Japan's Cultural Curiosities

Spend the day with us browsing for traditional handmade, Japanese goods and souvenirs. We'll visit a number of establishments that have been in business for over 100 years, many of which are still owned and operated by families and specialize in one-of-a-kind products manufactured right here in Japan. We'll start out by sampling some Ningyoyaki cakes, a genuine Tokyo delicacy. Small sponge cakes of various forms, filled with delicious red bean paste. We'll also stop by a store that specializes in the popular Japanese snack known as senbei (rice crackers). On this street, there are several other stores that provide Japanese snacks, beverages, and sweets. Our top pick is Imahan, a renowned sukiyaki restaurant, with its Wagyu beef croquettes. How about some Maccha ice cream or Tofu doughnuts for you if you have a sweet tooth?

The next stop on your Tokyo tour will be one of the eight shrines that honor virtue, longevity, knowledge, and riches. After Ningyocho, we'll travel to Nihonbashi, a nearby neighborhood. During the Edo period, the Nihonbashi neighborhood served as a center for traders. With trade companies and even the Tokyo Stock Exchange located here, it is mostly a financial district nowadays. Nihonbashi is a fairly contemporary neighborhood, but it also has a lot of traditional Japanese merchants that are tucked away in its lanes and even inside its department stores.

Next we'll visit a business that sells Japanese washi paper that first opened in 1653, during the Edo Period. You can explore their museum's archives, which have hundreds of antiquated papers from 360 years of history and traditional Japanese paper. You can purchase exquisite materials used by discerning artists from all around the world as well as premium handmade paper items.

As we continue, we'll pass the "Avatar Robot Cafe," a test cafe where employees who find it difficult to leave the house work by remotely controlling a robot. As your tour concludes, we'll discover a shop that has been selling toothpicks since 1704, where you can browse delicately crafted toothpicks and other handcrafted objects made from Kuromoji or Lindera umbellata trees. We may also stop by the Dashi (soup stock) Shop, the gold flake shop, the brush shop, or the kitchen knife shop.

Step back in time with this small tour through the traditional side of Tokyo.