Japanese Market To Close

Sushi grade octopus will no longer be a T ride away come May 10, when the Japanese grocer Kotobukiya will be forced out of its lease in Porter Square, according to the store’s assistant manager.

The grocer sells a variety of authentic Japanese food items, cookware, and magazines in the Porter Square Exchange Mall, part of Lesley University. The space is shared by a variety of small Asian eateries, such as Cafe Mami, Sapporo Ramen, and Tampopo.

Its last day will be May 10, according to assistant manager Hideki Hiromoto.

Hirimoto said Kotobukiya had been fighting for a 5-year lease, but Lesley’s last offer had been for two years, said Lesley spokesperson Bill E. Doncaster.

After several lease extensions of four to five months, Lesley decided it would not renew the grocery’s lease in order to make space for its cramped bookstore, according to Kotobukiya manager Nori Ikegami.

“It was a little too sudden. [For the] last two years, [Lesley] gave us four months, five months, and all of a sudden, it was cut off,” Hiromoto said. “It was shocking.”

Cambridge’s other Japanese market, Yoshinoya in Central Square, closed in 2007. While other Asian groceries in the city still sell Japanese products, none carry Japanese food exclusively.

Doncaster said that Lesley is negotiating a stronger lease for Blue Fin and Kotobukiya Sushi Bar, both Japanese restaurants in the Porter Square Exchange Mall with the same owners as Kotobukiya.

An employee at Kotobukiya is planning on opening another Japanese grocery in Medford with a different name, according to Hiromoto.

Several fellow Porter Square Exchange Mall store owners expressed concern that the grocery’s closing would hurt their own business.

“It’s going to very inconvenient for us,” said Sapporo Ramen employee Ori Tanaka. “We’re probably going to lose customers. Many people go to Kotobukiya to shop and [then] dine in here.”

Yasu Itoh, owner of Japanese restaurant Tampopo and a long time friend of Kotobukiya’s owner, echoed Tanaka’s concern. But he said he had five years left on his lease and so was not concerned for his restaurant’s security.

Kaoru Takasaki ’10, president of the Harvard Japan Society, said the store has supplied not only familiar snacks but also the ingredients for the society’s sushi and dessert making workshops.

“A lot of the ingredients for [our workshops] can only be found in Japanese grocery stores,” she said. “It’ll make things more difficult for us as an organization...It’s very disappointing.”

—Staff writer Lingbo Li can be reached at lingboli@fas.harvard.edu.