Sanki

A very cute Japanese home goods store tucked away in Pearl City. They stock all kinds of things from futons, to dish towels, to every day clothing and accessories.
My favourite time of the year is Summer, when they stock all sorts of yukata for the local Obon matsuri and bon dances. They also carry yukata accessories like obi, obijime, kanzashi and uchiwa. They are pretty reasonable too, for example you can get a cute printed yukata, pre-​made obi and standard geta for about $ 50-​$ 60.
All in all it is a cozy shop, that fondly reminds me of department stores in Japan, if on a miniature scale.

The big reason why I only gave three starts is that they only offer «ALL SALES ARE FINAL» system. Please be careful when you make a purchase and make sure what you would be able to do the items if you feel like you did not make a right decision afterwords. They posted a note to the customer on the checkout counter but they really did not tell me verbally unless I had asked. I am glad I did, otherwise, I missed it. I was told by the young guy at the checkout counter and the explanation goes: The household goods CANNOT be returned or can be exchanged to the EXACTLY THE SAME PRICE and from the same department. So I want to buy a higher price item but I cannot even compensate the balance using the item which I want to return. He also said probably the clothes could be returned. but please make sure what they would say about it when you are going to buy the clothes because Japanese size and design would be very different from American’s one sometimes. Please try it before you buy.
For the brighter side, I am very impressed with the prices and merchandise they have compared to Shirokiya, Donquijote and other stores who are selling items imported from Japan. The price is very reasonable and friendly. The customer service is decent and the store is clean. But I just found out that their «NO RETURN» policy make shopping harder. This store is becoming one of my favorite so now I am pretty disappointed. I understand some customers may abuse the return policy but I really think they should handle it casey by case sometimes.
They really have a lot of GOOD items from Japan. Please check this store if you like things from Japan.

I rarely go to any shopping center that’s past Pearlridge if I don’t have to, because traffic is more often than not, gnarly and difficult every which way you come from. But I made that trek this time around because my mother needed something. She has been looking for a cute shopping bag that fits her style for a while now for the plastic bag ban, and she finally seen a picture of a cooler bag in an ad for this store. Yes, she even cut it out of the newspaper and circled the specific item.
Here I am. This store reminds me of the Japanese Section in Holiday Mart (currently Don Quijote [formerly Daiei]) fused with the original Marukai 99 Super Store and a hint of Shirokiya circa 1990s. It’s located at the Pearl City Shopping Center, right next to Chuck Cheese. The store is pretty big with quite a variety of Japanese style items from household supplies, kitchen supplies, bathroom necessities, umbrellas, men and women and kids’ clothes, toys, bedroom items, school supplies, and etc. The aisles and sections of the store are very clean, neat, and clear. I spent a while walking around looking at each section, and the prices for a number of items in the store are relatively cheap and decent quality.
The staff members I interacted with were friendly and pleasant.
In the end, I didn’t even purchase the cooler bag my mother wanted because I found another bag that was a better fit. She would definitely love this place, and buy way too many things. !!
This is the store to come to if you’re into Japanese style products because it pretty much has everything you’re looking for and then some!

Ryan was Great. Excellent customer service.
Very knowledgeable about the products
Sweet and friendly. I will definitely be back again.
The store is clean and neat. The prices are great.
Thank you Sanki

I love coming to this store because they sell all sorts of items here. Many different products from Japan: clothes, households stuff, bon dance items, and much more. Mom and I come here often when we need to find gifts for people. The prices here are reasonable unlike Don quixote.
If you have questions or need help finding the right size, ask the workers. They can also recommend if you are having trouble deciding what to buy.
It saves you time and money going here instead of driving all the way to marukai and shirokiya.

I love Sanki! When I go to Pearl City Longs, I always stop by to check out what’s in the store.
There are all sorts of trinkets, clothes, bedding, towels, underwear, kimonos, hapi coats, and so much more here. I could spend an hour at least here just checking stuff out. What makes this place even better is that it’s so darn cheap! I bought a good quality king size quilt for $ 49. Socks are $ 1.99. Little solar powered bobble toys $ 2.99. Cutest bath towels $ 5.
They also sell tatami, floor bedding, sobakawa pillows. Just a warning when buying clothes, Asian sizes are waaaaaaaay smaller than US sizes. Their large is equivalent to our small. I advise to try on the clothes before you buy, I believe you can’t return certain clothing items.
The staff there is very pleasant. I love coming here!

It’s Bön Dance time and this is one of the best places to get your happi coat, yukata and even tabi! Prices are reasonable and comparable to another grocery place that begins with the letter «M» and ends with an «I». There is one dressing room to try stuff on sizes are somewhat limited. Just remember Japanese sizes are NOT the same as island size people! The sales people can help out answering basic questions. If nothing suits your taste don’t forget to go to Iida’s too on Kona street downtown.

It’s like your in Japan! Great selection of oriental clothes. Shipments comes every 2 – 3 times a month so it’s always something new. May 5^th is Boy’s Day so they have those fish thingy you hang!

I was trying to check in to this place but I had no idea what the store’s name was. If you see their sign up front you’ll understand. Fashion Samki, sankci, oh Sanki!!! Anyways it looked pretty interesting from their displays so my husband and I decided to check it out. Immediately stepping into the store it reminded me of Marukai. Lots of Japanese products mostly clothes at very cheap prices. Hapi coats and yukata at awesome prices. I wanted to buy one and feel like I was an animé character. Cosplay Time!!! The one thing that my husband loves is the selection of futons!!! We live in a very small apartment and space is everything. Yes we were planning on ditching the beds in favor of more open space and less clutter. If it wasn’t for us rushing to pick up my daughter from school we would of got a new futon or two. But what we did end up buying was two gauze Japanese printed towels, a solar powered monkey clock, and a pair of Squeaky sandals for my youngest kid. I love this store. I’m not gonna lie all the stuff I found here I expected at Marukai when I first got my membership last year. It has everything and so much more!!! I’m not always in the Pearl City area so hopefully I can stop by one more time before Christmas and get some cute stocking stuffers!!!

Today was my first time visiting this store and I’m already making plans to go back! They have the cutest clothes and bath towels! The staff was very friendly and helpfull! Love this place!!!

Sanki reminds me of Marukai’s non-​food section minus the kitchenwares. It has a bigger focus on clothing and accessories at an affordable price. If you’re ever in the Pearl City area it’s worth a look around although I was surprised by how small this shop is. Located on the first level, Ewa end of Pearl City Shopping Center (the one with Longs and Don Quijote) I thought parking would be a pain but was able to find lots of open spaces.
I was hoping to find t-​shirts with English wording that’s made to look «cool» but makes you scratch your head because the English doesn’t make sense. But from what I can tell their English has improved, lol. I was not liking their designs though. Maybe I need to come back another time when they bring new things in.
I did go nuts looking over their towel section. They have hand towels and neck towels (you know, the long ones) with super cute, kawaii designs. It took me awhile to decide which ones to get because they had a nice selection to choose from.
I will be back but not in a rush to do so, thus A-​OK.

what: original product development of everything from high-​quality fashion to personal belongings!
something good: you know, my first few times coming here i couldn’t say that i was in love with the store. but every time i come back here, they have new things! and i’ve got to say, i’m starting to really like this place! i’m not in love with the clothing, but i do love all the other items! we’ve tried their socks, their hair accessories and now i’ve found the one place to come for when i want a cute backpack! they have a cool japanese-​y vibe about them! you must check this place out!
something not so good: it’s one of those places that you need to dig for the treasures! but it’s totally worth it!!! :)
something to try: backpacks (20) and socks (2)

Awesome! Best place I know on the island for affordable yukata! This is the place to go for made-​in-​Japan products and some pretty cute bags (not all). I gave it five stars not for having great stuff, but for being great at what it is – typically a Don Quihote for clothing. Don’t expect high fashions and name brands from Japan and then rate it low because it’s not what YOU expect. That’s like giving a mom n pop store a bad review because it’s not a big box retailer.
Since I see this below, forgive the tangent, but I want to encourage people to think before Unilocaling. It’s highly unfair for someone to rate it with one star just because it’s not their «type» of place. Again, you don’t go into a meat shop then rate it one star because you’re a vegetarian — that’s just ignorant. Don’t be so ignorant as to expect the rest of the world to have the same taste as you. A company isn’t a bad company because it’s not what you’re into (unless of course there’s false advertising.) Anyway, enough complaining about ignorant reviews. Time for some rebuttal.
I’m a woman’s L/​XL and I fit the one-​size yukata just fine. My feet are a size 9 and I fit the zoori that came with my yukata with only about a cm or less of my foot extending beyond the back. It’s still very wearable and actually, there are different size zoori that would’ve fit me, just not ones that came pre-​packaged with the yukata. Secondly, my fiancé is a tall and well-​built haole boy and the men’s shirts, although not his style, come in his size which is an American L or XL.
The imported women’s clothing, I will admit is small but I honestly did not expect them to carry american-​sized clothing in the first place. It’s a Japanese store.
The yukata, in my opinion, is the best item in the store (I even bought a baby one for my niece). I have bought three from them already.
The service is actually very nice. So far, I’ve met about 4 – 5 different workers there, two of them with Japanese accents. All of them were courteous and kind.
The location is okay and seems kind of fitting. All in all, this establishment is rated 5-​stars within their own playing field — which should be considered sort of a mom-​n-​pop clothing store like Island Wear in Wai’anae or those small independent clothing retailers along the strip in Haleiwa like Dawn’s, etc.

I just found this store yesterday. It reminds me of the stores in LA’s J-​Town. Cute stuff at really low prices. They have men’s and women’s clothes, children’s clothes, towels, pillows and cute bags. I found a cute button-​down top for my grandma (only $ 5!) and I’m going back for a sexy-​demure lingerie set. Definitely check out this store and take your mom and grandma with you when you go!

This place is kinda like a Japanese Jeans Warehouse to me, except there’s clothes for men, women, and children. It used to be the Pearl City Blockbuster.
I got some cute shorts from here. ^_​^ One was purplish jean shorts with black cheetah print on it. The other was dark red jean shorts with cheetah print pockets. I must go again and see what new items they may have.
They have «fitting rooms» you can use. But they’re more like shower curtains. I didn’t really feel comfortable trying on clothes in them. Mostly because there were some little kids at the curtain next to me. And you know how kids sometimes peek at you under the stalls in public restrooms or dressing rooms at the mall? Yah well, I was praying that those kids wouldn’t swing open my curtain. Or that a gust of wind wouldn’t miraculously occur indoors and blow the curtains open. That would surely be embarrassing, especially because the dressing rooms were toward the front of the store, next to the cashiers. Hmmm yah, I would like a dressing room with actual walls and doors. Especially in a store that sells men clothing as well. :/​
Also, the store is unfortunately geared more for the petite. Unlike Jeans Warehouse, it doesn’t accommodate for the full figure. Blah. Wish I could bring more friends here.
On a happy note though, I think it’s nice to see a new business open up. It gives me an option to buy clothes from somewhere else other than the major chains like Forever 21, Wet Seal, Charlotte Russe, & Jeans Warehouse. Less chance of running into someone wearing the same shirt. hehe.

Super cute mini-​japanese store. Lots of cute things for very reasonable prices. It’s not a huge store, but I have fun walking through and making a few purchases. I hope they get enough customers so that they can expand :)

Did a quick fly through after leaving a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party early (hello, we never even have a kid with us. Totally acceptable). I have a mental note to go back again soon. I also told my mother about it before she headed off to her weekly mah jong session with the Joy Luck Club, as I call them. I’m sure Sanki just got 4 new customers.
Anyway, loved all of the inexpensive Japanese items, as listed in others’ posts. I did have a good laugh at the thought of:
(follow me now, I put a lot of thought into this)
Americans, who are fans of Japanese stuff, will be wearing the shirts of Japanese, who are fans of American stuff.
In other words, Americans wearing classically-​crappy-​English-​Japanese shirts. Cool.
My personal favorite? the tank tops with the built in bras… with padding! Real lounging tank tops for home, without the worry of having to run and put on a bra when company unexpectedly comes to the door. I love it!
Notable: the men’s boxers are shorter than American boxers. If your Asian-​short, you can probably get away with it. If you are Caucasian-​tall, you might just want to skip them.
Anyway, it’s got some stuff in there that you can’t really find anywhere else. At least check it out.

It’s like someone suddenly transported a couple floors of a Japanese department store into Pearl City Shopping Center. For real.
— Sanki opened up in the old Blockbuster space, right next to Chuck E. Cheese and Ezogiku/​Ben Franklin. From the name, I expected it to be like… a Jean’s Warehouse? Not really, as I discovered.
— SERIOUSLY. It is like a mini Japanese department store, minus the grocery store in the basement. If you’ve ever been to one, you’ll totally get what I mean. I totally felt like I was in an Aeon or a Jusco. This store sells mostly clothing and small household goods but all of it is of the Japanese variety! You’ll find lots of shirts with interesting Engrish phrases, lots of clothing with kanji, and even some kimono stuff! I spied cheap «dri-​fit» exercise clothing, some cute tote-​bags, and those handy-​dandy hand towels that all Japanese people carry (I spent a couple of months in Japan so now I have a good collection! Haha) Organization wise: The front of the store has the clothing/​accessories, the back has mostly household goods.
— Japanese things yes, quality, not so much. But that’s why everything is so cheap! I feel that while the things in here were interesting, it was pretty much the Japanese equivalent of clothing that you’d buy in a Walmart/​Don Quixote. I did rather like these shirts that had kanji/​Japanese designs on them – they were $ 8. Can’t go wrong?
— I didn’t get to spend too much time in here, but the best thing that I saw were NOREN!!! You know, Japanese shop curtains? Sanki sells them for only $ 30. I’ve seen them selling for at least $ 50 in other places. I like the traditional wave print one but they had a pretty good variety. I was thinking of hanging one in my kitchen so I could turn my kitchen into a pop-​up ramen shop. Tee-​hee.
If you need to kill time while BF is getting a haircut in the barber shop upstairs, definitely check out Sanki! It’s a fun place to browse and you’re sure to find something interesting. If you need help translating anything in the store, the cashiers were very friendly and when I was there, at least one of them were bi-​lingual.

Noticed the new sign… Sanki…What is that?
Well, being so niele… I had to take a look… when I walked in I noticed a lot of Japanese hapi coats and Japanese products… I thought it was kind of odd seeing a Japanese store in Pearl City… not sure why, but it just seemed strange to me…
The sales staff, a couple of locals people, were really nice. They told me that Sanki is a big chain store in Japan. They called themselves the Japanese «Walmart»…and that his store is just a small store. Lots of inexpensive items from lingerie, housewares, re-​useable bags, slippers, etc… so best thing I can suggest is.
Go to see for yourself! You might find something you’ll love!
I’ll be back to get some of their re-​useable bags… only $ 1.99.and they do look really nice!

Cheap Japanese things! OMG heck yea I AM A FAN! My husband and I went to Ben Franklin and low and behold I see a store. They had there grand opening ending of November so we decided to check it out. They have a lot of stuffs from men, woman, and children clothing… they have kitchen things (rugs, kitchen towels, etc.)…bathroom things, household necessities.
Everything is nicely priced :)
Staff appeared to be nice… maybe a little shy… wasn’t to sure if it was due to language barrier. This place is a cool place to visit and check out. Inside is nice and clean.
On a side note…
We ended up purchasing bath towels… I got home, washed it, and tried it the next day. I LOVE IT! It wasn’t the linty, not really wiping you down type of towel. It wiped me down like a squeegee. I am definitely going to get more.
See you soon Sanki!