A Rising Sun Collective, a Japanese Food and Drink Hall, Opens in North Park

A new all-day food and drink space in North Park is celebrating its grand opening on Saturday, December 7, and Sunday, December 8, with free samples, live music, a DJ, and giveaways. The Rising Sun Collective, located at 3914 30th Street, will be the home of four different Japanese food and drink spots: a bakery, coffee, beer, and restaurant that will be open from morning to evening.

The dining area at Rising Sun.

Rising Sun Collective

Rising Sun Collective

“It’s a new beginning for our location in North Park. We have revitalized our space by bringing together a collection of Japanese brands offering ‘Bakery, Bites, and Brews’ for our customers,” co-owner William Sutjiadi tells Eater.

Pastry bun.

Rising Sun Collective

Salt & Butter Bakery is the first San Diego branch of Okayama Kobo, a Japanese bakery chain with over 200 locations in Japan, as well as DTLA, Anaheim, and Honolulu. Menu highlights include shokupan (Japanese milk bread) pizzas with various toppings and Japanese panini sandwiches filled with smoked pork belly, spicy buffalo chicken, and chicken karaage. The flavors developed for the San Diego market are not found in other Okayama Kobo branches. The milk cream breads are filled with original milk cream, ube, strawberry, matcha, coffee, and seasonal creams. Other offerings include kobokuma, a bear-shaped pastry filled with vanilla custard cream, and emoji-shaped pastries with Nutella custard cream. Other fillings include curry, spicy curry, and red bean.

Shokupan pizza.

Rising Sun Collective

The San Diego bakery previously operated as a pop-up in Miramar, Clairemont Mesa, and Escondido. Founded by Tsunetaka Kawakami in 1986, Okayama Kobo only uses flour from the Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido to make its additive- and preservative-free dough to give a light, fluffy texture.

Milk cream breads with various fillings.

Rising Sun Collective

Matcha Café Maiko will provide handmade iced matcha and hojicha teas and lattes. The North Park location will be the fourth for the brand, which also operates in Clairemont Mesa, Mira Mesa, and Escondido.

The bar features 16 taps.

Rising Sun Collective

The space will also serve as a tasting room for Embolden Beer and New Motion Beverages. Collaborative beers include Midnight in Tokyo, a matcha-infused hazy IPA from the Shogun line of Embolden Brewery. Happy hours deals include $3 pints.

They’ll serve Asian fusion hearty dishes, such as soups, noodles, and rice dishes, as well as Asian vegetarian plates from Sipz Vegetarian Kitchen, which formerly occupied the space as a standalone restaurant.

Array of dishes.

Rising Sun Collective

The 2,000-square-foot interior includes a dining area for up to 50 guests and a bar for 15 guests. Outdoor tables will be available after the grand opening. There are 16 taps for beer, hard teas, hard seltzers, and hard kombuchas. There will also be sake, wine sochu, and chu-hi (sochu highball).

Japanese sandwiches with various fillings.

Rising Sun Collective

“We will be opening additional locations as the opportunity arises. We’re definitely looking to expand to the Convoy District for sure,” Sutjadi tells Eater.