2012.09.28
Japanese tastes and culture all compacted into one area. Tokyo Station is a paradise of gifts!
Tokyo Station is always bustling with tourists, businessmen and businesswomen. Inside the station you’ll find a variety of popular stores, with confectionary stores at the core. It is popular as being a cool spot for buying gifts. From among the numerous spectacular items available, we’ll introduce you to five confectionaries and general items that give you a taste and feel of Japanese culture!
There are an extensive array of shops and
facilities inside Tokyo Station, Tokyo’s front door!
There are an extensive selection of stores and facilities inside Tokyo Station where you can enjoy food and shopping to your heart’s content. From out of all the amazing options, we’ve selected a few that we particularly recommend from the Gransta, ecute Tokyo and First Avenue Tokyo Station, all of which are filled with popular stores!
Located inside the ticket gates of Tokyo Station, numerous confectionary and general goods stores as well as cafes line the underground walkway connecting Marunouchi and Yaesu.
●Gransta
1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
B1 floor inside JR Tokyo Station
http://gransta.jp/
Situated between the Marunouchi Central Exit and the South Exit. The lineup consists of stores based on the concept of “superb world-class Japanese goods.”
●ecute Tokyo
1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
First floor inside JR Tokyo Station
http://www.ecute.jp/tokyo/
Right outside the Tokyo Station Yaesu Exit ticket gate. There are six areas including the Tokyo Character Street and Tokyo Okashi Land.
●First Avenue Tokyo Station
1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
B1, first and second floors of First Avenue Tokyo Station
http://www.tokyoeki-1bangai.co.jp/en/
A new type of karinto (deep fried snack coated with brown sugar)
that brings out the best of traditional Japanese tastes
Nihonbashi-Nishikihorin
This karinto specialty store has gained attention since Gransta opened as a store where there is always a line to buy the snacks.
A characteristic feature of karinto is their rich sweetness from the brown sugar and their crispy texture. However, these karinto still have the same crispy texture but come in various different kinds of flavors including spicy flavors such as kinpira gobo (a carrot and burdock root dish) with a kick of seven spice powder, and black pepper, ideal as a snack while enjoying some drinks.
The standard lineup includes nine flavors that include the above two flavors as well as brown sugar, raw sugar, purple sweet potato, bamboo charcoal and vegetable. There are also flavors that are available only for a limited time, which are announced every three months. These are innovative tastes that you can only enjoy here and ideal as a gift from Tokyo!
Boxes that contain 3 packages start at 1100 yen. Of the 11 flavors that are available at any time, we highly recommend the kinpira gobo flavor (330 yen).
The snacks are made from 100% domestic flour, and is made using traditional techniques for a light, airy finish after frying.
The lines are especially long on weekends! Your shopping experience may be relatively smoother if you go early in the morning or right before closing.
●Nihonbashi-Nishikihorin Karinto specialty store
B1F inside Gransta at JR East Tokyo Station Tel: 03-3287-8010 Hours: 8:00-22:00 (Sundays and holidays: 8:00-21:00） Open year round
Palm-sized with cute designs, these are ideal as a small gift Mamegui
At a time when traditional Japanese culture is being reconsidered, the popularity of Japanese goods that can be easily incorporated into daily life is increasing. This tenugui cloth specialty store is increasing the number of these Japanese goods fans.
Their main product, the mamegui, is a tenugui cloth handmade by craftsmen into the size of a handkerchief. There are over 200 designs that include traditional Japanese designs as well as seasonal scenes! You can enjoy these cloths in any way you see fit, like in a frame or wrapping onigiri rice balls.
The most popular items are the animal series, which create a face when you wrap something in them. There are approximately 6 different ways to wrap something depending on the pattern of the cloth.
The most popular gift item is the Mamegui-miyage, which is candy or confectionaries wrapped in a mamegui cloth. You can pick and choose your own candy and mamegui, allowing you to create your very own gift that is appropriate for the person you’re giving it to.
From right to left, Mamegui-miyage include “maneki neko” (welcoming cat), “panorama Tokyo,” exclusive to Gransta, and “sakura fubuki” (cherry blossom blizzard). 798 yen each.
A sister-brand to the Kamawanu tenugui cloth specialty store in Daikanyama. New designs are introduced to match the season.
●Mamegui
B1F inside Gransta at JR East Tokyo Station Tel: 03-3287-4884 Hours: 8:00～22:00 (Sundays and holidays: 8:00～21:00) Open year round
Be captivated by the new frontier in an (bean paste) pioneered
by a traditional Japanese confectionary store Sorairo
“Hoshi-spoon” 1200 yen. You can choose from four different types of jarred an including soybeans and white kidney beans.
At ecute Tokyo, the store to watch is Sorairo, the new brand started by Kuuya, a Japanese confectionary store founded in 1884! The 5th generation store owner opened Sorairo with the hopes of promoting anko (red bean paste) to the world, and the confectionaries that are available are popular for giving a modern twist to traditional Japanese confectionaries.
The store carefully and meticulously crushes the beans used as ingredients and kneads them to make the “maru-an.” This eco-friendly an, including all the nutritionally rich skin of the beans is poured jars. The “hoshi-spoon” set consisting of a jar of an along with a spoon shaped cookie keeps for approximately three weeks. The smooth an, almost like strained koshian, is a perfect partner for toast as well.
The Taiyo, dorayaki with ○ maru-an filling (130 yen each) and the Tsuki cookies that have crushed an fillings (230 yen each) are popular as well.
The new brand of a traditional Ginza store known for its popular “Kuuya monaka.”
●Sorairo
1F inside ecute Tokyo at JR East Tokyo Station Tel: 03-5222-0155 Hours: 8:00～22:00 (Sundays and holidays: 8:00～21:00) Open year round
Light and crunchy!? A delectable castella with a rusk-like texture Hana SYUMPOO
Hana-saku Dry Castella, box of 6, 1050 yen. There are two types, plain and black castella. The best-by date is 35 days after the day it was made.
The Hana SYUMPOO castella is an extremely popular confectionary that has sublimated Japanese confectionary. Soft, airy, yet thick, the Muromachi Hanjuku Castella provides an exquisite texture. The varied lineup also includes the Castella French Toast, that pursues a soft, moist texture.
Of the multitude of offering, as a gift, we recommend the Hana-saku Dry Castella, that has a relatively long best-by date. This is a melt-in-your-mouth castella that is baked with a special caramel sauce glazed on it to give it an addictive crunchy and light texture!
The Muromachi Hanjuku Castella uses select ingredients such as Wasanbon Japanese sugar and is only available in Tokyo (1260 yen).
Japanese castella confectionaries have been arranged in various ways, producing a welcoming taste for the 21st century.
●Hana SYUMPOO
1F inside ecute Tokyo at JR East Tokyo Station Tel: 03-3211-8922 Hours: 8:00～22:00 (Sundays and holidays 8:00～21:00) Open year round
Popular characters from Studio Ghibli works available as a variety of goods Donguri Garden
Studio Ghibli has a lot of fans not just in Japan but around the world as well. The store is packed with goods featuring the characters of popular movies such as My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service!
The store provides an area where you’ll be captivated by the lively expressions of the characters, bringing back memories of your favorite scenes.
There are many products that you can use daily such as towels and stationary, offering a lineup that leaves you with gift ideas that you’ll keep coming back for. You might even find yourself not being able to decide on what to get as a gift for yourself!
The store also offers picture books and general goods from Japan and around the world.
“My Neighbor Totoro. A gift stone from Totoro. I found little Totoro” 525 yen each. Inside is a stone shaped like a little Totoro! (8 different types)
Straps based on motifs of Totoro and Japanese confectionaries. “My Neighbor Totoro. Wagashi Burarin” 945 yen each.
●Donguri Garden
B1F inside Tokyo Character Street at First Avenue Tokyo Station Tel: 03-5222-7871 Hours: 10:00～20:30 Open unless noted otherwise (closed when First Avenue Tokyo Station is closed)
(C) Nibariki
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