10 best shops in Kappabashi kitchen town

Perusing Kappabashi’s many plastic food model stores is a must when you’re in the area. Sato Sample has been in the business for nearly 100 years, offering approximately 2,500 fake food models that look real enough to eat. You can’t miss the store, either, as there’s a giant curry rice displayed right at the entrance. 

Food items range from Japanese sweets and fresh cut fruit to sushi and a variety of noodles including soba, udon and ramen. While many of the larger food items are meant for restaurant displays, Sato Sample also offers smaller things that you can easily take home, including sushi keychains, magnets and USB sticks. Unlike real food that comes and goes with the seasons, you can purchase all the items here year-round.

Head straight to Fuwari for all your Japanese tableware needs. The lifestyle shop offers a wide selection of dishes, utensils and kitchen accessories that would make a great addition to any home. You’ll want to take your time here as there are three floors to browse. 

The basement floor has an array of plates, bowls and mugs in almost every colour and pattern you can imagine. Check out the ground floor for beautiful matcha bowls, serving platters and other trinkets such as hashioki chopstick holders and soy sauce dishes. Then make your way up to the first floor for a selection of kitchen goods sourced from around the world. Here you'll find a mix of woven baskets, bags, trays and sturdy wooden tableware made from teak and olive wood.

A legit caffeine dealer, and a barista’s dream come true, Union Coffee is spread across two separate shops: one selling tea and coffee beans, and another selling such a comprehensive range of coffee and brewing equipment that you’ll have all you need to set up your own café.

Pick from a range of gorgeous glass siphon coffee makers, or go for the more convenient hand drippers and filters, which are a lot hardier for packing into luggage. Across the road, you can stock up on a range of beans (including speciality coffee such as Kona from Hawaii) that are roasted in-house at reasonable prices, as well as a select range of loose tea leaves that you can purchase by weight.

To marvel at the fine craftsmanship of Japanese knives, head to Kama-Asa, which has been specialising in blades and kitchen tools from graters and slicers to woks and pans since 1908.

Choosing the right knife can be a daunting task, especially with the wide variety on display. That’s where the English- and French- speaking staff at Kama-Asa come in, as they can help you find the exact blade suited to your needs. When you do find one that makes the cut, the shop can engrave it for you at no extra cost, as well as offer aftercare services including knife sharpening and repair (extra charges apply).

Although most shops in Kappabashi have a jumble of goods that require a spot of sifting, you’ll also come across a few tidier gems like Majimaya Confectionery.

Majimaya was founded in 1951 and specialises in confectionery tools such as whisks, cake pans and even moulds for traditional Japanese sweets. The store space by architecture firm Kamitopen, which was revamped in 2019, is now housed in a split-level structure designed to let shoppers browse through over 3,000 types of confectionery equipment.

Japan has a knack for woodwork and you’ll see some of the traditional craft’s finest examples at Utuwazoshi. Offering everything from wooden bowls and trays to spoons and chopsticks, the store can outfit your kitchen with beautiful and useful wooden tools.

For a classic Tokyo momento, we recommend the wooden bento boxes. These lunch containers usually come at a premium price (Utuwazoshi stocks these pricer versions, too), but here you'll find more wallet-friendly boxes for between ¥2,000 and ¥4,000.

If you’re in the market for chopsticks, head here. It’s not as if you would come here for anything else: Mikura stocks only these traditional eating utensils, and a dizzying, exhaustive variety at that, all displayed in a showroom-like setting.

The handcrafted hashi (chopsticks) come in different lengths, colours, shapes and designs. Mikura believes there's a perfect chopstick for everyone and the staff can find you a pair that fits perfectly in your hands. You can also have them engraved and gift-wrapped. How cool is that? 

Who knew there existed so many brushes for so many different purposes? Whether you’re painting, cleaning, grooming or polishing, at Kanaya Brush you’ll find a vast selection of artisanal brushes – from toothbrushes and soft makeup brushes to kitchen scrubbers and even bristles for your pets – mostly made from a diverse range of animal hair including mountain goat and squirrel.

You can also find specific brushes for different clothing and fabrics, including leather, as well as an endless selection of paintbrushes if you’re more artistically inclined. It’s hard to get a handle on such a broad-brush approach to bristly implements, but you can start with one of the face or body brushes for some self-pampering exfoliation. Otherwise, pick up a traditional Japanese tawashi kitchen scrubber, which makes for a practical souvenir.

If Japanese pottery and ceramics are on your shopping list, Dengama is definitely worth a visit. Located across the street from Kappabashi’s famous chef’s bust, with items spilling out the entrance, Dengama offers two floors of gorgeous earthenware and tableware at reasonable prices.

Get your hands on the made-in-Japan mugs and crockery, as well as matcha bowls and dainty hashioki (chopstick rests), which come in all sorts of fun shapes and sizes. The selections in-store are sourced from the country’s premier pottery regions, including Bizen, Shigaraki, Arita and Echizen – so you know you’re taking an authentic piece of Japan home with you.

In the heart of Asakusa's Kappabashi 'Kitchen Town' district, you'll find this shrine to all things fake food-related. Ganso Shokuhin Sample-ya has been producing plastic replicas for display in restaurant windows since 1932, but in recent years it's wisened up to the tourist trade.

The shop's fake food keyrings, magnets and phone straps make for great (albeit far from cheap) souvenirs, and there's an upstairs space where visitors can try their hand at making mock tempura and lettuce. Just note that reservations are required for the workshop, which is held only in Japanese.