13 Best Places to Buy Souvenirs in Tokyo (2026): Tokyo Banana, Kappabashi Knives and More (2026)

Tokyo Banana is the city's best-known edible souvenir: a light, banana-shaped sponge cake filled with banana custard cream, made by Grapestone since 1991. It's sold all over Tokyo's stations and airports, but the flagship is TOKYO BANANA's (Tokyo Bananas), just outside the JR Yaesu Underground Central gate in First Avenue Tokyo Station, open 9am to 9pm. It stocks the full range plus things sold only there; from 1 November 2026 that includes a Ginza Strawberry Shake (¥490) with Morinaga condensed milk.

Flavours and prices, from Tokyo Banana's own site (tax included):

• Original (banana custard): ¥691 for 4, ¥1,296 for 8, ¥1,944 for 12.
• 35th Anniversary Double Banana: new this year.
• Honey ('Sora Tobu Tokyo Banana Kumasu', with a flying bear): Haneda Airport only, ¥756 for 4, ¥1,404 for 8, ¥2,095 for 12 (from 1 July 2026).
• Choco-banana cake, a whole cake: Narita Airport only, ¥2,808.
• Tokyo Banana × KitKat, banana flavour: ¥907 for 6, ¥1,792 for 12.
• Character editions with Pokémon, Doraemon, Chiikawa and Disney, and a Mickey & Friends Christmas sandwich from 1 November. Grapestone raised many of its prices on 1 July 2026, so check the label.

How long it keeps: about 7 days from purchase for the original and the honey flavour, so buy it near the end of your trip, or at the airport. Grapestone warns that some countries restrict bringing in food such as confectionery and suggests checking with the destination country first. Our Haneda and Narita guides cover getting to each airport.

A few steps from Tokyo Bananas, Tokyo Okashi Land gathers shops from Japan's big snack makers: Calbee+ (crisps), Glico ALMOND DAYS, Choo Happy Turn and Morinaga's Okashi na Okashi-ya san. First Avenue Tokyo Station says they sell treats made in in-store kitchens and items you can only buy here. It's open 9am to 9pm.

This is the cheap, fun end of souvenir shopping: boxes of sweets to share at work or school. Next door, First Avenue's TOKYO GIFT PALETTE on the 1st floor (9.30am to 8.30pm, from 9am at weekends and holidays) has more gift-boxed sweets.

Tokyo Character Street is more than 30 official character shops in First Avenue Tokyo Station, most in the basement and a few (Pokémon, Sanrio, Dragon Ball) on the 1st floor, open 10am to 8.30pm. The current list on First Avenue's site includes:

• Anime and games: Pokémon Store Tokyo Station, Ghibli's Donguri Republic, Jump Shop, ONE PIECE Mugiwara Store, Dragon Ball Store Tokyo, Kirby Café PETIT, Detective Conan Plaza, Crayon Shin-chan, Kamen Rider, Ultraman, Pretty Cure, Tomica and Plarail.
• Cute: Chiikawa Land, Sanrio, Miffy Style, Snoopy Town Mini, mofusand, Koupen-chan, and a Rilakkuma and Sumikko Gurashi shop that opened on 20 October 2026, plus a Pooh shop that opened on 14 October.
• Other: a LEGO Store, Harry Potter Mahou Dokoro, Bandai's Gashapon shop, the shops of Japan's main TV networks, and Shochiku Kabukiya Honpo for kabuki goods.

Character Street is outside the ticket gates on the Yaesu side, so you don't need a train ticket. Pokémon fans should know the Tokyo Station store is the small one; our Pokémon in Tokyo guide covers the bigger Pokémon Centers.

Gransta Tokyo is JR East's shopping area inside Tokyo Station, from the 1st floor down to the basement. Some shops are inside the ticket gates, others outside, and it's open from 8am to 10pm (9pm on Sundays and holidays). JR East describes limited-edition Tokyo souvenirs and new brands launching in the station.

Shop here when you're already catching a train: it's ideal for a box of sweets and a station bento before the shinkansen. There's a tax-free service desk open 8.30am to 9pm, though how tax-free works varies by shop.

Kappabashi is Tokyo's kitchenware street, halfway between Ueno and Asakusa: over 170 shops along 800m, which its promotion association calls Japan's largest shopping street devoted to kitchen tools. Shops started gathering here around 1912 to sell to restaurants, and they still do: knives, pots, tableware, lacquerware, plastic food samples, chef's whites, shop signs and noren curtains. Almost every shop sells to visitors as well as the trade.

When to go: a weekday or Saturday. Each shop sets its own hours; the association says most open on Saturdays but only about 30% on Sundays. It's 5 minutes on foot from Tawaramachi on the Ginza Line or Asakusa on the Tsukuba Express, 13 minutes from Asakusa on the Toei Asakusa Line, and 15 minutes from Ueno.

Kappabashi is a short walk from Senso-ji, so it pairs with a morning in Asakusa; our Asakusa guide has the rest of the neighbourhood. The next four cards are the shops to start with.

Kama-Asa opened in Kappabashi in 1908 and now also has a shop in Paris. It sells knives and kitchen tools chosen from makers across Japan, and offers engraving and a sharpening service. Its online store engraves knives free; engraving on anything other than a knife is done only at the Kappabashi shop.

Its website doesn't list the shop's opening hours, so check before a late visit. It's the place to go if you want a pan, grater or donabe pot alongside the knife.

KAMATA Hakensha is a knife specialist open 10am to 6pm, with irregular holidays. If you buy a knife here, it hand-engraves a name on it free while you wait, and offers paid sharpening at the same time.

Pick by use, not by looks: a santoku or gyuto (chef's knife) is the all-rounder for a home kitchen, and a single-bevel Japanese blade needs more care. Tell the staff what you cook and whether you'll sharpen it yourself.

Cutlery Tsubaya is open every day from 10am to 5pm except over New Year, which makes it a good choice for a Sunday in Kappabashi, when only about 30% of shops open. Its online shop is suspended, so buy in person.

Flying home with a knife. Knives go in your checked bag, never your hand luggage:

• Japan: the transport ministry says knives can't be taken into the cabin, because they could be used in a hijacking.
• US (TSA): knives aren't allowed in carry-on bags; they're allowed in checked bags, and sharp objects should be sheathed or securely wrapped to protect baggage handlers and inspectors.
• UK: a knife with a sharp or pointed blade, or a blade longer than 6cm, can't go in hand luggage; it can go in the hold, but check with your airline. Check your own airline too, and your home country's rules on bringing knives in. If you bought it tax-free, scan your passport at the airport tax-free kiosk before you check the bag, with the knife still on you (see tax-free, below), then check it in.

Ganso Food Sample Shop sells the plastic food you see in restaurant windows: sushi, ramen, tempura and parfaits as magnets, keyrings and full-size replicas. The Kappabashi shop is open 10am to 5.30pm with no regular closing day (closed over New Year), and it runs food-sample-making workshops based on the old wax method; see its site for the current menu.

A plastic nigiri magnet is light and unbreakable, which makes it one of the easiest souvenirs to pack.

Ginza Itoya is Tokyo's grand stationery shop, in the middle of Ginza. The G.Itoya building is floor after floor of pens, paper, letter sets, notebooks and greeting cards, with CAFE Stylo at the top (G12). It's open 10am to 8pm, or to 7pm on Sundays and holidays.

Stationery makes a good souvenir because it's light, flat and lasts: a Japanese fountain pen, washi paper, a seasonal card. For the rest of the area, see our Ginza guide.

Japan Traditional Crafts Aoyama Square sells traditional crafts from around Japan, from lacquerware and ceramics to textiles, and runs hands-on workshops you book by phone. It's open 11am to 7pm.

It's the place for one good, lasting present rather than a bag of small ones.

HANDS Shinjuku, on the 2nd to 8th floors of the Times Square Building by Shinjuku's South Exit, is a big lifestyle store: gadgets, stationery, travel goods, beauty and DIY. It's open 10am to 9pm and is a tax-free shop. For the rest of the area, see our Shinjuku guide.

Shibuya Loft is Hands' rival: stationery, Japanese beauty, character goods and seasonal displays, open 11am to 9pm with tax refund procedures at the same hours. It's a few minutes from Shibuya Crossing; see our Shibuya guide.