To find Sunrise Mart in New York City’s East Village you must either be observant, or knowledgeable about Japanese grocery stores in the area. From the street level there’s a neon sign that reads “Sunrise Mart” along with 3 banners that advertise the Japanese Specialty Market in both English and Japanese. When you walk under the neon sign through a glass door, you end up in a tiny room with nothing more than an elevator, stacks of Japanese newspapers, and a bulletin board where people have pinned homemade ads for jobs and events in countless languages. A timeworn elevator slowly takes you up to the second level, where an emporium of foreign delights awaits.
I meandered around the store and spoke to customers about what they buy, how often they frequent, and what their favorite products are.
Chiawen
Nationality: Taiwanese
How often she frequents the market: 2 times a week
Favorite Product: Mr. Green Tea’s green tea flavored ice cream (sadly for Chiawen, they were sold out that day)
I found her buying ingredients to make sushi bowls. What she gets at Sunrise that is hard to find elsewhere: Uni, which is sea urchin. “It tastes like tongue,” she said, “human tongue.” Acquired taste? Or fishy comfort food? I’ll leave it to Chiawen to decide.
Laz
Nationality: Japanese
How often he frequents the market: once every two weeks
What he goes to Sunrise for: Beer, bento boxes, and small sweets
His basket was mostly empty as he gazed at row of microwaveable Udon bowls. In his basket he had Sapporo beers, although he told me that he goes for any Japanese-brand beer.
Tiffany
Nationality: Chinese
How often she frequents the market: once a week
Her favorite product: Japanese seasoning, soy sauce, and dashi, a Japanese soup base made from kelp and fish products
She was buying rice, vegetables, and different meats to cook throughout the week.
Tom Wasu and Khomkrit
Nationality: Thai
How often they frequent the market: once a month
What they were buying: Pocky (sticks of biscuit dipped in chocolate) and a crispy crab snack
They mostly go to Sunrise for the snacks. I caught them excitedly inspecting a container of tiny, dried-up crab and a box of special-edition Brazilian orange flavored Pocky. They had never tried either, but were looking for something adventurous to munch on.
Masa
Nationality: Japanese
How often he frequents the market: once a week
What he was buying: snacks for his 5-year-old son and ingredients for dinner
He does most of his shopping at Trader Joes but goes to Sunrise for things like fermented soybean, fish eggs, mushrooms and certain vegetables.
Sven and Mila
Nationality: Chinese
How often they frequent the market: 1-2 times a week
What they bought: Iced Tea and Lemon juice
They were having dinner next door and stopped-in for some post-meal beverages. Usually, they’re there to buy snacks like potato chips and sweets. Like Tom Wasu, Sven loves Pocky but can’t buy it.,“because I eat it too much,” he said.