Happy More Market

Located in Ginowan City, "Happy More Market Tropical Store" is a market where you can find a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as the popular original products only available here. Take a look inside the market and find out what makes this market so special!

Opened in February 2021, "Happy More Market Tropical Store" is twice as large as their main store, which closed its doors in November of the same year due to the deterioration of the building. The market mainly sells agricultural produce directly sourced from the farmers, as well as a wide range of processed products from within and outside of the prefecture, all carefully selected by the staff. The store is filled with fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year, as it carries produce from both within and outside of the prefecture. Vegetables grown within the prefecture are especially abundant in winter, while fruits such as mangoes and pineapples grown locally are sold in the summer.

Making a market where customers, producers, and the store can all be happy

At Happy More Market, produce is labeled with "the status of pesticide and chemical fertilizer use during the cultivation period," color-coded according to the store's own standards, based on the farmers' self-reports. "We hope that by offering customers more choices when selecting products, they will have a better shopping experience," says Ms. Ganaha, the manager of the store.

Photo 1: a sign about the label of the status of pesticide and chemical fertilizer use. Photo 2 & 3: produce labeled with the status of pesticide and chemical fertilizer use.

The signs handwritten by the staff are placed throughout the store to convey the messages from the farmers, such as their passion for their products, their recommendations for how to eat them, and what makes them different from other products. Information like this is available only because the store sources produce directly from the farmers.

Photo: a handwritten sign

Each agricultural product is in season at a different time of the year. The store layout at Happy More Market changes frequently and dramatically so that customers can see at a glance which products are in season at any given time of the year. The staff call such a sales floor a "moving market.” For example, last winter, they set up a hotpot section at a time when the number of vegetables produced in Okinawa was increasing, and they displayed the vegetables together with various processed products for hotpot to make them look more attractive. Visitors can enjoy the changing display of the store depending on the time of year they visit.

Photo: the in-store display with signs handwritten by staff

“When we create a good store, customers can enjoy shopping even more, and when customers purchase, the farmers can be happy as well, so we are trying to create a good cycle," says Ms. Ganaha.

Happy More Market's popular original products

The store's most popular original product is the smoothies. The smoothies are packed with Okinawan vegetables, which is made possible especially because the store sources products directly from the farmers. There are various types of smoothies to choose from, including "vegetable smoothie," which is not bitter so that even children who do not like vegetables can drink, "herbal smoothie," which is filled with medicinal herbs and suitable for the more health-conscious individuals, and seasonal smoothies, which is made with seasonal ingredients such as beets and dragon fruit. All smoothies contain Happy More Market's original enzyme syrup, which is one of the unique features of their smoothies. Although there is a basic recipe, the staff in charge of smoothies adjust the flavor each time by incorporating ingredients that are in season at that time of year, so you can enjoy a slightly different flavor each time.

Photo: from the left: "Special Herbal Smoothie," "Vegetable Smoothie," and the seasonal "Beetroot Smoothie.” Photo 2: smoothie menu. Photo 3: you can watch the smoothies being made right in front of you.

The "Ripe Banana Cake" has been a popular item since the store first opened its door. When they first opened Happy More Market at the main store where they were operating at the time, the store was not well known at first and encountered a lot of difficulties. In the midst of such difficulties, they started making banana cakes out of a desire to deliver something delicious to customers and make them happy. From there, they continued to improve the recipe and finally managed to create the current banana cake, which has a fluffy texture with rich aroma of bananas. In addition to banana cakes, they also sell cakes that are unique to each season, such as pumpkin cakes during the pumpkin season, and Christmas cakes with a special Christmas flavor.

Photo: from the left, "Sweet Potato Cake," "Caramel Banana Cake," and "Ripe Banana Cake.” Photo 2: the cake area. Customers can see the staff cutting the cakes.

Another popular item is "Lemon Andagi (Okinawan doughnut).” It was first made by one of the staff members who felt that the large amount of lemon peels left when making smoothies was a waste and used them to make a snack for the other staff members, and it eventually became one of their original products. Since the preparation is all done by hand by the staff, there are a limited amount of Lemon Andagi for sale and they are only available on the days assigned as “Lemon Andagi Selling Day (レモンアンダギー販売日),” which is about 4 days a month. To find the “Lemon Andagi Selling Day,” please check the event calendar on the store's website or SNS, and look for the "Lemon Andagi Selling Day (レモンアンダギー販売日)".

There is also an Okinawa section in the store

The store has an Okinawa section with a variety of Okinawa products, including brown sugar, salt, and jams. Salt is especially popular as a souvenir.

Photo: Okinawa section

Photo: Okinawa salt

Visit Happy More Market and find your favorite products from inside and outside of Okinawa!

Happy More Market Tropical Store

Address: 7-1350-81 Oyama, Ginowan, Okinawa (inside Ginowan Yui Marche)
Tel: +81-98-988-9785

Hours: 10:00-18:00
Closed on the last Monday of every month (any changes will be announced on the store’s SNS)
Website：https://happymore.jp/
IG：@happymoreichiba_official

Posted on 2023/3/24