher kitchen.
- ~17 min
Azabu-Juban Shotengai Street
A long-established shopping street, with family shops alongside cafes. The walk there from the supermarket goes up the Minami-Azabu hill.