Shuei- Do Manju Shop: San Jose, CA

Japantown in San Jose has always played a rather prominent role in my childhood. My parents own a laundromat which is practically around the corner from this community. Often times after school or on the weekends, my siblings and I would wander around Japantown and browse the gift shops, buy bento box lunches or treats at one of the several shops. One shop that I always fondly visited was Shuei-do Manju shop. Shuei-do was honored with having the priviledge of serving their manju to the Emperor of Japan on his last visit to the U.S. It is a quaint little shop with a lot of charm. They sell manju all year round and shaved ice during the warm summer months. The little old ladies are extremely helpful and can help arrange a box according to your taste or for that someone special if you are giving it as a gift. There is also complementary gift wrapping so don’t be shy to ask for it if you intend to give one of their lovely box of sweets as a gift.

Most of the manjus go for $1.10 /piece with a few going for more. I had been craving manju from this bakery for quite some time but my family doesn’t quite appreciate these subtle delicacies so I waited till my last day in town to bring back a box of 10 pieces to share with my guy. The ladies were helpful as usual with arranging a box they thought I would like and wrapped it with care. I was off on my way and in a few short hours I was in San Diego. I showed the box to Ernie but at first sight I don’t think he really thought he would enjoy it. However, like many things that I’ve introduced him to it only took the first taste to totally convert him. Instantly he became a lover and I had someone to share my love of manju with. Our favorite were the the pink mochi with smooth lima bean filling and the green one also filled with smooth lima bean and rolled in a thin layer of ground peanuts.


What isn’t to love about fresh manju? The mochi is so iresistably soft and tender. The bean filling is at just the right level of sweetness. There’s no preservatives! So you are just eatting honest to goodness manju meant to be eatten fresh and not left on the store shelves.

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Shuei-Do Manju Shop
217 Jackson St.
San Jose, CA 95112
(408)294-4148
 Tu: 11am-5pm
W-Sa: 9am- 5pm
Su:10am-4pm