Tokyo · Daikanyama
Kamawanu Daikanyama
A tenugui is a long, thin cotton towel with unhemmed ends. In Japan it is used as a hand towel, a head scarf, for wrapping a gift, or hung on the wall as decoration. Kamawanu opened this shop, on a side street in Daikanyama, in 1987, and it is the brand's first shop. According to the official website, the shops keep more than 250 designs in stock at all times.
Most of the towels are dyed with the chusen method, a technique from the Meiji period: a long roll of cloth is folded in layers, a resist paste is spread on it, and the dye is poured from above so it soaks through to the bottom layer. That is why the pattern looks the same on both sides, and the colors soften with washing.
The name is a picture puzzle from the Edo period: a sickle (kama), a ring (wa) and the character 'nu', which read together as kamawanu, 'I don't mind'. It is also the brand's logo. Besides tenugui, the shop sells furoshiki wrapping cloths, small towels, and frames and rods for hanging a towel on the wall.
Good to know
- In the first washes the dye still runs, and according to the company's instructions it settles after two or three washes. Wash by hand, in water that is not hot.
- The ends are unhemmed and fray a little at first. According to the company, the fraying stops by itself about half a centimeter to a centimeter from the edge, and you trim the threads with scissors.
- The towel folds into a flat square and is very light, so it is a souvenir that fits in any suitcase. The online shop offers a free gift bag and paid wrapping. The website says nothing about wrapping in the shop itself, so ask at the counter.
- Kamawanu has more shops in Tokyo: in Harajuku (below the Ota Museum), in Asakusa, and at Tokyo Station inside the ticket gates. If Tuesday is your only day, the Tokyo Station shop is open all year.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Kamawanu Daikanyama.
- HereKamawanu Daikanyama
- ~4 min
Hillside Terrace Street
A complex of several buildings with galleries, restaurants, The Conran Shop and a grocery. Hours vary by shop. From 30 October to 3 November 2026 the complex hosts DESIGNART TOKYO exhibitions, and on 7 and 8 November 2026 the Sarugaku festival takes place around it.
- ~5 min
Matsunosuke N.Y. Cafe
A bakery of American cakes inside Hillside Terrace: a big apple pie, New York cheesecake and cookies. Not kosher.
- ~5 min
SPRING VALLEY BREWERY TOKYO Food
A brewery with a restaurant inside the Log Road complex. A few regular beers, plus seasonal and experimental beers for a limited time. Not kosher.
- ~6 min
Daikanyama T-Site (Tsutaya Books) Shopping
A complex of several low buildings around the Tsutaya bookstore, with a Starbucks inside. The complex is open 07:00-23:00 and closed only on the first day of the year.
- ~6 min
IVY PLACE Food
A restaurant and cafe on the T-Site grounds, with breakfast from 08:00 (pancakes and granola), lunch and dinner. On weekends it fills up in the morning too, so it is worth booking. Not kosher.