Top 15 Kappabashi Souvenirs

Above, you know you're in Kappabashi when you see this giant chef. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As previously mentioned, when I went to Japan in February, one of my tasks was to pick up a chef's knife in Tokyo's Kappabashi (known as Kitchen Town) for my roomie.

It took a while to get there as I didn't reach my hotel until 22 hours after I landed in Narita International Airport due to snow. But once I checked into my hotel, I hailed a taxi and headed over to Kappabashi.

Above, a view of the Skytree from Kappabashi. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Time Out Tokyo has an article on 15 fun and easy-to-carry items visitors to Kappabashi can pick up for the folks back home as a gift or a souvenir for yourself.

They start the article with:

Asakusa's Kappabashi, better known to English-speakers as 'Kitchen Town', is heaven for cooking enthusiasts, professional chefs, and tourists shopping for interesting gifts to bring back from Tokyo. The hundreds of shops here cater primarily to restaurateurs, as is evident from the unbelievably diverse selection of pots, pans, cutlery, decorative items and so on. Prices are also comparatively low, so the area is well worth a visit every time you need kitchen-related tools and equipment. For the casual traveller, however, it may not be very practical to choose cast-iron frying pans or sword-like kitchen knives as souvenirs, so we've put together this list of 15 fun and easy-to-carry items that also make perfect gifts for your folks back home.

The last item suggested is getting a kitchen knife from Kamaasa Shoten, which is where I picked up my roomie's chef's knife. This link tells about the shop, which was founded in 1908.

Above, the Kamaasa Shoten knife store. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To see the other 14 suggestions, go here.