Azuki is similar to Nishiki as both brands were distributed by West Coast Cycle and manufactured by Kawamura in Japan. From what I have seen they mostly made road bikes, but I found some cruisers and BMX bikes also. I believe this brand was much less popular than Nishiki, as I see way fewer for sale out in the local market or even on Ebay. Japan was making some good bikes during this period, so they should be quality made. I think the brand started in the early to mid-70s and seems to have disappeared sometime in the 80s.
Models
Century – entry level road bike
Classic – entry level road bike
Duster – BMX bike
Elite – mid level touring bike
Gran Sport – entry level road bike
Gran Sport Mixte – mixte cruiser
Imperial – mid level road bike
Raider – BMX bike
Rally Sport – entry level road bike
Value
I don’t think there is much of a following for Azuki, though Japanese bikes of this period do have a following. While I saw it suggested they had a full line and there might be higher level bikes out there, the best I could find evidence for are mid-level road bikes. In my area most models in good condition are worth about $100. The Elite and Imperial in excellent condition might get up to $200.
Gallery
Azuki Gran Sport
Frugal Average Bicyclist 
💙💙
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I got an Azuki 10 speed for my 13th birthday in 1972. My dad bought it at a local bike shop owned by an old classmate of his. I absolutely loved it, in fact it looked exactly like the blue one pictured. Mind you we lived in a flat desert town at the time and had I no problems, until…… A year later we moved to San Diego and the area where we lived was very hilly. I couldn’t go anywhere w/o having to encounter a hill. The problem was that for the life of me I couldn’t get it all the way up a steep hill and small ones were a struggle. My parents blew it off as being that I was out of shape and needed to ride it more. Well none of my girlfriends could get it up a hill either (parents said the same about them) and then neither could some of the guys on the cross country team. My parents response to that was I was making it up. Their solution was to continually send me on errands to strengthen my legs. My friends on their cheap Schwinns from Sears and Roebuck’s made those hills with no problem, and when I rode their bikes I whizzed right up the hills. I also played volleyball and basketball. So years later I wonder, were there or are there bikes that I would call maybe a flatlands bike? Bikes that were built basically built to never encounter a hill? I would absolutely love to be able to say ‘remember when’ to my father and then stick my tongue out at him (lol).
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Thank you for your story. The Azuki should have handled the hills just as well as any other bikes. Maybe it needed a tune up.
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I had an Azuki Grand Sport exactly like the one pictured. I worked and saved my money for a long time to buy that bike. It was $220. I grew up in eastern Oregon and we used to ride to the mountains and all over. I was pretty proud of that bike and rode the wheels off of it! Eventually I sold it for a Yamaha dirt bike and I sold that for a 66 Chevelle SS. I had a lot of fun with all of them!
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Nice, thanks for sharing!
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I had an Azuki 10 speed bought from TJ Frisbee bicycles in Ridgecrest, CA some time prior to 1976. It cost me like 3 months paper route money, so something around $100. They were good quality bikes, and probably partly responsible for the last 50 years of bicycling addiction. Good times, man! Thanks for the site.
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Thanks for sharing your experience.
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I bought an Azuki Grand Sport just like the one pictured in 1973. It was the most expensive 10 speed in the shop at $100. I loved the bike. I lived in Los Alamos, NM at the time, lots of hills. I later moved to Hampton, VA where the bike was stolen off my patio. I have never seen another Azuki on the street.
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Thanks for sharing your experience. Sorry it was stolen, but glad you liked it while you had it.
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