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Northern Virginia shoppers waited as long as two hours to enter Marufuji Japanese Market when the long-anticipated grocery store opened in Tysons on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.

Customers began gathering before the store at 8520-A Leesburg Pike opened at 10 a.m. The line stretched beyond a nearby Starbucks and looped several times through the rear parking lot of Tysons 3 Center.

One Woodbridge resident drove 30 to 40 minutes and waited a little more than an hour to get inside. Another shopper who came from the Centreville and Manassas area reported a two-hour wait.

The first 1,000 customers received branded tote bags. Inside, vendors offered samples of ramen, Calbee shrimp chips, cold-brewed Yamamotoyama green tea and okonomiyaki, a Japanese savory pancake.

The crowds continued after shoppers entered. By noon, the checkout line wound through the snack and frozen-food aisles and extended toward the meat and seafood counters at the back of the store.

Marufuji is Fuji Mart Corp.’s first venture into the Washington, D.C., region. The Connecticut-based company stocked the Tysons market with instant, frozen and dried noodles; seasonings and sauces; sushi; fresh vegetables; sweet and savory snacks; seaweed products; and seafood such as bluefin tuna and scallops.

The Centreville-area shopper said she had worried that the selection would largely overlap with products available at Korean and Chinese supermarkets. Instead, she was pleasantly surprised by the store’s range of Japanese ingredients and imports and said her family would become regular customers.

A home-goods section carries bags, beauty and cleaning products, origami paper, storage containers, pencil cases, toys and household items, including chopstick holders shaped like paper cranes.

Tamaki, an Alexandria resident who had been waiting for the store since its expected December opening passed, welcomed the chance to buy products such as Japanese shampoo and conditioner locally. She said the market appeared well stocked for its first day and hoped a successful launch would bring an even broader selection.

Marufuji also includes a cafe and seating area. Its menu features tea, coffee, espresso, cakes, Japanese curry rice, chicken katsu, gyudon beef bowls and set meals accompanied by rice, miso soup and pickles. Oyakodon, a chicken-and-egg rice bowl, is among the offerings.

Tysons resident Huai said the market carried many products he had been seeking. Having visited Japan, he found the store’s appearance and atmosphere familiar and said he planned to return.

“I hope it stays here as long as possible,” he said.