Quality products at low prices! The ever-walking supermarket "Nidaime Super Kinjiro"

Hello! This is Azarashigaoka, a Nakano Tourism Reporter. This time, I would like to introduce "Nidaime Super Kinjiro", which is a one-minute walk from "Saginomiya Station" on the Seibu Shinjuku Line. *Prices are as of the time of the interview.

Founded 55 years ago! A supermarket run by two generations of a family. Fresh vegetables are lined up in a small space, and the lively voices of store staff calling out to customers echo around the station.

The appeal of Super Kinjiro is that it's cheap!

Cabbage is 99 yen.

Lettuce and green onions are 50 yen.

The fried tofu is 99 yen for three pieces. All of them are shocking prices.

They also have homemade side dishes. The handwritten signs are friendly. They also have sweets and ice cream.

We had the opportunity to speak with the company president, Yasuo Ueno. We'll be sharing more details with you. -Please tell us the origin of the store's name. "It was a mystery, wasn't it? (laughs) When I took over the store from my father, I was looking for a name that would make an impact, and then I saw a statue of Kinjiro Ninomiya. I'm learning every day, and learning also means giving discounts to customers, right? So I got the name from there."

--What are the particularities of your shop? "Cheeriness. That's a must! I also buy products that aren't stocked in big supermarkets. In this industry, if you increase the quantity, your profits go down. You can't compete by doing the same things as the big supermarkets, so I try to find things that are as different as possible. To do that, I go to a lot of different places. I buy vegetables and fruit at the auctions at Toyosu and Yodobashi markets. I also buy juices, snacks, and cup noodles, visiting multiple wholesalers."

New sweets are added almost every day, so you'll never get bored of the lineup. You'll feel a lot of excitement in your daily life.

"My motto is 'walking'. I'm particular about 'seeing with my own eyes and buying only what I like.'" Ueno-san starts out at 5am every morning to buy goods. He walks around Toyosu Market, Yodobashi Market, Nerima, Urawa and other places until late into the night.

"The other thing is 'people and people'. I like people too, and communication is important to be liked by people. Even if AI keeps evolving, in the end it's still a human being! Other than that, if you have a positive attitude, you can manage. If I ever lose my energy, I'm thinking of quitting right away. I feel that if you have a positive attitude and energy, you can attract good purchasing information."

Ueno-san was one of the members who founded the early morning baseball league in the Kamitakada area 25 years ago. He also values connections with people through his leisure time hobbies.

The biggest crisis for Super Kinjiro came when torrential rains hit the Tokyo metropolitan area in September 2005. Nakano ward also suffered extensive flooding damage. The Myoshojikawa River, which flows right in front of the store, overflowed, and the inside of the store was flooded up to the knees (the Saginomiya Adjustment Pond was subsequently completed in 2013, and flood prevention measures for the Myoshojikawa River were put in place).

"It was a terrible rain, a pure white mist. It was raining so hard you couldn't see anything. Even with the shutters closed, the rain just kept trickling down. We were worried, so we started bringing up more and more products, but the storeroom and refrigerators in the basement were all destroyed. But we knew we had to protect our 55-year-old rice bran starter, the heart of our house, so we quickly pulled it out."

Our homemade pickled vegetables are our most popular. They are so popular that we even ship them to izakayas. I'm glad that the rice bran bed that has been handed down from father to son is safe.

"We couldn't open for about two weeks, including the health center inspection, and it took about 13 hours to drain the water from the basement. But a lot of people helped us at that time. The construction company brought over some big fans to dry the cement so that the basement wouldn't get moldy. Of course, we threw away all the flooded products, but we didn't want to throw away the ones that we had saved by moving them upstairs, so we left them in front of the store saying 'Please help yourself'. Then, someone put money in a bucket they had left for us. It really made me realize that this is what 'people and people' means, and it was really touching. Even while we were cleaning up, people passing by said to us, 'That must have been hard, please definitely open again' and 'Please do your best somehow'. I'm sure that I've become stronger because I overcame that and am here now. When I think back to that time, I'm not afraid of anything anymore!"

Super Kinjiro has overcome a major crisis and become even stronger. Behind this is the strong bond and kindness he has with the local people.

The secret behind the exciting product lineup and low prices is Ueno's diligence and honest personality. Just like Ninomiya Kinjiro! This is a Saginomiya spot that you can't take your eyes off of. We are posting great deals on Instagram and X! Please check them out too.

Second generation Super Kinjiro

Address: 3-1-1 Shirasagi, Nakano-ku

Access: 1 minute walk from Saginomiya Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line

Phone: 03-3330-2135

Business hours: 10:00 - 20:00

Closed: Sundays, public holidays (irregular holidays), occasional temporary closures

Instagram

@super___kinjiro2 (external site)

X

@superkinjiro (external site)

PayPay payment accepted.