Tokyo · Asakusa and Sumida
Kappabashi Dougu Street
Kappabashi is the street where Tokyo's restaurants buy their equipment: about 160 shops selling knives, pots, ceramics, bento boxes and plastic food models. At the southern entrance a giant chef's head stands on the roof of the Niimi shop, the landmark of the street.
The name has two stories. According to one, poor samurai dried their raincoats, kappa, on a bridge here. According to the other, a merchant named Kappaya Kihachi funded a drainage canal in the early 19th century, and the kappa, the river creatures of folklore, helped him dig at night. That is why a golden statue of a kappa stands on the street today. The kitchenware shops began to arrive here in 1922.
For a tourist there are two things here that are hard to find anywhere else: a Japanese knife at the price of a shop for professionals, with free name engraving in some of the shops, and a plastic food model, a souvenir that has no rival. Tax-free shopping depends on the shop.
Good to know
- On Sundays and public holidays most of the shops are closed, and if you come then you see a street of shutters.
- A knife goes in the suitcase, not in the carry-on bag.
- The workshop for making plastic tempura and lettuce at Ganso Shokuhin Sample-ya costs ¥3,300, by advance booking only. With children it is an hour that is worth it.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Kappabashi Dougu Street.
- HereKappabashi Dougu Street
- 1 min
Niimi Kappabashi Shopping
A tableware shop from 1907, with the giant chef's head on the roof. Porcelain and restaurant trays.
- ~4 min
Kamata Hakensha Shopping
A knife shop from 1923, with tax-free shopping and free name engraving on the blade. Open every day.
- ~5 min
Ganso Shokuhin Sample-ya Kappabashi Shopping
Plastic food models as souvenirs, and the famous workshop for making plastic tempura, ¥3,300 by advance booking.
- ~5 min
Sometaro Food
An okonomiyaki house from 1937 in a wooden house with tatami, where you cook it yourself on the griddle in the table. ¥2,000 to ¥3,000 per person. Cash only.
- ~9 min
Coffee Tengoku Cafe
A cafe from the Showa era, only 15 seats. Order the hotcake with the character 天 branded on it, with coffee, ¥1,100 to ¥1,400. Cash only.
More in Asakusa and Sumida
Appears in: Asakusa, Ueno and Skytree: old Tokyo in one day