Two Japanese Markets on Stevens Creek, and the Clock That Splits Them

Tokyo Central at 19750 Stevens Creek Boulevard closes at 9 p.m. on a normal day, and at 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Hashi Market, in the old Sprouts space at 20558 Stevens Creek Boulevard, keeps its lights on until 11 p.m. Hashi also told reporters it plans to discount its sushi in the evening. That two-hour gap says a lot about how the two stores now divide Cupertino's Japanese grocery shopping.

Hashi opened on Oct. 9, and the first coverage treated it as the newest big Asian supermarket in the Bay Area. For people who already shop this stretch of Stevens Creek, the useful question is narrower. Which store fits which errand? Hashi is built for the unplanned meal and the special-occasion treat. Tokyo Central is built for orders you place ahead, and that matters most from now through New Year's Day.

The hours after 9 p.m. belong to Hashi

Hashi's late closing time matters because of how the store is laid out. SFGATE called the grab-and-go section the store's real draw. Three large kiosks sell chicken katsu bentos, curry bowls, salmon teriyaki and $26 A5 wagyu rice bowls, and a full wall on the right side of the store holds sushi rolls and boxes of nigiri. The same report pointed to tech workers nearby and De Anza College students just down the road as the people this section would serve.

Then there's the evening sushi deal. Operations director Justin Li told KRON4 that fresh sushi in Cupertino would be 30% off after 8 p.m. Hashi's New York stores built their reputation on that late-night deal. Head of operations Ava Liu told SFGATE that the discount would cover all sushi and would start soon. With the doors open until 11, the discount window runs three hours. Tokyo Central closes one hour after it starts.

Plan to eat somewhere else. El Estoque, the student newspaper at Monta Vista High School, reviewed the store's opening weekend and noted there was no indoor seating. Hashi's prepared food is meant to go home, to the office or to a nearby bench.

What a weeknight order looks like

El Estoque's tasting gives Cupertino shoppers real prices to work with. The best-rated savory item was the katsu bento box at $13.99, rated 4 out of 5. The reviewers praised the moist pork cutlet, the tamagoyaki and seaweed salad on the side, the packet of curry sauce and the generous portion. They called it "a well-balanced meal." The sake donburi, a salmon sashimi rice bowl, cost $21.99 and got 3.5 out of 5. The salmon stood out for its texture and flavor, and the rice-to-fish ratio leaned heavily toward rice.

A filling hot bento costs a little under $14. A sashimi bowl costs about $22, and the A5 wagyu bowl SFGATE described costs $26. For a late dinner pickup, the bento is the everyday choice and the wagyu bowl is the splurge.

The Hokkaido shelf is the special-occasion stop

Hashi's other draw has nothing to do with dinner. The store carries a large range of goods from Hokkaido, including beef, rice, cheesecake, premium chocolate and melons. SFGATE reported the melons at $59. KRON4 reported that the store also sells Crown Melons, starting at $100 according to Hashi staff. Hairy crab imported from Hokkaido sits in the seafood case.

When KRON4 asked Li about his favorite part of the store, he chose the Hokkaido section and its ROYCE Chocolate:

"Definitely the Hokkaido section. I grew up on ROYCE Chocolate, like that's my thing."

The rest of the store adds to the gift-shop feel. There are two large aisles of beauty and lifestyle products from brands including Senka, Canmake and Bonbory, plus a bakery selling Hashi-branded breads and sweets. For a host gift, a holiday stocking or a visiting relative who asks about the new place on Stevens Creek, this is the shelf you'll head to.

Why a New York chain picked this boulevard

Hashi opened in New York in 2024 and has six locations there, with two more planned in Chelsea and on the Upper East Side. The 20,000-square-foot Cupertino store is its first on the West Coast. Liu's explanation to SFGATE was short. Cupertino is "a central place for California. Apple is here. Everyone knows it."

Opening day showed the store is built for heavy traffic. About 1,700 customers came through by the end of the day. The line started forming at 7:30 a.m., before the 10 a.m. opening, and wrapped through the whole parking lot. Cashiers rang up about 300 transactions an hour for most of the morning, and the local Yosakoi dance troupe Uzumaru performed out front. SFGATE also put the opening in context. Tokyo Central's Emeryville debut in February drew about 8,000 people, and H Mart's Dublin opening in March drew 10,000. Those openings drew bigger crowds, but Hashi's opening still filled the lot at the Crossroads center.

The Cupertino store is the first step in a larger expansion. USA TODAY listed future Hashi locations in Milpitas, Union City and San Mateo, plus Brookline and Cambridge in Massachusetts and Aurora in Colorado. Li told SFGATE the company aims to open 15 more stores by the end of 2027.

Tokyo Central does its best work weeks ahead

Tokyo Central has been part of Cupertino's grocery routine much longer. Shoppers who have been around a while will remember the same address as Marukai. The company told its "Marukai Cupertino Store" customers about the rebrand at 19750 Stevens Creek Boulevard. Marukai Corporation has operated Tokyo Central since 1965, and Pan Pacific International Holdings, the Japanese retail group, lists Marukai as one of its overseas subsidiaries.

Tokyo Central sells much of what Hashi sells: fresh sushi and bento, Japanese groceries and snacks, sake and beer, and beauty and home goods. Its edge is the online ordering system. On its store pickup page, you can reserve sushi, sashimi, buffet, meat and deli trays, choose a pickup time and store, and collect the order fresh. For a team lunch, a family gathering or a holiday table, an order you know will be ready is worth more than a late closing time.

That matters most between now and New Year's Day. Tokyo Central's site lists two holiday preorders:

1. Christmas Cake. Order online and pick up on Dec. 24 or Dec. 25 only.
2. Osechi. Osechi is the traditional Japanese New Year's set. Order online by Dec. 28 and pick up on Dec. 31 or Jan. 1.

Both pickup windows fall on holidays when most people would rather not stand in a grocery line. Ordering ahead takes care of that.

Putting the two stores to work in December

Here's how the split plays out on the calendar. On a weeknight, when dinner wasn't planned and it's already past 8, Hashi is the store still open, with bentos on the kiosks and the sushi wall stocked. When you need a gift that looks special, Hashi's Hokkaido shelf and beauty aisles cover it. For a Christmas Eve dessert or a New Year's table, the Tokyo Central preorder deadlines are the ones to put on the calendar, starting with the Dec. 28 osechi cutoff.

Hashi isn't the only change on this part of Stevens Creek. The City of Cupertino's Sept. 30 City Manager's newsletter said Jingege & YaoYao, a Chinese restaurant, opened in late August at Marketplace, 19628 Stevens Creek Boulevard, open daily from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The same newsletter reported that Preferred Bank opened its Silicon Valley Regional Office at 20803 Stevens Creek Boulevard, in a former Vitamin Shoppe. It also noted that plans had been filed to bring Specialty's Café & Bakery to the former Le Boulanger space at 20488 Stevens Creek Boulevard, a few doors down from Hashi.

Stevens Creek Boulevard is where much of Cupertino's daily routine happens, and a store moving in or out changes how a weeknight goes for people who live nearby. A new tenant can also change how buyers see the blocks around it. If you own a home near this corridor and want to know how it would be valued today, Shabber Jaffer can put together a free home valuation that looks at your street, not just the city median.