647621 Wed Aug 26 08:47:57 -0700 2009 5 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 4979208 Minamoto Kitchoan is a much-loved shop for wagashi, the sweets traditionally served during the Japanese tea ceremony. I passed by their sign on Market Street today, on the even-numbered side near Kearny (or was it Montgomery?). Workers renovating said the shop plans to open Friday or Saturday. I believe this would be Minamoto Kitchoan's second location in the U.S., after one in New York. See previous post on the dearth of wagashi in SF: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/339336 . Wed Aug 26 08:47:57 -0700 2009 10032 david kaplan 1 4985914 I've actually been to a Minamoto Kitchoan branch in Costa Mesa, inside the Mitsuwa Market. I think they might be in all the Mitsuwa markets. Quite expensive, though the packaging is nice. The wagashi is a little on the old side, especially considering that in SoCal we have other places that do it in house and same day. Fri Aug 28 10:03:31 -0700 2009 4979208 10246 choctastic 2 4986006 There's also Nippon Ya in Japantown. http://stores.shopnipponya.com/-strse-template/about/Page.bok I'm pretty sure one of the shops in the San Jose Mitsuwa sells Minamoto Kitchoan stuff. Fri Aug 28 10:27:37 -0700 2009 4985914 11369 Robert Lauriston 3 4987461 Yep - they have a Minamoto Kitchoan counter right when you walk in, adjacent to the Satura Cakes counter. Fri Aug 28 18:56:19 -0700 2009 4986006 294341 e_tsai 1 4987723 The wagashi-ya was, in fact, open today at 648 Market, between Kearny and Montgomery Streets when I wandered by. I can't vouch for the confections, as I don't have a sweet tooth, except to note that they are very cute. I bought a box of Ankoro Mochi for a friend, a pack of Beika Goma rice cakes for myself and shot a few pictures: http://is.gd/2F9VP Fri Aug 28 21:22:06 -0700 2009 4979208 131118 Xiao Yang 2 4991620 I dropped by the store today and took a couple of pictures. The sweets, presentation, and packaging are gorgeous. Very brave of them to open in this economic environment. http://thesluicebox.blogspot.com/2009/08/sweet-life-on-market-street.html Sun Aug 30 20:28:53 -0700 2009 4987723 1105836 DandySF