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| Front poster |
Kudos to Marui Honkan!
I met up with my friend once again the next day to check out the SuJu pop-up store at Shinjuku's Marui Honkan. We arrived at around noon, and the first thing we saw were posters of SJ Market with all members dressed as supermarket employees outside the mall.
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| Poster outside the mall |
There was also a monitor that showed each member in their best employee posture.
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| Individual posters on the monitor |
As we entered, SuJu music played in the background, welcoming us. There were blue and white stickers that said "Super Junior- SJ Market" with a shopping cart in the centre plastered at the bottom of each escalator. The TVs above the escalators displayed still advertisements of the pop-up store. Marui Honkan did such a fantastic job promoting the event! 😄
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| SJ Market promotional sticker |
SuJu employees in business
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| Giant poster in front of the pop-up store |
There wasn't a long line as most Japanese ELFs were at Seibu Dome for Day 2 of SS10 Saitama. Each visitor received a stamp event card; they opted to complete the second mission, which was to buy goods worth 6000 yen to get a free photo card.
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| Stamp event card |
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| Kyu's reFresh |
The first stall that caught my eye was none other than a fruit stall called " Kyu's reFresh" which was managed by my ultimate bias, Cho Kyuhyun. I liked the punny names on the fruit posters, like Sorry Berry Strawberry. The cardboard standee had hands on its hips. I, of course, could not miss the opportunity to take photos with the maknae. I even had my new penguin plushie sit on top of his shoulder! 😂
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| My hubby and I 😂 |
Next to him was Donghae's bakery. The sensitive gym rat sold several kinds of bread for a ridiculously high price! 😂 11.06 dollars for one piece?! But of course, the bread wasn't for sale. The price tag signified SuJu's debut anniversary date, which was genius!
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| DH's Bakery |
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| Directory map |
A few visitors gathered at the massive message board. I joined in to write a message for the boys. There were three boxes filled with marker pens and a good stack of sticky note pads. The walls were almost full, so I stuck my message in the very top corner of the board. I wrote in Korean that translated: "Congratulations on your 20th anniversary! Please have SS11 at Tokyo Dome!"
We ELFs in Japan need this! Fingers crossed! 🤞
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| Message board |
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| My message (top left in teal marker) |
According to SuJu's vlogs of SJ Market in Korea, people can open props and take a peek at hidden pictures. As for Japan, the doors here were wide open. I could see the posters right away. Anyone could stand on the marked sports to take photos of the posters. This was a little disappointing. I wish we could open the doors to interactivity.
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| Leeteuk in the fridge |
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| Shindong |
Shindong's meat section, "Dongri's Meat," included Shindeli Bar, which was honey-flavoured bacon, and rotisserie chicken. He also sold some "Sorry Sauces": garlic, chili, mustard, and ketchup. 😂
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| Dongri's Meat |
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| Meats |
I loved the bacon poster that quoted, "Thunder taste! Taste like Shindong's dance!" 💃🕺😂👏 Who came up with these slogans??
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| OhYes Milk |
Yesung played the role of a farmer in his dairy stall. He presented his "Yes! Farm" and his creation, "OhYes Milk". The name itself was hilarious! 😂 Good thing he didn't call it "YeSex Milk" because that would be controversial! 😂
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| Yes! Farm |
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| Yesung |
The man himself was in a barn. He held an egg with a face drawn on it. Yesung mirrored the egg's smile. 🥹
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| Hyuk's Grocery |
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| Me and my second bias 😂 |
Yesung's next-door neighbour was the ramyeon-loving Hyukjae. The stall was called "Hyuk's Grocery", but all he sold was ramyeon! It came in two distinct flavours: veggie and spicy. Classic and simple! 😂😉
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| Pat pat! 😂 |
Kyuhyun was greeting customers from the "Staff Only" door. How can anyone deny his innocent posture?! He had his soft, doe-eyed smile, and he looked like a modest little boy with his hands clasped. 🥺😍
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| Shout out to my friend for holding my bunny! |
There was also a poster of Hyukjae holding a pair of chopsticks. My friend offered to hold my pink bunny plushie next to the chopsticks. It was just the right angle! 😂👏
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| WookiToy |
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| SuJu doll boxes |
Ryeowook's store was a toy-themed one called "WookiToy". The products were Ken-style dolls with their signature stances and catchphrases.
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| Ryeowook |
Wookie also had his life-sized version in the left corner. He's the cutest doll here! And I liked the label on the doll box that said "E.L.F. Edition since 2005".
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| Heenim Health and Beauty |
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| Heechul |
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| Fake beauty products |
And as for the diva Heechul, his section was called "Heenim Health and Beauty". His beauty products looked the most creative of all because the Reusable Bubble Bar looked like ice lollies. 😆 I want to try his purple and white ice-cream-bar-shaped soap! I would also be open to trying his super lotions, shampoos, bubble baths, and sheet masks. They all seem to be the ideal solution for my combination, acne-prone skin and oily hair. 😂
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| The Supereceipt |
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| The signed grocery bag |
Opposite the four stalls were the one-of-a-kind Supereceipt and the humongous shopping bag. The Supereceipt could fit an actual giant's wallet! It had the names of all nine members and their birthdays. 🥰 The shopping bag had autographs, too. The pop-up store staff must have shipped it from Seoul, South Korea. 🥹 There were also the members' announcements about special promotions of their items through a PA speaker, but I didn't get to record them all.
The office
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| Kyuhyun's couch |
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| Kyuhyun's uniform |
Last but not least, I stumbled upon the "staff room". A messy couch was next to the entrance. Kyuhyun must have slept on the couch during break time because his name tag and uniform sprawled on it, together with an SS10 Japan towel and a heap of empty water bottles scattered under it. I'm guessing that the youngest employee is using his maknae-on-top power to own the couch as his own. 😆
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| Desk |
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| Name tags |
Next to it was a white desk occupied by name tags and photo IDs of all workers. It also had a laptop with a still screen displaying the pop-up store sign, three bulky-looking ring binders, a radio, a lamp, and more water bottles.
Each name tag had an employee's individual signature, department, and ID number. The ID numbers were from the members' SS10 jerseys.
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| Photo wall |
There were also pictures taped to the walls. Rewinding to the latest season of Super TV, the members voted for the best pictures.
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| SJ Market schedule |
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| Eunhyuk's birthday reminder |
A big whiteboard with a schedule caught my eye. Someone had left a reminder of Eunhyuk's birthday. I wonder who it could be. 👀
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| Storage area |
The storage area in the centre was a pile of boxes. There were A4-sized employee photos glued all over the walls.
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| Uniforms |
There were also a couple of clothing racks with neatly arranged uniforms and more name tags.
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| Employee board (featuring ELF, the founding member🥹💙) |
Opposite the boxes was an employee board listing all nine of the employees and job titles. The top middle frame was a mirror with a caption: "ELF: Founding Member." 🥹I'm the founder of SJ Market! Aww! 🥰 I mean, we're pretty much SuJu's ATMs. 💸😂 We spent our savings to see and support our boys!
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| The manager's office |
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| Manager Siwon |
I went through a different door and met a cardboard standee of Manager Siwon. 😂 He welcomed me with his arms open. Unlike his employees, he wore a suit and tie. Behind his desk was a framed portrait of his team. He seemed to be in the middle of sipping his cup of coffee and reading English business management books.
Certificates marking Super Junior's Hallyu Wave accomplishments were on the left wall. 😌😉💙
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| Hall of Fame |
Siwon had his own announcement through a separate PA speaker as well.
Two tries of merch
March 8, 2026 (Sunday)
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| Goods display |
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| Photo cards on the bottom shelf |
The goods section was at a small event space on the ninth floor. One of the staff checked my stamp card and handed me a shopping bag. There were several things for sale: capsule toys, SJ Market tote bags, SS10 jersey keychains, towels, magnetic card cases, and photo cards.
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| Capsule toys display |
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| Tote bags |
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| SS10 jersey keychains and magnetic card cases on the top shelf. Towels on the bottom shelf. |
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| Sold out name tags |
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| Remaining name tags |
Most of the name tags were gone! 😮 And I thought I could buy the capsule toys after I got into the store, but boy was I wrong! 😕 I can't buy more stuff after one visit a day. I ended up buying the big SJ Market tote bag and some photo cards.
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| My tote bag and photo cards |
I got one free photo card for purchasing 6000 yen worth of stuff. And on the bright side, I got to trade three of my photo cards with some fellow ELFs at the fan community area.
March 14, 2026 (Saturday)
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| Sold out capsule toys😭 |
I went back the following weekend. To my disappointment, the capsule toys were wiped out. 🙁 The only items available were Koala March cookies, fan light accessories, SS10 jersey keychains, SS10 towels, photo cards, and magnetic card cases.
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| Koala March cookies |
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| Fan light accessories |
I got 5 boxes of Koala March cookies and four photo cards, and I traded two of the PCs for an Eunhyuk one and a Shindong one. I've given the Shindong one to a fellow ELF in my Japanese class. She seemed to like it! 😉😌
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| More photo cards |
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Koala March photo cards
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I was too late to trade my Koala March photo cards because I found them out when I opened the boxes. 😅 However, I've exchanged a Yesung PCs with a Japanese friend for two Eunhyuks! Plus, I'll trade more with other ELFs soon.
Bonus treasure: lanterns at Meguro River!
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| Meguro River |
I went to Nakameguro for the first time, and I found three Super Junior lanterns prepared by Japanese ELF volunteers! It turned out that ELFs do this fan project every year. I didn't have the time to walk along the entire river. Maybe one day next year, I'll find all the Super Junior lanterns. This is quite a neat project to celebrate Super Junior's 20th anniversary! 💙💙💙
Final thoughts
I wish that the pop-up store had plenty of capsule toys for the customers, since they were the most popular items of all. Other than that, SJ Market was a fun event to celebrate SuJu's 20-year history. I'm hoping that there will be an SJ Records exhibition here in Japan as well, but I don't think the SuJu crew or SM Entertainment will consider bringing it here since the celebration is already over. Still, it was a lovely three-days' worth of spending time (and money 💸😂) with Super Junior and ELFs.
I've also made new spreads in my SuJu journal using the stamp cards as reference for lettering and a Koala March box for decoration.
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| SJ Market recap journal spread |
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| Koala March cookie box spread |
For the upcoming concerts, including Eunhyuk's Be: Ware of the Rabbit fan meeting and SJ Core in Seoul, I'll watch them via Fromm Live and Beyond Live. I won't be recapping them this time because I don't have enough pages in my journal to write them both down. However, I'm saving the remaining pages for Yesung's solo concert in Tokyo's Tachikawa Stage Gardens on May 30! 😉🤩 Stay tuned for my next recap!
Thank you so much for reading about my first SuJu pop-up store experience. Your support means so much to me! 🤗🫶💙 If you haven't checked out my SS10 Saitama recap, you can do so here:
SS10 Saitama Day 1 recap Until then, have a good rest of your day. See you in the next blog post! Rock on! 😎💖
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