Have you ever looked at a Japanese restaurant’s storefront and wondered where those glorious, ultra-realistic plastic food models come from?
They most likely came from Kappabashi.
See some cute plates that were used to serve you your tempura? They may have come from Kappabashi.
The hand-crafted knife that cut all your ingredients at that Michelin star restaurant you ate at last night? (Man, I hate you and your good food and your money)
May very well have come from here.
Kappabashi Street is about a 10 minute walk from Asakusa Temple (Sensoji). It is also about 15 minutes walk from Ueno (on the Yamanote Line). It is a long stretch of road that is covered (okay for rainy days) and has everything imaginable for your kitchen needs. Some of the most popular items to buy here are cutting knives and plastic food samples.
People who can read Japanese! Here is a full map of all the stores on the street: http://www.kappabashi.or.jp/home/kappabashimap.pdf
Here is an unattractive map (yellow highlighted area is Kappabashi) that I will replace once Google decides to make its map maker available in Japan.
And every size of cutting board you could ever need.
There are many sample food shops around, but one of the best known ones on this street is Maiduru.
HP:http://www.maiduru.co.jp/
There are two locations on Kappabashi Street,
Main store address:〒１１１－００３２ 東京都台東区西浅草１－５－１７
Antenna shop: 〒１１１－００３２ 東京都台東区西浅草１－５－１４
Besides the regular, ultra-real, to-scale foods that they have here, they also have things for normal people to buy. There are cell-phone straps, magnets, smartphone-stands and so on…All adorned with fake treats that will probably just end up making you and those around you hungry.
If you are looking for souvenirs to make your kitchen table reflect your visit to Kappabashi, you might want to stop by Tengama.
HP: http://www.kappabashi.or.jp/shops/101.html
Address: 〒111-0035 東京都台東区西浅草 1-4-3
Japanese food often gets served on an array of small dishes. It might be interesting to bring some back home in the name of portion size control. As you can see by the picture above.
Ceramics aficionados probably know the major types of Japanese ceramics: Minono, Arita, Shigaraki, Kutani, Mashiko, etc. You can find them all here.
This street is definitely worth checking out if you are done looking at the main attractions of Asakusa and want to do some window shopping. Or if you are a person that enjoys his restaurant supply shopping.
