Kappabashi Kitchen Town
Asakusa, Tokyo
Kappabashi Kitchen Town is the street that supplies Tokyo's restaurants: 170 shops selling hand-forged knives, ceramics, lanterns and the plastic food models in every restaurant window. Almost all of it is sold to anyone who walks in.
More photos of Kappabashi Kitchen Town
Insider tip
Kamata and Tsubaya are the knife shops to visit, and Kamata will engrave a knife you buy while you wait. Most shops close on Sundays.
What the guides say about Kappabashi Kitchen Town
Mid-morning in Kappabashi. Ten minutes on foot west of the temple, Kappabashi Kitchen Town is the street that supplies every restaurant in the city. Hand-forged knives, ceramic shops and the plastic food displays that sit in every restaurant window in Japan. It's the best souvenir street in Tokyo precisely because it doesn't sell souvenirs. A knife engraved with your name while you wait beats anything from an airport shop. Most shops close around 5pm and on Sundays, so if it's a Sunday, swap this stop for the Skytree riverside walk.
One detail softens the whole decision. Asakusa and Ueno are joined by one of the best walks in east Tokyo. Head west from Senso-ji and in ten minutes you hit Kappabashi, the kitchen-supply street where Tokyo's chefs buy their knives, ceramics and the plastic food models you see in restaurant windows. Keep going west and you come out at the east side of Ueno Station, with the park beyond. The whole walk takes 30 to 40 minutes at a browsing pace.
Late morning. Kappabashi Kitchen Town is ten minutes west, and it's the street where Tokyo's restaurants shop. Knives engraved while you wait, hand-thrown ceramics stacked by the hundred, plastic food models in every window. Buy the thing you'd use at home rather than the thing that looks like a souvenir. Most shops close on Sundays, so don't come on one.
What's on near Kappabashi Kitchen Town
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Kappabashi Kitchen Town, from the weekly Tokyo events calendar.
Kappabashi Kitchenware Festival (42nd Kappabashi Dougu Matsuri)
第42回かっぱ橋道具まつり
Station Tawaramachi (Ginza Line), 5 min walk
Kappabashi's kitchenware street holds its yearly week of sales round Tool Day on 9 October, ending with a day when the street is closed to traffic.
Shitamachi Tanabata Matsuri
下町七夕まつり
Station Tawaramachi (Ginza Line), 5 min walk
Star festival along the 1.2 km shopping street between Ueno and Asakusa, hung with bamboo branches and paper streamers made by local shops and schools. The main weekend closes the street to traffic for parades, street performers, and food stalls.
Asakusa Awa Odori
浅草阿波おどり
Time 16:00 to 18:30 (2026) Station Asakusa (Tsukuba Express)
Awa odori dance troupes dance through Rokku Broadway and the Nishi-sando arcade on one Sunday afternoon in autumn, ending in a joint dance.
Shirasagi no Mai (White Heron Dance)
白鷺の舞
Station Asakusa Station (Tobu Skytree Line, Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Toei Asakusa Line, Tsukuba Express), 5 min walk
Spectacular white heron dance performed at Sensoji Temple in November coinciding with Japan's Culture Day holiday. Traditional ceremonial dance featuring graceful movements. Often draws larger crowds than spring performance.
OiMax, CC BY 2.0 Hagoita Ichi (Battledore Fair) at Sensoji
羽子板市（歳の市）
Time 9:00 to 19:30, last day until 19:00 Station Asakusa (Ginza Line), 5 min walk
Stalls fill the temple grounds selling ornamental hagoita paddles decorated with kabuki figures, current celebrities and topical designs, alongside daruma dolls and festive food. The market descends from the historic Toshi no Ichi year-end market and runs for three fixed dates every December regardless of the day of the week.
OiMax, CC BY 2.0 Nearby
Around Asakusa
Old Tokyo's front door, best before the tour buses arrive
Asakusa gets dismissed as touristy, and at 2pm on a Saturday it is. Go at 7am instead. Senso-ji with incense drifting and almost nobody around is a different place entirely, and the backstreets west of the temple still feel like the shitamachi Tokyo that most of the city paved over decades ago.
Asakusa has 14 places on the Roam Tokyo map: 3 shrines and temples, 3 bathhouses, 2 viewpoints, 2 bars, 2 shops, 1 park or garden and 1 restaurant. Read the Asakusa guide.
From the blog
Good to know
- How do I get to Kappabashi Kitchen Town?
- The nearest station is Tawaramachi (Ginza Line). Kappabashi Kitchen Town is in Asakusa, Tokyo.
- How much does Kappabashi Kitchen Town cost?
- Kappabashi Kitchen Town is mid-range, marked ¥¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Kappabashi Kitchen Town?
- Plan for 1-2 hours.
- When is the best time to visit Kappabashi Kitchen Town?
- Daytime, closed Sundays.
Stay near Kappabashi Kitchen Town
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