Kiteya Soho

Unfortunately Kiteya is taking a hiatus as they’re leaving SoHo and relocating to Brooklyn. I stopped by on their last day to check out their sale and had a pleasant chat with the ladies in the shop. Looks like they’re eyeing Park Slope and possibly Williamsburg as their new spot.
While I was in the store, I was so excited to find that they’re now selling Japanese apple vinegar drinks! I tried two that interested me and went with the lemon concentrate vinegar. It’s so refreshing and not too acidic! I think it really helps my digestive system and I like to drink it after dinner. Not sure if it’s a placebo effect or if it really works, but I think it made me more regular feel less bloated. (Is that TMI?) I went through the bottle in about a week, I can’t wait to try the other flavors!
Come back soon Kiteya! We’re going to miss you.

Everything was imported from Japan. They had things which I couldn’t find in Kinokuniya Book Store. Many of them were from local area of Japan including my hometown area. It is perfect for looking for gifts.
However, when I called them last month, they told me that they were having closing sale. So maybe they are already closed by now. That is too bad:(If they are still open, please hurry to go there. Do not miss sale!

This store is so ADORABLE. Being free a random night after work and hearing that Unilocal was participating in a shop pop up series of events and stores, I figured I’d come to check out at least one of them. I only have to say these few words: OWL AND KITTY PURSES, make up bags with SHEEP, PANDAS, GIRAFFES, and ELEPHANTS! Tons of interesting jewelry things, ornaments for the holidays, stationary, hand fans, kimonos, fancy towels shaped like sandwiches and wine bottles. AHhhhh dying of all the cuteness! I even had the pleasure of sampling different vinegar tinctures used for cleansing the body I suppose. Not really my thing but I never knew this was a thing and it was surprisingly informative. My friend, Anna F., walked away with some kind of odd ceramic rabbit item (her mom is really big on bunnies lol) and I was seriously tempted to buy every owl item in the shop, but saved my money for another rainy day. Glad I checked this place out though and hopefully will be back when they have another sale in the future.

Went to this adorable store for a Unilocal event and totally dig the place! You will find super cute Japanese objects, gorgeous kimonos, delicious legit rice crackers, beautiful stationary, and elegant tea sets just to name a few things. The staff is so sweet and welcoming, I am sure they will gladly help you find a treasure within or talk to you about Japanese culture!

Cuuuuuuute
Seriously, that seems to be the operating word here. This place is ten kinds of adorable and I am far from over it. Geared mainly towards home goods, they have an array of unique towels, decorations, and incense. Another section is dedicatd to bags, coin purses, and the like. Farther up you’ll find a collection of absolutely gorgeous coats and kimonos — I literally had to stop myself buying a coat by repeating «I do not need this coat, I do not need this coat…»
Additionally, they offer a few out-​there food and beverage items like curry crackers and «drinking vinegar» — I admit I was terrified to put anything labeled «vinegar» to my lips, but it turned out to be delicious! Apparently it was very healthy as well, but my last review was for the grand opening of Doughnut Plant so you can guess how much I paid attention to health benefits.
A few final notes — staff here are all on point, friendly, and helpful. As I browsed, they were happy to keep my selections behind the counter, as well as offering gift wrapping (a godsend, I’m terrible at wrapping). All of this does come at a cost, however — literally. Unique, handmade items are expensive, no way around it. But if you’re set on quality, there can be no compromise.

Wonderful place, tranquil ambience & polite, friendly staff. There is a gallery space at the back of the store showing contemporary Japanese calligraphy. I had excellent help from the staff in finding & selecting washi paper.
Their lease ends at the end of the year but they aren’t closing, possibly relocating.

I think they are closing. Big sale and sign on door says Retail Space For Rent. I’ll miss them if they are gone.

What a cute store. It reminded me of little gift shops that you might find in Japan next to some famous site of a nice gift shop in a department store. They have a little bit of everything — gift sets, hair accessories, phone accessories, incense, paper products, office products, japanese fabric, washi paper, kimono, etc etc
Pricing was pretty normal to what I would expect for cute little Japanese goods.
If you need a gift for a friend definitely stop by — you’ll find something a little fun and different. They also do giftwrapping as well if you buy a sheet of washi paper.
The staff were really nice in asking if I needed help, or checking pricing, etc.
As is typical of a Japanese gift shop, they wrapped up my purchased items in a little paper envelope… I miss that part of Japan!

Yumi the owner comes from the outskirts of Kyoto and has been in business since around 2007. Her boutique name translates to «please visit/​please see us» in the Kansai dialect and you should make a stop to this awesome, spacious shop. There’s a curated selection of tenugui and furoshiki worth checking out. There is also a selection of jewelry, handbags, vintage kimono, obi, geta, tabi and incense. If you are looking for a unique gift or even creative gift wrap, you might find something lovely here.

Cute little store with unique and artful Japanese gifts and crafts. We came here one night for a Unilocal event and were really looking forward to perusing some unique Japanese-​style gifts and knick-​knacks.
It was helpful to see that the staff are actually Japanese who could explain the cute little items we saw.
They have a variety of goods, ranging from handkerchiefs and cell phone baubles all the way to legitimate kimonos. I was definitely tempted to purchase some textile wraps (ie for wrapping bento boxes and gifts). I can’t compare and say whether the goods were of good value, but the textiles were definitely more than I would want to pay for.
We came away with a few cute cell phone baubles for gifts. Would we come back? Probably just for browsing unless I was looking for a specific gift. Nevertheless, this place is certainly worth checking out!

It was very funny how we found this place. We stuck in the traffic to Holland Tunnel and we got nothing to do. My husband saw this place with Japanese sign and he decided to look it up on Unilocal.A few days later, we actually planned a trip to Soho and visited this store. It was very nicely organized. A lot of cute Made in Japan products, such as hair pins and decorations. We didn’t buy anything because they were pretty pricey and we have already done our Christmas shopping for this year.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went for this Unilocal Event, but was actually positively surprised. This Japenese/​Hawaiian-​themed store has an assortment of items you’ll never need but for some reason find yourself trying to convince yourself why you need it. Like their soft $ 300 kimonos. I don’t think I could ever wear this outside of a kimono party or my apartment, but hey, they sure were soft and fun to look at. I really wanted to make rice using their pieces of charcoal that, apparently, is the cure to life! Use them as an air freshner, a water purifier, to make your rice taste better, to give as a gift to a co-​worker you don’t like. the geologist in me was screaming «buy this $ 20 one-​inch x one-​inch piece of coal your numb-​nuts!» I still regret not listening. I was tempted by their chocolates and tasty treats and ended up buying the spicy Shachimi wafers. I definitely recommend them as it is like a shortbread cookie (cube) with a slight peppery taste to finish. My husband also purchased their famous «wine» which is actually a towel wrapped up and decorated to look like a bottle of nice red wine. It is almost convincing!
Point being, this store is pretty cool and I’m absolutely glad I ventured down to check it out. Not sure when I will be back, but I will definitely be recommending some of my friends to check the place out.

Kiteya Soho is simply adorable. I would have never knew this place existed if it wasn’t for a Unilocal Elite Event. Some stuff are very affordable ($ 5 for a hairpin) to $ 300 for a kimono outfit.
I had my eye on this beautiful orange scarf. The owner shared a story about how the scarf came about. Basically, the designer used old Kimono cloth and sewed the different patterns together like a quilt. They were very nice materials too. Unfortunately, it had a hole and a few small stains on it since it was on a mannequin. They offered me a discount (which I appreciated) but I wanted to give this as a gift. Therefore, I couldn’t accept the offer. My aunt is a really big fan of scarves and she would have flipped on me if she saw a hole in it. Also, all the scarves are one of a kind. Pro: It’s awesome to own an original and you’ll never see anyone on the street wearing the same thing. Con: If there is something wrong with it, you can’t get another set. The owner was really nice and took down my name and number. She said that she’ll call up the designer and see if she can fix the scarf. Lastly, they wrap all purchases beautifully and they truly looked personalized.
UPDATE: THEY WERE ABLE TO FIX MY SCARF! YAY! I’M GOING TO PICK IT UP TOMORROW! 5 STARS TO THAT!

I wish I could buy everything in this store! Kiteya is a must-​go if you love Japanese goods, or if you’re looking for a gift to give to a friend who loves Japanese and/​or beautiful, colorful things. You can find a ton of stuff here: hair accessories, tabi (traditional socks), wallets, card holders, bags, stationery, and so much more. Lots of little figurines abound, and the back of the store features Japanese fabrics and kimono. They also have fancy chocolates in a display case along one wall, which come in interesting flavors such as yuzu, blood orange, and matcha. Both the chocolates and the boxes they come in are beautifully decorated.
A few of the items are shockingly expensive (I spotted a fan for $ 78 and a single Christmas card for $ 23), but most are totally affordable. When I came, there were a few tables around the store with sale items. I ended up buying a hair clip (on sale for $ 5) and a colorful hair tie ($ 6). My friend also bought me a fabric turtle figurine for $ 10.
You can get a free gift with your purchase if you check in on your phone’s Unilocal app — I got a colorful cell phone charm. And since I came for the Unilocal Shops Local event, there was a guy at the door handing out adorable Santa ornaments. Everyone I encountered was extremely friendly. Overall, great products and customer service!

Really great service. Helped me beautifully wrap a large Christmas gift.
Was considerate to think about how to use the minimum amount of paper, so as not to be wasteful. Excellent selection of colors and textures.

Nice place to pick up some last minute gifts for a friend who loves everything Asian.
Sometimes selection can be limited, but what they have there looks very nice and colorful. Orgami paper, silk cloths, wine bottle jackets, coin purses, charms, Japanese clothing.
Staff is friendly and polite. A little off the side of Soho’s main area on Broome st.

I came to the store to look for an affordable kimono, not only the ladies attention was incredible, they allowed me to try on my yukata, recommended a few things with it, gave me tips, practiced my Japanese with them and felt so welcome and well treated. AMAZING experience, everything in the store is so Japanese including the staff, it’s good to get a taste from home.
Highly recommend!

Kiteya — very cute store or as they say it in Japanese «Kawaii». The store was all things Japanese including toe socks, slippers, kimono outwear, little charms, waist aprons etc. Very interesting if you were looking for something unique. Loved the prints on the fabrics and papers. It was a delightful store!

I got a nice hair comb here today; it exactly fit my $ 20 groupon (plus tax). Other things I considered were some hair elastics that were $ 5 – 6 each, and these little money envelopes (red bag size, but with pastel rabbits and cats) that came in packs of 2 for $ 5. There was also a cute polka-​dot-​like bag where some of the «dots» were soybeans. They said it was the last one and they would not be getting more. But the newer bags with a more tribal theme were cool.
It’s on an obscure street and location where you would not typically stumble on it. I’ve lived in New York for several years and walk in Soho often, but had never come across it.

This type of store is ubiquitous in Japan and I’ve been to dozens of its ilk there. Its unique in NYC precisely because it doesn’t have that kind of competition, but it succeeds in providing this service. This is great place to browse and shop for gifts. They sell all manners of small fabric-​wrapped goods: phone charms, boxes, hair clips, ornaments, charming little figures of people and animals, bags, keychains, etc. Most fall into the category of trinkets/​accessories or small decorative items. There are also larger items like metal work display screens and wall art, and a back room with some apparel, including kimono and silk obi. The items are good quality, pretty, and make nice presents.
Service is friendly and helpful. Your purchases can be wrapped up with the works, the way its usually done in Japan.