Kappabashi is for Cooking!

Many great cities of the world have long established neighborhoods that specialize in products. I remember the dazzling gold "souq" in Damacus as well as the less appealing meat shops in other areas. Tokyo's most famous "town" is Akihabara or "Electric Town".

Lesser known, but possibly more significant, is "Kappabashi" which supplies kitchenware and restaurant fixngs for households and Michelin 5 star restaurants. If you are a foodie or just a kitchen gadget nut like myself, you owe yourself an afternoon in Kappabashi.

My interest in knives was a source of distress for my departed mother who thought no good would come of a hothead with a knife. Fortunately on this occasion she was wrong and I have channeled this love along culinary lines. The gleaming beauties you see here are displayed in a wonderful shop "Kamata" which has been in the business since 1923.(http://kap-kap.com) The master was very friendly and informative once he was comfortable with our Japanese ability. These are works of art and worth a "drop in" just to browse. You might want to leave your credit cards in your other wallet. However a great knife is forever, and you can pass it along to your kids.

Competition for the diners yen is very high among Tokyo's over 180,000 eateries so displays and gimmicks of all sorts are available in Kappabashi. The picture of a giant shrimp being eyed warily by Betty Boop was taken in "M's Display and Sign"(http://minegishiSS.com). Display items for bars, clubs and restaurants know no bounds here.

The same holds true for the very "camp" shop of Mr.Shimura who displays americana goods from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Everything from a full sized working jukebox to tin advertising signs from the past are available here. My wife intervened before I could buy tin adverts for John Wayne cowboy movies. His webpage is http://www.shimura-s.co.jp Below is a picture from the front of his store. I do have to go back there, alone.

There are many more wonderful shops I could tell you about, but I will save them for another posting. I will leave you in probably the most photographed interior on the Kappabashi way, that of the triple decker shop Kajiwara. This shop has an incredible amount of kitchenware, but you must mind your step and your head while browsing in the upper levels. Happy shopping in Kappabashi, near Ueno station.