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Need to know

Area

Kalihi

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Description

This cute little mochiya (mochi shop) is the best kept secret (from tourists). They’ve been making the best Hawaiian style mochi for a century, all handmade on site daily. 

 

It’s not the easiest place to find and it’s not fancy, but it’s so worth the trip. Their tiny storefront is in an industrial part of town, attached to a warehouse behind a strip mall. There’s just a simple hand painted sign above the door that lets you know you’re in the right place. Step inside the tiny shop and you’ll find an assortment of colorful treats behind a small glass display case.

 

Hawaiian mochi is a little different from traditional Japanese mochi. It’s softer and a little less chewy. Choose from mochi (made from rice flour) or manju (made from wheat flour). Flavors range from traditional, like azuki bean, to more modern, like peanut butter. They come in all sorts of pastel colors and flavors like coconut, lilikoi, honeydew, and lychee.

 

They’re known for their chichi dango, a sweet mochi made from rice flour and coconut milk.  In Japan, these are reserved for special occasions, but at Nisshodo, they’re so popular that they tend to sell out early each day.

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Covid Specific

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  • Masks required. ​

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Date

Feb 3, 1995

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Website

nisshodomochicandy.com

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Address

1095 Dillingham Blvd Bldg I-5

Honolulu, HI 96817

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Contact Info

808-847-1244

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mhirao.nisshodo@aol.com

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Online Contact Form

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Hours

  • Mon - Fri  ▭  7am - 4pm

  • Sat  ▭  7am - 3pm

  • Sun ▭  CLOSED

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Price

$

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  • Mochi: ~$1 - $2

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Nearby

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  • Hana Tea — 1 min walk

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  • Thang’s — 6 min walk

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  • Kamehameha Bakery — 7 min walk

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  • Waikiki — 16 min drive

Hidden inside an industrial warehouse is the sweetest little family run mochi shop. They’ve been making Hawaiian style mochi, manju and chichi dango since the 1920s.

Nisshodo Candy
Store

CANDY SHOP

Clear boxes of different kinds of Hawaiian mochi from Nisshodo Candy Store in Oahu, Hawaii

Good to know

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PHOTOS

@nisshodocandystore
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TRY THE...

  • Chichi Dango (This is their best selling treat and they sell out pretty much every day, so get there early.) 

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  • Kinako Chichi Dango (It’s dusted in roasted soybean powder.)

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  • Daifuku Mochi (stuffed with red bean paste)

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  • Peanut Butter Mochi

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  • Lilikoi Mochi

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TIPS + TRICKS

  • Go early. They tend to sell out of the most popular flavors by noon.

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  • By late morning there can be a line and unfortunately, it does move a little slowly. You can skip it if you call in your order ahead of time. 

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  • There are 2 parking spots right in front of the entrance, but if they’re taken, head to the connecting strip mall parking lot and walk over. 

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  • Drive slow when you’re getting close. Their storefront is pretty small and easy to miss. 

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  • What’s the difference between Mochi, Manju, and Chichi Dango? For starters, mochi is made from rice flour, manju is made from wheat flour, and chichi dango is made from mochiko flour. Mochi and manju can both be filled with different flavors. Manju is a little more cakey and less chewy than mochi. Nisshodo has both baked and steamed versions of their manju. The baked ones are a little crispy on the outside. The Chichi Dango have a marshmallow consistency and are individually wrapped. The Chichi Dango is not filled. 

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  • Hawaiian mochi is a little different from traditional Japanese mochi. It’s softer and a little less chewy. 

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  • Fresh mochi can last for a day or two, but it’s best if you can eat it the day you get it. Otherwise it starts to harden (and unfortunately gets moldy if it sits out for too long). It’s best not to refrigerate it either because the cold air will dry it and make it start to harden. 

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  • Their Chichi Dango is sold by the pound. There are about 20-30 pieces in a pound. Mochi and Manju are sold individually.

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  • The Chichi Dango come in pink and white, but they both taste exactly the same. They just add a little color to the pink ones for fun. 

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  • If you’re in a rush, you can grab a pre-packaged box of Plain Chi Chi Dango. 

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  • They’re closed on Sundays. 

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  • If you’re visiting on March 3, you should pre order the treats you want to try. It’s Girls’ Day, a Japanese holiday that’s widely celebrated in Hawaii. Girls set out their dolls and eat hishi mochi, a special tri-colored, diamond-shaped mochi. On this day, Hawaiian families of Japanese descent pray for their female family members. Nisshodo gets so many pre orders that there may not be much mochi left if you stop by the storefront. 

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FYI

  • Mochi is gluten free because it’s made from rice flour. ​

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  • They accept cash, credit card, and personal checks.

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DID YOU KNOW?

  • Nisshodo is one of the oldest Japanese candy stores in the United States. 

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  • Mochi is thought to be a very lucky gift. 

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  • They sell so much chichi dango that one employee’s sole job is to individually wrap them. 

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  • Asataro Hirao was a Japanese immigrant who had come to Hawaii to work in the sugar plantation fields. He was living in Honolulu in the 1910s when he decided to head home to Hiroshima for a visit. There he learned how to make Japanese sweets and when he came back to Honolulu, he opened Nisshodo Mochiya. 

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  • Tradition is so important to them that up until around 2013, they were still using the same Japan-made vertical mixer that had been used in the store since it opened in the 1920s. 

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  • It’s always been a family affair. Hirao’s grandson, Michael, now runs the shop. The whole family still comes together to fill the mochi holiday rush for New Years.  

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  • Asataro Hirao started Nisshodo with friends. One of them went on to open the super popular Tasaka Guri Guri shop in Maui. 

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  • Every Asian culture has their own style of mochi. Hawaiian mochi is a little softer and not as formal. It’s more of an everyday treat. In Japan, chichi dango is usually just for special occasions. 

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  • Hawaii.com named Nisshodo the 2019 winner for Hawaii’s best mochi. 

Last Updated 5 / 19 / 21​

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