Kappabashi street - the kitchen street in Tokyo is my must visit place everytime I am in Japan (ok except the time I was at Hokkaido :P) Basically, if Tokyo is in my list, Kappabashi street is as well. I call it my pilgrimage.
Known as 合羽橋 in Japanese, this is the famous kitchen street that sells all the supplies you need to basically open a Japanese restaurant, okay with the exception of fresh produce. You can find all sort of cookware, from the taiyaki maker to the takoyaki balls grill pan. And not forgetting the realistic fake food, kitchen equipment, signboards, aprons, knives, bake ware, serving bowls and plates.
Conveniently located within walking distance from the Asakusa station / Inaricho station and Tawaramachi station of the Ginza Metro Line. It is very accessible if you are visiting Tokyo. At the first junction of the street, you will stop the very iconic chef character on top of the building.
For a crazy bento maker like me, Kappabashi is a dreamland for me. I often have control my purchases, or more like cause my luggage could not long fit things. There are amazing things for bento making and also cooking.
Here are some photo highlights I took in my trip. I definitely recommend you visiting Kappabashi street if you are going Tokyo.
Also introduced 2 shops at the bottom. One is an amazing 6 stories store that carries an amazing collection of items with very attractive prices, and the other is the store that I visit to purchase my iron press, which are of great quality.
1. Check out the amazing cutters, they carry really small cutters which are perfect for bento and food art
3. If you have kids, they are going to be so thrilled eating out for a 'car' or 'train' serving plate.
5. A wide assortment of cookware and tools
6. Often seasonal, the floral decorations are perfect for photo taking purposes or to dress up your home.
7. Fun cutlery and chopstick rests
8. Even the disposable boxes are sooooo beautiful. Just like how you see them sold as bento in Japanese deepachika.
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Now, as promised, here are the two stores I wanted to share with you. The first one - Puropakku (プロパック)is a 6th storey store that carries amazing number of products at very attractive prices . As you can see, first floor carries food items (I found some cute pasta here), 2nd floor is everyday products and kitchen ware, 3rd floor is stationary, 4th floor is disposable wares and packing, 5th floor is paper products, 6th floor is supplies for food stores.
The second is Yokoyama (ヨコヤマ)the store that I go to buy their iron press. Amongst those sold, I find theirs of high quality. All the iron press are hand made! They also carry an excellent range of bakeware, and tools for wagashi (traditional japanese street) alongside other kitchen items!
Kappabashi Street
Website (Japanese)
Website (English)
Do note that the stores close early, around 5pm. So visit this place early. Most stores open at 9am so be an early riser for this place :) and enjoy the shopping.