Sakura

Sakura is a tiny yet incredibly well-stocked Japanese store that packs a ton of high-quality goods into its cozy space. From Japanese stationery, snacks, candy, and instant ramen to pantry essentials and freshly prepared foods, this place has everything you need for a quick bite or a home-cooked Japanese meal.I stopped by during my lunch break for something light and was pleasantly surprised by their selection. They offer a great variety of homemade sandos (Japanese-style sandwiches), onigiri, and little cakes that are perfect for a grab-and-go meal. They also carry a fantastic assortment of Japanese name-brand drinks and snacks that won't disappoint. Despite the compact space, they curate their items thoughtfully, so you'll always come across something interesting.The staff inside is incredibly kind and helpful, making the shopping experience even better. They also have a sale table with discounted items, which is a nice bonus. Parking is street-only, but the store is conveniently located near several other shops, cafés, and restaurants, making it a great stop while exploring the Inner Sunset area. Whether you're looking for authentic Japanese ingredients, a quick and delicious lunch, or unique snacks, Sakura is a must-visit!

Cute shop with good selection of Japanese snacks, drinks, and gifts. They also have food to go, but this is purely a take out store, so no seating.

Little local market selling japanese sundry items and food. Not the easiest to find as it's ticked in between what looks like residential homes. A little on the higher priced side, but then again we are talking SF Bay Area pricing. Cashier was present but not very attentive. The fruit sandos were cream heavy, the onigiri were fresh, but the rice to filling ratio was rice heavy.

Very cute little store with tasty bento boxes with just the right amount of food. Only $11 for a box with salmon, some veggies, and tofu. All was pretty tasty, but the Salmon was a tad overcooked/dry.The store is bare bones but also a cute spot with food and gifts. I hear that the bento boxes run out pretty quickly, usually by noon.

I love popping in here for a quick grab-n-go onigiri, bento, or sando (thank you for having vegetarian options!). They also some tasty-looking cakes. Convenient, fresh, and healthy, plus it's a great option for a picnic in the park. They have been steadily increasing their food options and I hope it continues. Happy to shop local and support small businesses!

Cute establishment. I got spicy tuna onigiri. It was wrapped incorrectly that I just opened the darn thing as it was. It was flavorful but dry. Good thing I had kewpie mayo on hand. Katsu sandwich was okay. Support local!

I've walked by this Japanese gift shop many times, but honestly, I was never motivated to stop by until recently when I heard through the social grapevine that they were selling packaged housemade food. In particular, I heard they had sandoitchi, Japanese-style sandwiches, just like a Family Mart or Lawson's in Japan. They had closed to renovate the space into more of a grocery store.When I heard they finally reopened as a convenience market, I was so there. Now it didn't really turn into a Family Mart. That would've been wonderful, but they now have a refrigerated section with quite a packaged food collection. Prices were quite reasonable, so I scooped up my lunch to take into Golden Gate Park where I found a quiet bench in the AIDS Memorial Grove.I bought the $8.50 Egg and Pork Katsu Mix Sando which had egg salad on one side of the sandwich and on the other, a huge pork katsu with shredded cabbage and tonkatsu sauce (photo: https://bit.ly/45B7HSi). They used Japanese milk bread which lent it the authentic soft texture I was expecting. I also treated myself to the $5.50 Mitarashi Dango, three skewers of glutinous rice balls (photo: https://bit.ly/45B7Jto).They were covered in a sweet soy sauce glaze. It was all good stuff, quite welcome - though I prefer the more streamlined style of Japanese native sandoitchi, and while I like egg salad, tamagoyaki would've been nice. Still, when I closed my eyes, I felt I was next to the big pond in Ueno Park on a brisk day. But then I opened them and saw a homeless man urinating in the bushes. Welcome to San Francisco.FOOD - 4 stars....good sando and dango, made me want to catch the ShinkansenAMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...looked like they're still organizing things, no cafe seatingSERVICE - 4 stars...friendlyTOTAL - 4 stars...good to know I now have a source for sandoRELATED - Exploring the Sunset? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2EI8eIJ

Sakura is so cute!The owner always seems to be donning a big smile and her selection of freshly made Japanese pastries, sandwiches - in addition to her well curated selection of pre-packaged Japanese sweet and savory treats - is truly lovely.Having spent my Freshman year of high school in Tokyo - I can distinctly remember making a daily trip to a close by local patisserie and picking up my favorite after-school treat - a freshly made Japanese-style Mont Blanc. A Mont Blanc cake, if you're not familiar with it - is "composed of a sponge cake covered with spiraling vermicelli of yellow chestnut puree, and topped with a yellow preserved chestnut." (taken from Wikipedia). That Mont Blanc excursion in High School was a special ritual for me and I used to love unwrapping the stunning cake and admiring its perfection before indulging in its sweet bliss. I was excited on my most recent trip to Sakura - to spy a lovely looking Mont Blanc cake in their freshly made refrigerated section. It was nestled among some delicious looking carefully made Japanese sandwiches and pastry delights. It made me smile and a wave of nostalgia rolled over me.If you're in the neighborhood and looking for some delightful picnic fare for Golden Gate Park, or enjoy stocking up on fun Japanese products and treats - definitely stop into Sakura.Trust.

Sakura recently had a grand opening and kinda changed to more of a japanese convenient store. during grand opening week, they had a TON of sales!A bunch of plushies on sale for $5 - I got two cute pandas! I went back the other day and it looks like they're all sold out.I am excited to try their food though - i've only tried their salmon onigiri so far and it was ok. A bit dry for my liking and too much rice, but they seem to have a pretty good size of selection for other foods that I'm excited to try in the future. They do sell out fast on some days so try to go early for fresh food.// edit 8/23/23came back again to Sakura to try out more food items.Got their (1) chicken katsu sando (2) strawberry sando (3) onigiri againChicken katsu - a bit disappointing; chicken was relatively dry and overall flavor kinda blandStrawberry sando - cream was super good, bread was dry, wish it had more strawberries because I think the whole sando only had about 4 strawberriesOnigiri - was ok; i've had it before. see my onigiri review in the 3rd paragraph.

Just went today for the first time when I was wanting a snack. I had the Japanese egg salad sandwich and it was great! Also grabbed a tea and a sweet cake that was there as well. It's a cute little shop that has amenities as well as candies, some sandwiches and other treats. I want to get back and try the chicken katsu sandwich next.