Now with three Orange County locations (Costa Mesa, Irvine, Yorba Linda), Tokyo Central is the modern form of Marukai – a Southern California retail/supermarket chain that opened in 1965, established its Costa Mesa store in 2002, and rebranded to its current identity in 2015 after being acquired by Japan’s famous discount retailer Don Quijote. Mixing freshly made and packaged Japanese foods, Tokyo Central’s collection includes imported snacks, fruits, and drinks, plus ready-to-eat sushi, hot meals, and mochi treats from LA’s historic Fugetsu-Do; hand rolls, nigiri, onigiri, and similar items tend to be priced roughly halfway between other supermarkets and restaurants. Smaller collections of household goods, beauty items, and toys are also available in varying quantities between LA, OC, and San Diego locations.
The latest OC store – opened at the end of July 2025 in Irvine – has even more of Don Quijote’s layout and design DNA, including a more maze-like entrance designed to expose visitors to the store’s unique mix of goods. It’s attached to a full-service sushi restaurant named Waka Sakura, making it more directly competitive with rival Japanese supermarket chain Mitsuwa, which operates large food courts inside its stores. Parking tends to be a challenge across locations, but is easier at the newer Irvine store.
