01:00 AM EST on Thursday, November 10, 2005

BY COURTNEY HOLLANDS
The (Quincy) Patriot Ledger

Straddling the Cambridge-Somerville line, delicately folded into the corner of a 1928 Art Deco landmark in Porter Square, amid multicultural mishmash and historical hodgepodge, is a hidden Japanese jewel.

There may be a Gap, a CitySports and a Rustic Kitchen restaurant stretched along the streetfront of the Porter Exchange building, formerly a Sears department store, now owned by Lesley University -- but Asian-Americans, families, young professionals and college students flock here for what's inside the building, behind those familiar venues: sushi, handcrafted gifts and steaming bowls of rice and vegetables, egg and meat.

They come for a taste of Japan.

Six Japanese eateries, more aptly described as stalls, line a crowded corridor, where demure waitresses cart rainbow-colored tea sets and tofu to sparse tables, and young, hip Cambridge types rub elbows with bodybuilders, fresh from their workouts at the Bally's Total Fitness in the basement of the Exchange.

A standalone restaurant, Blue Fin, a Shiseido cosmetics counter, a Japanese bakery, a gift and craft shop and a Japanese supermarket round out the virtual passport.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, the sushi counter at Kotobukiya, the first stall on the right, was buzzing. The no-frills establishment -- home to curling laminated placemats, paper menus and purple plastic dishware -- serves up sushi and sashimi fast, at reasonable prices.

Kelly Clarkson crooned from a wall-mounted radio, and customers at the 13-seat counter included two couples, two guys and a family with giggling young daughters.

Each stall serves up its own spin on Japanese classics, some splicing in Korean and Thai influences. The restaurants post their menus with pictures and ingredient explanations, so comparison shopping is a snap.

And the inexpensive options are endless -- a hearty meal including soup, salad, even tea, ranges from $9 to $12, depending on your choice of ingredients and beverage.

Cafe Mami is a favorite with its home-style Japanese cooking.

ChoCho's specializes in soon, a sizzling, soft tofu stew that features seafood, beef, curry, even spicy Korean pickle. Each piping bowl comes with a raw egg for cracking over the top, if desired.

Ittyo and Tampopo are all about donburi, rice bowls topped with everything from eel to boiled chicken to vegetables.

It's not about the decor -- you could easily be in a deli or pizza shop with the minimal pictures on the walls and folding chairs -- or the service -- efficient, sometimes friendly. It's the high quality, low price and authenticity of the food that makes the trip memorable.

"The people who run the restaurants are actually from Japan," said Brian Mottola, a customer and former resident of Bedford, Mass., who was visiting from Orange County, Calif. "I used to live in Japan, and you just can't get these food products elsewhere in Boston."

He cited the Kotobukiya supermarket across the hallway for its wide array of Japanese soft drinks, snacks and cooking products.

"We used to make the trip from Bedford to Cambridge each month to eat here with friends," said Mottola's wife, Bonnie, admiring incandescent, glazed sushi plates, shaped like fish and flowers, at the Tokai gift shop.

At the other end of the shop, an older, black-clad couple scrutinized an antique painting. A pregnant woman and her friend admired origami sets for children. The soothing flute music, tinkling chimes, burbling fountains and slowly spreading incense was enough to transport customers to a teahouse far, far away.

The Porter Exchange is at 1815 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, Mass.

Take Route 95 north to Route 93 to Storrow Drive, Harvard Square exit. Go through Harvard Square, north on Mass. Ave. 1 mile. Porter Exchange is on the right, just before the T station. Turn right on Roseland Street (at CitySports), then left to park in the lot behind the building.

By MBTA: Red Line to Porter Square, exit on the Mass. Ave. side, and walk left. Porter Exchange is the second building on the left, a block-long structure with Rustic Kitchen on the corner.

To learn more about the individual places mentioned here, call these numbers:

Blue Fin, (617) 497-8022

Cafe Mami, (617) 547-9130

ChoCho's, (617) 868-4246

Ittyo, (617) 354-5944

Japonaise Bakery, (617) 547-5531

Kotobukiya, (617) 354-6914 or (617) 492-4655

Tampopo, (617) 868-5457

Tokai, (617) 864-5922