Food sample keyring | Time Out Tokyo — Essential Tokyo souvenirs: fake food keyring

Tokyo souvenirs: essential picks

25 only-in-Japan gifts, from chopsticks to Be@rbricks

Monday 5 November 2012

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By Masako Matsuzaki and Jun Igarashi

No trip to Tokyo would be complete without some souvenir shopping, but scoring the ultimate omiyage can be a real pain sometimes. We've made life easier by picking 25 great Tokyo souvenirs, ranging from the traditional (incense, combs, lucky charms) to the downright quirky (tooth-shaped jewellery, anyone?), and most of them are sold close to the city's main sightseeing spots. Happy shopping, and remember: there's more to souvenirs than Tokyo Banana.

Fake food keyring

Shopping
Asakusa

Ganso Shokuhin Sample-ya
A fixture on the Kappabashi 'Kitchen Town' circuit since 1932, Ganso Shokuhin Sample-ya produces fake food for display in restaurant windows, but in recent years it's branched out into keyrings, mobile phone straps and DIY 'Sample'n Cooking' kits.

Attractions
Religious buildings and sites
Asakusa

Imado Shrine
The maneki-neko 'beckoning cat' figurines beloved of Japanese shops and pachinko parlours are believed to have started life at this shrine to all things romantic. Imado's distinctive conjoined cat statuettes would make a perfect gift for a lovestruck couple.

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Boxwood comb

Shopping
Gifts and souvenirs
Asakusa

Yonoya Kushiho
Handmade combs may be a dying art, but the boxwood beauties on sale at this Asakusa shop (established all the way back in 1717) should last for a generation or two if taken care of properly. Prepare to be tempted by the elegant hairpins and keyrings on offer.

Shopping
Asakusa

Kakimori
You might find yourself falling in love with the art of writing all over again after a visit to stationery shop Kakimori, where staff can craft you a custom-made notebook using a range of locally produced paper, covers and bindings.

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‘Akari kokeshi’ doll

Shopping
Gifts and souvenirs
Yanaka

Tokyo Kitsch
Traditional Japanese motifs are given a modern twist at Tokyo Kitsch. Their 'akari kokeshi' wooden doll conceals an LED light that switches on automatically when it's picked up or knocked over – a neat trick that might prove invaluable if (or when) the Big One hits.

Shopping
Gifts and souvenirs
Nippori

Midoriya
Operating for over a century now, the family-run Midoriya offers bamboo products ranging from the everyday to the exquisite. Its traditional mushikago cages come in a range of shapes and sizes, and you can even buy bamboo birds and insects to put inside.

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Japanese-style Be@rbricks

Shopping
Oshiage

Medicom Toy Solamachi
Housed in Tokyo Skytree's onsite mall, the flagship shop for Medicom Toy shows an admirable respect for its 'hood, with traditional-style Be@rbrick figures decorated to resemble kabuki actors, daruma dolls and more.

Shopping
Ginza

Ginza Natsuno
Small and portable, chopsticks make for ideal souvenirs. Mind you, some of the offerings at Natsuno – including lacquered pieces from various regions of Japan – look so gorgeous you might be reluctant to actually use them.

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Japanese stickers

Shopping
Ginza

Ito-ya
Huge and almost invariably busy, Ginza's Ito-ya shop is the go-to place for Japanese stationery. Head down to the basement and you'll find a selection of suitably Japan-style stickers, including images of Mt Fuji, sushi, maneki-neko cats and kabuki.

Shopping
Gifts and souvenirs
Ginza

Kyukyodo
Established nearly 350 years ago, Kyukyodo supplied incense to the Imperial family during the Edo period, while also specialising in Japanese paper. We're particularly fond of their palm-sized incense pouches, including the sandlewood-scented kinran kinchaku.

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Lacquered pencil

Shopping
Ginza

Gojuon
Ballpoint pens and pencils must be some of the most humdrum stationery around – at least, that is, until you've seen the items sold at Gojuon. The gorgeous lacquered pencils here are crafted using traditional techniques, to produce a range of different finishes.

Shopping
Kyobashi

Shirokiya Denbe
Floors, tabletops, clothes: if there's something that needs sweeping, you'll probably be able to find a broom for the task here. Shirokiya Denbe's Edo-style brooms are also available in compact sizes that are ideal for getting dust off suits and jackets.

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Fortune toothpicks

Shopping
Gifts and souvenirs
Nihonbashi

Saruya
There are toothpicks, and then there are the hand-crafted little marvels sold at this three-century-old shop in Ningyocho. The kumadori box set comes adorned with a kabuki motif, and its toothpicks are wrapped in fortune slips carrying traditional love songs.

Attractions
Religious buildings and sites
Hamamatsucho

Shiba Daijingu Shrine
People have been buying these distinctive, three-tier lucky charms since the Edo era, when women bought them in the hope of finding a good husband. Decorated with wisteria flowers, the three boxes contain beans that rattle when shaken.

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Origami paper

Shopping
Nogizaka

Souvenir From Tokyo
With a name like that, it'd be rude not to include Souvenir From Tokyo in this list. The NACT's shop lives up to its billing with a well chosen array of Tokyo- and Japan-themed design products, including this nifty printed origami paper – also sold in postcard format.

Shopping
Omotesando

Oriental Bazaar
Tokyo's most famous souvenir shop is a no-brainer if you're on the hunt for Japanese gifts. This DIY bonsai set comes complete with seeds, soil and a pot to put them in, meaning that all you'll need is water – oh, and the patience of a Zen monk.

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‘Tenugui’ towel

Shopping
Daikanyama

Kamawanu
Tenugui – traditional hand towels made from dyed cloth – have been coming back in vogue recently, and there are few better places to get one than at Kamawanu. Don't be fooled by the name, either: these 'towels' can be used for a lot more than just drying stuff.

Shopping
Shibuya

Claska Gallery & Shop ‘Do’
Keeping people's skin fresh and perky since 1927, Hoken's honey- and royal jelly-dervied cosmetics are an ideal gift for the lady in your life. This gift set includes soaps, shampoo and conditioner, all housed in an attractive paulownia box.

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Mt Fuji tissue case

Shopping
Okusawa

Katakana
There's an entire section devoted to Mt Fuji at Katakana, Jiyugaoka's ever-reliable 'shop presenting Japanese cool'. Their tissue cases are particularly nifty – notice how the protruding tip of the hankie matches the shape of the mountain's peak.

Shopping
Harajuku

Kiddy Land
Harajuku toy shop par excellence, Kiddy Land devotes a hefty chunk of its fourth floor to ubiquitous bear character Rilakkuma, including these only-in-Tokyo phone straps featuring landmarks like Kaminarimon and Mt Takao.

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Retro kit models

Shopping
Shibuya

Tokyu Hands
One of the nerdiest corners of the Tokyu Hands shop in Shibuya is floor 7B, home to a panoply of plastic model kits. The nostalgia-inducing Fubutsushi sets recreate scenes of Showa Japan, from the local sweet shop to the late-night soba cart.

Shopping
Shibuya

Aquvii Tokyo
As unusual Tokyo souvenirs go, you could do a lot worse than Aquvii's line of tooth earrings and necklaces. And don't worry: they're fashioned from medical-grade resin rather than real human gnashers, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting them past customs.

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Cheap snacks

Shopping
Shinjuku

Don Quijote
Sure, you could splurge on some highfalutin Japanese sweets at a department store. But your recipient would get a far better sense of contemporary Japan from a selection of cheap 'n' nasty children's snacks, courtesy of our friends at Don Quijote.

Shopping
Waseda

Bingoya
A six-floor bazaar devoted to traditional Japanese crafts, Bingoya should satisfy even the most jaded souvenir shopper. Their handmade washi (Japanese paper) products are oh-so-practical, with business card holders, book covers and more.

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Manga... in English

Shopping
Nakano

Manadarake
Manga, dojinshi fanzines, out-of-print books, fan merchandise: whatever your otaku obsession, you'll be able to sate it here. Perhaps more importantly, Mandarake also has a selection of English titles, if you want something that people back home can actually read.

Tokyo souvenirs: essential picks

Fake food keyring

Maneki-neko figurine

Boxwood comb

Made-to-order notebook

‘Akari kokeshi’ doll

Bamboo birdcage

Japanese-style Be@rbricks

Lacquered chopsticks

Japanese stickers

Incense pouche

Lacquered pencil

Edo-style broom

Fortune toothpicks

‘Chigibako’ charm

Origami paper

Bonsai kit

‘Tenugui’ towel

Honeyx bathtime box

Mt Fuji tissue case

Rilakkuma phone straps

Retro kit models

Tooth jewellery

Cheap snacks

‘Washi’ paper goods

Manga... in English