In Japan, there is a history of travelers buying local delicacies to take home to their friends and family, to try when they get back home.
Tokyo Station is one of the best places in Tokyo to find these “local delicacies” packaged and ready to take to your loved ones. Tokyo Station is a huge travel hub, and thus the last place in Tokyo where many domestic tourists stop. These tourists make a mad scramble to get famous Tokyo omiyage (souvenir) like Tokyo Banana.
Tokyo Banana
You might be thinking to yourself: why is a banana Twinkie a Tokyo souvenir? Yes, it is extremely strange, but unfortunately Tokyo has TOO many things to see and do and thus doesn’t really have a main specialty. Tokyo Banana is just an omiyage that took off and became recognizable.
Recently, however, I think people are getting sick of Tokyo Banana (it’s ok, it really is just ok). Other souvenir foods are popping up to try and steal the title of best omiyage:
TOKYO CAMPANELLA
HP http://tokyo-campanella.com.cn/en/
From: tokyo-campanella.com.cn
3 langues de chat cookies with a cream in the middle. (Langue de chat means “cat tongues.” They are thin, crispy and have a bit of a rough texture)
PRICE: Box of 5 is 618 yen
BEST BEFORE: 2 months after purchase
WHERE TO GET THEM: Daimaru Tokyo, Tokyo Station South Exit “Meihinkan” (souvenir area). Tokyo Station “Gift Garden”
MARSHMALLOW ELEGANCE
HP: http://www.marshmallow-elegance.jp/
From HP
A friend told me about this one. Nobody thought much of the lowly marshmallow until now. Marshmallow Elegance is the new level of marshmallow. Each marshmallow is handcrafted and made with different flavors like pink grapefruit, french pear, etc.
PRICE: Box of 3 (gummi marshmallows) is 280 yen
BEST BEFORE: 20 days after purchase
WHERE TO GET THEM: Tokyo Station Gransta
MAMEGUI
HP: http://www.mamegui.jp/index.html
From HP
This store is actually more about the cloth that wraps the food up, then about the food itself. The prints are all handmade chusen-style printing. They sell little treats like rice crackers and hard candies wrapped up in the “mamegui.” These make great gifts because you can then reuse the cloth for anything you wish.
PRICE: starts from 798 yen
BEST BEFORE: depends on what you buy wrapped up
WHERE TO GET THEM: Tokyo Gransta B1
NIHONBASHI NISHIKIHORIN KARINTO
HP: http://www.nishikihorin.com/
From nishikihorin.com
Karinto is a sweet rice cracker that is nice and crunchy (and that I actually quite like). Nihonbashi Nishikihorin makes karinto that has gotten pretty popular of late. The reason for its popularity is the variety of traditional flavors they offer such as purple potato and wasabi plum.
PRICE: starts from 330 yen
BEST BEFORE: 3 months after purchase
WHERE TO GET THEM: Tokyo Gransta B1
FUJIMIDO SENBEI
From HP
There are special Tokyo Station edition sets that you can buy for a feeling of exclusivity. This company makes high-quality rice crackers of different varieties. This is the place to stop for rice cracker fans.
PRICE: 2,300 yen for 35
BEST BEFORE: 3 months after it was made
WHERE TO GET THEM: Tokyo Gransta B1
MIKADO-YA AGE-MANJU
HP: http://www.mikadoya-agemanjyu.co.jp/index.html
From Tabelog
Age-manju means “fried bun” and these buns are filled with a fine sweet red bean paste. They are sold in units of one with a separate price available for boxes. You can eat this right away and sample what you will be giving to people!
PRICE: 1 for 100 yen
BEST BEFORE: 10 days after purchase
WHERE TO GET THEM: Keiyo Street 1F
MOUNT BAUM BAUM-KUCHEN
From HP
Baum-kuchen is a German cake, but it has transformed into a huge Japanese phenomenon. This foreign cake has somehow made its way into being available at every grocery store and convenience store in Japan. Nenrinya is known for its baum-kuchen.
PRICE: starts from around 700 yen
BEST BEFORE: eat within 9 days
WHERE TO GET THEM: Daimaru Tokyo 1F
WA-RUSK
HP: http://www.waraku-beniya.jp/
From HP
In recent years “rusk” has become extremely popular in Japan. Rusk is french bread that is in toast-form and usually is flavored with butter and granulated sugar. Wa-rusk takes that to a new level. They have various Japanese flavors like green tea, Japanese strawberry and purple potato.
PRICE: 600 yen for 5 packs of 2 rusks.
BEST BEFORE: eat within 40 days
WHERE TO GET THEM: Ecute Tokyo
BUNMEIDO CASTELLA
HP: http://www.bunmeido.com/user_data/morikoshiro.php
From bunmeido.com
CASTELLA is another foreign cake that has taken Japan by storm. However, kastera’s history dates back to the Portuguese in the 16th century. It is a pretty standard pound cake but is extremely good. I think the simplicity of the cake is its charm.
PRICE: 1,312 yen for 10 slices.
BEST BEFORE: eat within 2 weeks
WHERE TO GET THEM: Daimaru Tokyo
Some of these gifts have gotten so popular that they are now available for purchase at Narita and Haneda airports, but don’t count on it. All of these gifts and more are available around the Tokyo Station souvenir shopping areas.
