The Hidemi Japanese Confectionery (409 West Hastings Street, Downtown, 604-685-3731, www.hidemi-enterprises.com) imports serious goodies from the mother country, while adding a West Coast twist with its own “healthy” line of treats such as peanut brittle (without the peanuts) and rice-cake-covered soybeans without the potentially toxic Japanese flavoring. However, most of this neatly ordered shop is devoted to classics such as wasabi beans; handmade jelly (kumquat, gold); and soy, sesame, and salty-rice crackers (sold mainly by weight).
For Japanese junk food, and a brief immersion into the world of the itinerant Japanese English-language student, visit Minna No Konbiniya (1240 Robson Street, Downtown, 604-682-3634). Some-thing of a general store, it carries phenomenally popular sweets on themes such as Pocky and Hello Kitty; comfort food such as packaged ramen, dried fish, and rice crackers; huge sacks of Japanese rice; and tiny pink and lime-green umbrellas and teddy bears. There’s also an Internet station. Upstairs in the Karaoke Box (604-688-0611), you’ll find walls of movie videos, pool tables, a games arcade — and private rooms in which you can hunker down with Japanese, Canton-ese, Korean, or English-language music and wail your heart out.
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