Tawaramachi
Tawaramachi
Station is
a station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza
Line in the Asakusa district of
Taito Ward of Tokyo.
Tawaramachi
is mainly known as the station for
Kappabashi, or ‘Kitchen Town', located
a short walk from the station.
Kappabashi
Kappabashi,
or Kitchen Town, is the world's
largest restaurant wholesale district.
The area, which is easily recognizable
by a large chef head at the top
of a building, is entirely populated
with shops selling everything for
the restaurant trade. Most shops
line both sides of the main 800
m long street, with others on either
side of the side streets.
Most
shops of Kappabashi cater exclusively
to restaurants. Everything from
industry-sized kitchen equipments;
furniture; plastic display foods
found outside most Japanese restaurants;
restaurant uniforms; crockery; decorations
and much more can be found here.
There are also shops selling all
kinds of kitchen gadgets - from
electrical appliances to cutters
and molds.
Tokyo
has over 80,000 restaurants and
they all buy their equipment and
cookware from the over 170 shops
of Kappabashi.
Kappabashi
is a must for all those who love
to cook and for all kitchen gadget
enthusiasts. It takes a whole day
to go through all the shops. The
shops are closed on Sundays.
Drum
Museum
Drum
Museum is located 2 minutes from
Tawaramachi Station. Situated on
the fourth floor of the Rox Department
Store building, the museum's collection
includes over 600 drums, which are
displayed in batches of 200 at a
time. The drums are of a large variety
and include Japanese traditional
drums as well as drums of all kinds
from all over the world. The displays
cover the walls, shelves, and floors
of the small museum and each exhibit
is accompanied with explanations
of where, when and how it is used.
The drums may also be touched and
played, which makes it a popular
place especially for children and
drum lovers. The museum also has
a souvenir shop which sells percussion
instruments as well as decorative
items.
The
museum, owned by Miyamoto
Unosuke Shoten, drum manufacturers
for traditional drums used in temple
festivals in Japan, is open Wednesday
to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission is ¥ 300 for adults
and ¥ 150 for children.
