Shopping - The Rough Guide to Tokyo - page 193

THE COUNTRYSIDE COMES TO TOKYO
The farmers' markets that have started to spring up across Tokyo are great places to buy
fresh, organic produce and unique edible gifts from across Japan.
Earthday Market W earthdaymarket.com. Held in
Yoyogi-kōen (see p.112), this is worth checking out if
you happen to be in Tokyo while it's on. Usually held
Sun, towards end of month.
Farmer's Market@UNU W farmersmarkets.jp; map
pp.108-109. Large market, hosting about 40 different

vendors, in front of the United Nation's University on
Aoyama-dōri. Different vendors turn up each day, and
once a month on Saturdays they also host a night
market where you can sample organic beers, coffee and
a variety of snack foods. Sat & Sun 10am-4pm.

18

FOOD AND DRINK
The best one-stop places to find unusual and souvenir food and drink items - such as beautifully boxed biscuits, cakes
and traditional sweets ( wagashi ), and sake from across the country - are the department store food halls (see p.192).
There are also some highly regarded food and drink shops in Tokyo, some of which have been around for centuries.
Premium teas are sold at Cha Ginza, Higashiya Ginza and Yamamotoyama (see p.164). General foodstuffs and snacks are
easily bought from 24-hour convenience stores (see box below).

Fukumitsuya ෱ޫ԰ B1 Tokyo Midtown Galleria,
9-7-4 Akasaka, Minato-ku T 03 6804 5341,
W fukumitsuya.co.jp; Roppongi station; map pp.90-
91. Sake shop and bar representing the oldest brewery in
Kanazawa (founded 1625), in north central Japan. There
are fifty different sakes on offer, from which you can taste
a selection of three for ¥700. Otherwise, prices start at
¥300 a shot. Daily 11am-9pm.
National Azabu φγϣφϧຑ෍ 4-5-2 Minami-Azabu,
Minato-ku T 03 3442 3181; Hiro-o station; map
pp.100-101. Supermarket firmly geared towards the
tastes of the expat community, with a great selection of
international foods as well as fresh veggies, fruits, meat
and fish. Daily 9.30am-8pm.
Sake Plaza ञϓϥβʔ 1-1-21 Nishi-Shinbashi,
Minato-ku T 03 3519 2091; Toranomon or Uchisai-
wachō stations; map p.48. Run by the Japan Sake Brewers
Association, this shop and tasting room has an excellent
range of sake from all over the country. It promotes a

different region each season, and the sakes on offer
change daily. You can take substantial sample slugs of five
different varieties for ¥525. Mon-Fri 10am-6pm.
Tenyasu Honten ఱ҆ຊళ 1-3-14 Tsukuda, Chūō-ku
T 03 3532 3457; Tsukishima station; map p.81. This
ancient shop specializes in tsukudani , delicious morsels of
seaweed and fish preserved in a mixture of soy sauce, salt
and sugar. A wooden box set of six different types from
their selection of eighteen costs ¥2000. The preserves last
for three weeks. Daily 9am-6pm.
Ì Toraya ͱΒ΍ 4-9-22 Akasaka, Minato-ku T 03
3408 4121 W toraya-group.co.jp; Akasaka-Mitsuke
station; map pp.90-91. Makers of wagashi (traditional
confectionery often used in tea ceremonies) for the
imperial family. Everything is beautifully packaged and
products vary with the season. Sample the products, along
with green tea, in the café downstairs. There's also a
branch at Tokyo Midtown (see p.93). Mon-Fri 11am-7pm,
Sat & Sun until 5.30pm.

CONVENIENCE STORES
It's fair to say that Tokyo has a fair few convenience stores: some estimates clock a figure
approaching ten thousand. Convenient is, in fact, not the word - wherever you are in the city,
there are always a dozen or so within easy walking distance, selling food, soft drinks and
alcohol (and often spare underwear) at every hour of the day, every day of the year. Locals also
use them for tasks such as bill paying and booking concert tickets. The largest chains of
kombini , as locals usually call them, are 7-Eleven , Lawson , Family Mart and AM/PM . Most
offer pretty much the same choice, with the selection including fried snacks from ¥80, cup
noodles from ¥120, cartons of sake from under ¥100, and cans of beer for ¥150 and up. Indeed,
with liberal public drinking laws, and the price of a beer running to over ¥500 in most Tokyo
bars (plus sit-down charge), it's no surprise that students, backpackers and others on tight
budgets often end up racing to their nearest store for a “ kombini martini”.