Hyakushoya-kai

Hyakushoya-kai in Tenma-cho is a great little store and supplier of high quality products that are kind to the environment to produce, come from as near as possible, are less cruel to animals, and  support the farmers themselves. The staff who run this shop are highly ethical and concerned about the environment and quality of our food. What we like best of all is that everything tastes great as well as being good for you.

Located near the Tenma river, next to a small red Tori gate, this is an interesting neighborhood to explore, only about a 10 minutes walk from peace park. Around the corner, the little eatery (and local izakaya at night) “Noraya” offers great lunches and dinners and is supplied with all of the Hyakushoyakai’s great produce. These great ingredients, mixed with great home-style, healthy Japanese cooking is a must if you are in the area. You will find some of the same staff working here as at the grocer. As I mentioned above, they are highly ethical and we have really grown to trust them over the years. For example, once they did a recall of the organic rice we bought because they had discovered that some pesticides were in fact being used on the farm. After the Fukushima disaster, it was Hyakushoyakai that we trusted for information on safe food and water in our area. The staff are long time Hiroshima residents who really care about the welfare of their community. If you have time to chat, many of them have amazing stories about growing up in Hiroshima.

Although this grocery shop is quite small, but they offer a wide variety of products in their catalog that you can order and pick up at the shop a few days later. Or you can pay a membership fee to have it delivered to your home (within the city) once a week. Go into the shop, show them your address and ask if they can deliver to your address. It is very convenient, you don’t even have to be there every time for delivery, they will leave it on your door and you can settle the bill another time.

Delivery membership:
¥4500 for the first year and ¥1,500 for each year after. The ¥3000 deposit is reimbursed to you when you cancel your membership.
The delivery charge of 400 yen is waived if the order total is 5,000 yen or more.

You can have a regular or standing order of a box of 6-8 types of seasonal veggies that arrive every week for less than 2,000 yen for a large box and 1,500 for a small box.

Customers comments

How to find it: Get off the streetcar at Dobashi. Cross the road towards the 7-11 and continue on that road for about 10 minutes on foot. You will go over a bridge (Tenma River). Continue, watching for a large red Torii on your right. The shop is next to the torii. The owner speaks English and will try to help you find goods and can suggest ways to prepare traditional Japanese vegetables if you don’t know how. You can wash the vegetables at home and soak them briefly in vinegar if you are concerned about “guests”. He is VERY reliable with deliveries and can help you set up a weekly delivery if you like. The vegetable set is very good value for your money. I’ve been getting weekly deliveries for over 6 months and am very happy with his service. You can also pick up a lot of the food and other goods directly from the shop. One of Hiroshima’s finest shops! (Eleanor) 

I have a delivery once a week from this shop. The box of seasonal vegetables is really good, always very tasty and good value. The staff are friendly – the delivery man explains how to store things if he thinks I might not know. The free range eggs are really good, well worth the extra money not just for knowing they aren`t coming from battery chickens but also for the taste. You can get a big bag of okara – the whey of tofu – for 31 yen. This is a really good source of protein and absorbs flavours much better than regular tofu. It keeps in the freezer if you don`t want to use it all at once. The cookies are really nice too. You can get environmentally friendly shampoo, soap etc too as well as food. This is a good option for anyone who isn`t sure about whether to use the Body Shop anymore after its takeover by L`Oreal. A great little shop for anyone who is interested in organic, environmentally-friendly, cruelty-free products. (Carla)

Product categories in the catalog:

• Tofu and Soya Products
• Dairy: Milk (gyunyu), yoghurt and cheeses
• Breads (pan)
• Free Range Eggs (tamago) and chicken (niwatori)
• Fruit (kudamono) and vegetables (yasai)
• Rice (gohan) and flour
• Dressings, condiments and seasonings
• Fair Trade/Organic tea and coffee
• Jam and Honey (hachimitsu)
• Snacks: potato chips, chocolate, biscuits, etc…
• Fish (sakana) and seafood
• Soap (sekken) and shampoo
• Free Range Beef gyuniku, ham and sausage

Some of the many vegetables available at the store fresh every Monday through Thursday

• Gobo– burdock root (boil or fry)
• Ninjin – carrot (sweet and delicious)
• Horenso – spinach (delicious cooked or fresh)
• Shiitake, shimeji – mushrooms
• Shoga – ginger
• Jyagaimo – potato (beautiful and big- great for baked potatos)
• Tamanegi, negi, nira – onion, green onion, leek
• Cabetsu, letasu – cabbage, lettuce

There is no parking, but you can pull your car in front of the shop along the road and keep an eye on it easily. It is not a busy road and never seems to be a problem finding a space.
An English speaker works at the shop on Monday from 11 to 6. He also said he’ll write an English brochure explaining the system for those who would like it.

Opening hours: Open Monday to Saturday 9am-6pm
Closed: Sundays

Address: 9-8 Tenma-cho, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima-shi
Tel: 082-296-2386

 

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Sample Catalog Translation

Of course, there are more products available than listed here and please be aware that it is likely that prices will change and availability of items changes by season.

On the first (pink) page of the catalog is the specials which change week to week, but regular offers include the following

• 15. Large Seasonal Vegetable set (year contract)1680yen each time (8-10 kinds of vegetables)
• 16. Small Seasonal Vegetable set (year contract 1260yen each time (6-7 kinds)
• 17. to take a break from the year contract delivery pay 200 yen/each time to hold your contract
• 18. Large Seasonal Vegetable set (no contract)1785yen (8-10 kinds of vegetables)
• 19. Small Seasonal Vegetable set (no contract) 1365yen (6-7 kinds)
• 102 Eggs – (pack of 10) 441yen
• 103 Eggs- (pack of 18) 598yen (give back the packaging to reuse)
• 106-111 different kinds of tofu
• 113 Non-homogenized milk 325yen
• 114 Pasturized milk 294yen (low chemicals and hormones)
• 115 “” (500ml) 168yen
• 116 coffee flav. milk
• 117 heavy cream
• 118 pudding
• 119 plain yoghurt 294yen
• 120-124 various yoghurts
• 125-129 various cheeses
• 130 soya milk 388 yen
• 131 butter
• 132 margarine
• 133 bigger size margarine
• 135-150 Baked Goods- cookies, breads, cakes and cookies
• 202-227 Fruits and Vegetables- seasonal and often changes, but we love the following when available:
• 202 Fuji apples 828yen
• 203 Strawberries 630yen
• 204 Oranges
• 206 Mikan Oranges
• 207 lemon
• 208 potatos
• 209 onions
• 210 carrots
• 215 green onions
• 217 cabbage
• 218 broccoli
• 220 spinach
• 221 salad greens
• 225 shimeji mushrooms
• 235-250 japanese ingredients and spices (miso and such)
• 502-514 tea and coffee
• 516-529 jams, honey and other jellies
• 531-550 Chocolate, Nuts, Senbei and Sweets
• 602-625 Japanese main food ingredients: seaweeds, katsuo, konbu, hijiki, nori, dashi (soup base) packs
• 627-650 Soaps, Shampoos, Conditioner (Rinse), Facial and body creams and treatments
• 702-730 Fish and Seafood
• 715-730 (“Farm Foods” Meat Products) mince, filets, Ham and Sausages & weiners
• 732-742 (“Ton Ton” Pig Farm Meat Products) roast cuts, sliced, mince