A Wandering Cook Shops Tokyo

Home to over 13 million people, Tokyo is not only Japan’s largest city and capital, it’s one of the best eating cities in the world. A great restaurant culture doesn’t develop in a vacuum though. Spend a day wandering this foodie playground and you’ll have a better understanding of why Tokyo’s restaurants are at the top of their game.

Our day starts at Park Hotel Tokyo in the Shiodome district. For many, its selling points are the modern décor and stunning vistas of the city, but I enjoy it for its location — the hotel is surrounded by some of the best food neighborhoods in the city. A map from the concierge and a 15-minute walk along an elevated walkway takes you to Tsukiji Fish Market.

Tsukiji has long been a popular destination for tourists looking for a behind-the-scenes look at Tokyo’s food culture. Unfortunately this popularity, and the ensuing crowds, causes problems for a wholesale market whose narrow aisles are already bustling with buyers from all over Japan.

While tourists are allowed into designated areas of the inner market after 9am, it’s generally frowned upon, and the motorized delivery carts zipping every which way makes walking around the inner market a real hazard. The outer market, at the intersection of Harumi-dori and Shin-Ohashi-dori, is a safer bet, with a great selection of fresh and dried seafood, produce, tea, and kitchen supplies.

If you’re up for sushi or a rice bowl topped with sashimi for breakfast, enter the inner market through the Kaikobashi Gate located at the back corner of the outer market. Upon entering the market, to your right will be rows of very small restaurants catering mainly to patrons of the wholesale market. Look for the restaurants with the longest lines to ensure you get a great meal.

From Tsukiji market, head northeast on Harumi-dori straight into the heart of Ginza. To your right at the intersection with Chuo-dori, you’ll find the Mitsukoshi department store. Aside from being the oldest department store in Tokyo, it contains one of the newest depachikas in Tokyo. Renovated last year, Mitsukoshi’s basement floors house dozens of specialty food shops selling the very best ingredients (read: most expensive) from around Japan, as well as a mouth-watering array of prepared foods and desserts.

After you’ve had your fill of free samples at Mitsukoshi, head Northeast on Harumi-dori until you hit Sotobori-dori, and take a right. Just south of Yurakucho Station, you’ll find a building called Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan that houses stores specializing in foods from prefectures all over Japan, including Hokkaido, Kagawa, and Ishikawa. It’s a great way to check out the regional foods of Japan without ever leaving Tokyo.

After you’ve had a cone of Hokkaido’s famous soft-serve ice cream, take the Ginza Subway line from Ginza station to Tawaracho station, then walk four blocks east to Kappabashi-dori. Also known as “kitchen town,” Kappabashi-dori is lined with shops selling everything from plastic models of food to bakery sized stand mixers. Although it’s primarily geared towards restaurants, you’ll find plenty of more practical shops for the home cook, filled with just about every kitchen gadget you can imagine. Molds and cutters come in every shape and size, rice bowls and Japanese plates come in a rainbow of colors, and knives come in dozens of shapes — each one honed for a specific purpose.

The mascot of the area is the mischevious Kappa, a creature that’s part man, part reptile, said to navigate the many fresh water rives of Japan. As you walk up Kappabashi-dori, you’ll see dozens of wooden caricatures of this mythical creature placed outside of stores, there’s even a small clearing about halfway up the street where a golden fish-bearing statue looks on at the humans walking by.

From Kappabashi-dori, take the Megurin bus towards Ueno Station. Just south of the station, you’ll find a small alley called Ameyoko (アメ横). There you’ll find a discount street market with shops selling everything from fruits and vegetables to spices and tea. The quality isn’t always the best, but the low prices and crowded atmosphere is a throwback to Ameyoko’s post-war black-market roots and makes for great photos.

From the south end of Ameyoko, you can catch either the Yamonote line or the Keihin-Tohoku line back to Shimbashi station. Grab a bite to eat on of the many fabled restaurants around Ginza and after a short walk to Shiodome, you’re back where you started.

Like this feature? Subscribe to our RSS or follow us on Tumblr, Facebook or Twitter.