🥉 Kitchenware Towns in Tokyo & Osaka, Japan

Japan’s “問屋街” (Tonya-gai) are wholesale streets packed with merchants specializing in specific goods like textiles or kitchenware. While many cater to bulk buyers, some welcome individual shoppers too.

Here are wholesale market streets specialising in dining and kitchenware that you can explore and shop in Tokyo and Osaka.

“Kitchenware Town” Kappabashi (Tokyo) – かっぱ橋道具街

Kappabashi Dougu Street holds the title of Japan’s largest shopping destination exclusively dedicated to kitchenware – from professional-grade knives and cookware to tableware, packaging, and even realistic food samples.

Spanning 800m and boasting over 170 shops, it’s conveniently located midway between Ueno and Asakusa.

If you’re looking for Japanese ceramics, 田窯 (Degama) on the corner is a great place to go (especially upstairs). You can’t miss it because it’s on the corner of where the kitchenware street starts.

Into baking cookies? Majiyama has a tower covered in cookie cutters.

We picked up a few made in Japan kitchen utensils like tongs and ice-cream scoops from Kama Asa.

Kappabashi also happened to have the best flat white in town at Sensing Touch of Earth – worth a visit on its own if you’re craving Melbourne-grade flat whites!

The origins of Kappabashi date back to approximately 1912 when merchants initially began congregating in the area. Initially, they sold a diverse range of old tools and hardware implements. Over time, the district has transformed into a haven for restaurant owners and culinary enthusiasts.

Nowadays, it boasts an astonishing array of restaurant equipment, spanning bakery supplies, tableware, fine china, lacquerware, packaging materials, containers, lifelike food replicas and much more. Almost all stores sell products to individual customers. See the map of shops

“Kitchenware Street” Sennichimae Douguya (Osaka) – 千日前道具屋筋

Sen-nichimae Doguyasuji has been one of the shopping streets supporting the culinary city of Osaka. Located at the heart of Minami (South Osaka), it’s just a few minutes’ walk from Namba Station.

From knives to cooking utensils, it offers an extensive kitchenware selection that ranks among the largest in the Kansai region; you can find household cooking tools and dining ware here as well.

The origins of this district trace back to 1882 when antique shops and miscellaneous goods stores lined the path from Sen-nichimae in Hozen-ji Temple to the Osuwa Shrine and Imamiya Eejima Shrine. It gradually evolved during the Taisho era into a hub for wholesalers and specialty shops in manufacturing. In the 1970s, it transformed into the present-day shopping street with the construction of an arcade.