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- More Things To Buy In Tokyo
Tokyo is a culture-rich city that boasts unique and timeless souvenirs. Well known for its distinctive fashion, authentic beauty products, savory dishes, cultural art pieces, and the tastiest fruit treats, visitors have plenty of options. After an extra long period of being closed during the pandemic, Japan is finally open for international tourism.
As shoppers walk along the streets of the Japanese capital, here are 16 things that everyone must buy in Tokyo.
UPDATE: 2023/06/28 15:25 EST BY KHYATI DAND
More Things To Buy In Tokyo
With shopping districts like Shibuya, Ginza, and Shinjuku that are famous worldwide, shopping in Tokyo is an attraction in itself. Of all the many souvenirs that visitors could buy in Tokyo, this list was updated to include some more remarkable items that are worthy of being on everyone's shopping lists -- they are excellent reminders of the dazzling Japanese capital.
20 Wagashi
It's impossible to leave Paris without a box of macarons, Turkey without a selection of baklava, and Tokyo without a wagashi or two. Wagashi are traditional Japanese treats that are usually served in tea ceremonies. There are several types of wagashi but the most popular ones are made from sweet azuki bean paste (anko), glutinous rice (mochi), sesame paste, chestnuts, and smooth (koshian) or chunky anko (tsubuan). These colorful chewy treats will give visitors a taste of Tokyo long after they leave the city.
While wagashi is a treat often served in Japanese tea ceremonies, a good way to enjoy it back home is with a cup of green tea. Because wagashi is usually on the sweeter side, it goes marvelously with bitter-tasting teas.
19 Maneki-neko
There's one thing that anyone who has walked the streets of Japan will have noticed: maneki-neko or the waving cat is everywhere. This is because maneki-neko is believed to be a good luck charm, a figure that brings business into an establishment and good fortune into one's home. A maneki-neko will not only be a reminder of time spent in Tokyo, but it will also bring prosperity back home.
How to read a maneki-neko
There's a lot that one can tell from the paws and the accessories that the figurine wears. These are some common signs:
Raised right paw: brings financial prosperity and good luck
Raised left paw: attracts customers to a business
Both paws raised: provides safety and protection
Marble or gemstone in one hand: brings wisdom and wealth
Holding a hollowed gourd (hyotan): wards off evil
18 Amazake
Tokyo has a way of captivating its visitors' attention, so much so that it's quite likely to forget that there is shopping to do and souvenirs to take home. In that case, a bottle of amazake sold everywhere at the airport will save the day! Amazake is a sweet fermented beverage made from rice and koji. The sweet drink is either low in alcohol or contains none at all and has the texture of thick rice porridge.
- Drink amazake warm or cold; diluted with a little water or straight up; and with or without a dash of ginger powder.
17 Stationery
Japanese stationery has a reputation worldwide for being innovative, well-designed, high in quality, and quite frankly, ingenious. It also has a reputation for making every visitor's wallet significantly lighter. Japan's pens -- calligraphy, ballpoint, gel or mechanical -- are legendary as are stickers and washi tapes. There are erasers whose thickness can be adjusted depending on what needs to be erased, staplers that do their jobs without nasty pins, and portable scissors that look like mini samurai swords.
It was the Japanese stationery company Sakura that invented the world's first gel pen in the 1980s. Leaving Tokyo without a set of Sakura's colorful gel pens would be a shame!
16 Customized Mt. Fuji Glassware
The view of the iconic Mt. Fuji will mesmerize tourists on a clear day while in Tokyo. Guests find it fascinating, especially viewing from high points such as the Tokyo Skytree.
After a Tokyo vacation, tourists can reminisce on this majestic view by purchasing Fuji-san glassware. There is a wide variety of Fuji-inspired glassware, from handmade whiskey, scotch, or water glasses.
Tumblers with a hand-blown image of the mountain are readily available from different local artists. With around 5000 yen, about 50 USD, one can own one of these masterpieces.
15 Tokyo Kit Kats
For sweet tooth vacationers, Kit Kats are one of the best things to buy in Tokyo. The country has eight Kit Kat Chocolateries overseen by acclaimed patissiers. Customers can be sure to get authentic and quality chocolates.
Tokyo Kit Kats come in more than 400 flavors. With such a wide variety, one can bet to satisfy their sweet tooth cravings. Seasonal assortments that are handcrafted and infused with rare premium ingredients are also available. They range from dried fruit, chili, sake, yuzu, and other premium flavors.
Most Kit Kat shops in Tokyo allow customers to add items to a gift box. At a fee, clients can have specially handwritten messages on their Kit Kat bars.
- Where to buy Kit Kats in Tokyo: While Kit Kats are everywhere in Tokyo, Don Quijote stores and the KitKat Chocolatory have the best selection.
14 Exclusive Tokyo Disneyland Items
Tokyo Disneyland is the ideal place to get exclusive items from top Japanese animation movies. They range from stuffed animal pass cases, rice scoops, baseball caps, designer chopsticks, and others.
Tokyo Disneyland is also a hub for original branded items for world-class actors and actresses. All visitors need to do is visit the many stalls and check out their wares.
Sublimation shirts in bright colors are a classic item to purchase at Disneyland Tokyo. They cost about 20 USD. T-shirts branded with the Tokyo Disneyland logo are another popular purchase, and they come at very affordable prices.
Tomica cars, popular among car lovers, can be used as décor’ or gifts for children. They release new models every third Saturday of the month. They cost between six and nine USD.
13 Omamori Charms
Photo 87573702 © Patrick Wallace | Dreams
Tourists can buy these from the famous Meiji – Jingu and Sensoji temples. Other than their cultural importance, charms come in colorful pouches.
The Japanese believe that Omamori charms ward off danger and attract fortune and good luck. Guests should visit these temples and buy several as souvenirs. Who knows, they may carry vacation luck too.
12 Ichiran Instant Noodles
While in Tokyo, travelers can buy the famously delectable Ichiran Instant Ramen. With prices ranging from six to 11 USD, tourists can get packets of authentic Hakata-style straight noodles.
Items bought from their original home source come with multiple benefits. They offer a variety of flavors and come with the eminent Tonkotsu broth made from pork bone.
While Ichiran Shibuya is the more popular Ichiran outlet, Ichiran Shibuya Spain-zaka located nearby is less well-known and so, less busy.
11 Tokyo Banana
Sweet, spongy, and thoughtful cakes! One can’t have enough of these. They come packed, ready for a suitcase, and can last for a week and up to two weeks if refrigerated.
Tourists should check out the vending machines and shops in the streets for Tokyo Banana.
10 Beauty Products
Japanese women are well known for their glasslike, youthful skins. Cosmetic brands in Japan use natural ingredients that are readily available to create beauty products. The products are high quality and very affordable. This is further emphasized by many countries adopting products used in Japanese spas. Buyers can bet on their premium quality.
Most beauty products sold in Tokyo contain organic anti-aging components and natural oils. As visitors shop, they should remember to sample the products with different hues like foundation to get the perfect shade.
- Where to buy beauty products in Tokyo: Beauty products are available practically everywhere but Cosme, Skinholic, Ginza Cosmetics World, Ainz & Tulpe, and Style Nanda are considered the holy grails.
9 Novelty Kabuki Facemasks
Kabuki face masks represent different characters, for instance, heroes and villains in the theater. Famously won during major cultural festivals, they are a worthy purchase to remind one of the Japanese. Customers should ask after the character represented by Kabuki masks to fit their personalities.
There are also anime masks for famous movie characters. Shops around Shinjuku, Loft, and Don Quijote will offer visitors plenty of options.
8 An Uchiwa
A Japanese fan is of great importance, especially during the summer. It cools one down in the scorching heat. If a traveler chooses the perfect colors, it could be added to a décor collection. Many of the fans are a combination of bamboo and hardened paper. Paper fans, although beautiful, do not last long. These fans are easy to spot in most traditional souvenir shops.
7 Tea leaves And Tea Products
The Japanese are tea drinkers. And what better place to buy tea leaves for any occasion than in Tokyo? Here they have mastered the art of growing the tastiest tea.
Besides taste, Japanese tea has numerous health benefits. The most popular is green tea. Other types include roasted tea, known as Hojicha; Genmaicha, a combination of tea leaves roasted with brown rice; Mugicha, made with barley; and many other types.
Guests can try different samples to settle for the befitting smoothness, health benefits, and taste.
6 Japanese Chopsticks
According to Japan Wander Travel Blog, one of the most popular Japanese souvenirs are chopsticks (called Hashi). These are also souvenirs one can actually use again and again. They are quite the obvious choice, and there are plenty of stores in Tokyo selling all manner of kinds of chopsticks.
Browse everything from high-quality handmade sets to the more typical mass-produced chopsticks. People can even get the chopsticks personalized with their names on them, and they are perhaps the best souvenir for sushi lovers. Traditional Japanese food needs to be eaten in a traditional Japanese way.
5 A Tour Of Kyoto
While it is not possible to pack up a tour of Kyoto like a souvenir, like the other items on this list, a guided tour of Tokyo's neighbor of Kyoto is a must. Kyoto is the historical capital of Japan and is home to many of the ancient palaces, temples, shrines, gardens, and more for which Japan is famous for.
Kyoto is one of the big reasons why so many people fall in love with Japan. It served as the Imperial capital for around a thousand years (while Tokyo has only been the capital for around 150 years). There are plenty of tour options of Kyoto from Tokyo listed on Getyourguide.com, and the souvenirs taken home will be the photos.
4 Japanese Knives
Have a passion for cooking and a soft spot for high-quality knives? There's no better place to buy knives than Japan. Japanese knives are coveted all over the world for their handmade craftsmanship, detailed designs, lighter weight, and razor-sharp edges. While small utility knives and all-purpose blades are great, Japan's true treasures are its specialized fish and sashimi knives. The only thing to be mindful of is to check whether a particular airline allows knives and sharp objects in check-in bags when traveling by air.
- Where to buy Japanese knives in Tokyo: Any shop in Tokyo's Kappabashi (Kitchen Town) district is bound to have a good set of knives...and other kitchen supplies.
3 Shodo Calligraphy Sets
Japan has several art forms that are unique to it, and among them is shodo: the way of writing. A popular hobby among both adults and kids, there are plenty of calligraphy lessons in Tokyo's temples and culture centers that offer visitors a quick glimpse into the art of shodo. Calligraphy sets typically come with a mat, calligraphy paper, ink, paperweights, ink containers as well as brushes and are excellent souvenirs to take home to continue practicing Japanese writing.
2 Bento Boxes
Most souvenirs tend to be little more than showpieces that gather dust back home. Instead, a memento that will also double up as a functional item is a great way to add a touch of previous holidays into everyday life, and what better way to remember Tokyo than to eat lunch in a bento box bought from the Japanese capital? Whether it's traditional lacquered bento boxes made from cypress wood or shinier ones made out of plastic and aluminum, a bento box is a must-buy in Tokyo.
1 Japanese Ceramics
Granted, fragile ceramics aren't the easiest things to travel with, but any shopping in Tokyo is incomplete without a piece of pottery on the list. Pottery and porcelain are one of the oldest and most nuanced art forms in Japan, and few make ceramics better than them. Plus, visitors don't exactly have to lug back huge vases and dinner sets back home -- there are plenty of intricate tea cups, bowls, trays, glasses, and sake pitchers to take home.