Tokyo / Asakusa / Street

Kappabashi kitchen street

かっぱ橋道具街 かっぱばしどうぐがい

Eight hundred metres of restaurant supply — knives, lacquer, ceramics, and the plastic food in every window in Japan.

EssentialShopping · Craft · Food · Local life · Walkable

Every restaurant in Tokyo shops here: a street of 170 wholesalers selling knives, pans, noren curtains, lanterns, ceramics by the crate and the plastic replica food that Japanese restaurants display. It is open to anyone. The knife shops will sharpen and engrave; the ceramic shops sell single bowls from the seconds bin; the sample-food shops sell a plastic tempura shrimp as a key ring, or will let you make your own. The giant chef's head on the corner marks the start.

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A hand-drawn sketch for orientation — each place links to an exact map.
Tip
Most shops close on Sundays and by five; go on a weekday morning with an empty suitcase.
Best time
Weekday morning.
Allow
90 min
Station
Tawaramachi (Ginza line), 5 minutes; or walk 10 minutes west from Sensoji
Official site — hours, prices, closures
www.kappabashi.or.jp · Map

Appears in

In this area: Asakusa

Temple Essential

Sensoji Temple浅草寺

Tokyo's oldest temple, founded in 628 — a gate, a lane, a five-storey pagoda and a hall that is never closed.

60 min · Asakusa (Ginza / Asakusa lines, Tobu), exit 1
On the water Worth it

Sumida river water bus隅田川の水上バス

Down the river from Asakusa under twelve bridges to the shogun's garden or the bay.

45 min · Asakusa (Ginza / Asakusa lines), exit 4 to the pier
District Worth it

The craft and coffee streets west of the temple寺の西側の職人通りと喫茶店

Hoppy Street, Denboin-dori, the old coffee houses and the shops that make one thing by hand.

90 min · Asakusa (Ginza line) or Tawaramachi (Ginza line)

All places — Asakusa →