Whether you own a restaurant somewhere in Tokyo and need a few items to run your business properly or are a foodie who loves to collect beautiful dishes and utensils with which to eat and present your creations, Kappabashi-dori or Kitchen Town is the place for you! However, if you aren't a chef, entrepreneur, or self-proclaimed foodie, you might still find Kappabashi-dori interesting due to the sheer volume of goods related to the restaurant and food preparation businesses present there. I cooking and food styling are my hobbies, so Kappabashi-dori was high on my must-visit list.
Seven Uniform seems to be the
biggest uniform shop on the street.
While many of the businesses in the area are on Kappabashi St., Kitchen Town actually extends to several of the alleys that branch off from the main road. On foot, it's about 15 to 20 minutes away from Sensō-ji Temple（浅草寺）in Asakusa（浅草）. There are many interesting shops in Kitchen Town, but an exploration of the area only needs about one hour.
The jury seems to still be out on how Kappabashi received it's name. It either comes from the word kappa（合羽） or raincoats as people on the street used to hang them out of their windows, or Kihachi Kappaya （合羽屋喜八）, a merchant led the efforts to build the Shinhorikawa River. However, the shop owners of Kitchen Town agree that the mythical Kappa creature is the mascot of the area, and the animal is seen in several locations on the street.
I don't know who decided Wangfujing's night market should be named "Taiwan Great Food Street". The food there and Taiwanese night market fare is not that similar! Granted, Taiwan Great Food Street has some of the same food you can find in Taiwan, but most of it isn't Taiwanese-style. However, I went there in 2011, so it must have changed since then.
Going to Wangfujing wasn't a field trip arranged for our class, a classmate who had been to China before led some of us there. Before I went to Wangfujing, I didn't know what to expect. Wangfujing is interesting in my opinion because people-watching is one of my hobbies. Because Wangfujing is very famous, it's a bustling place. At night, the stores are still teeming with people as they are in the daytime.
Huwei Fort (also known as Hobe Fort) is one of the historical landmarks of Danshui. It is easy to access; just ride the R26 bus from Danshui Station to "Huwei Fort". It's a short walk from the bus stop.
During the Sino-French War (1884-1885), the Qing Dynasty government built a number of forts to strengthen Taiwan's ports. Speaking of their design, Liu Ming-chuan - the governor of Taiwan - decided German-style forts would be the best because he noticed foreign forts were stronger. In the beginning, Danshui had two forts, but one was destroyed.
Because Huwei Fort never saw battle, it looks almost the same now as it did when it was built. The walls, doors, and rooms fascinated me because they are is such great condition. I felt like I was in the 19th century! I think going to Huwei fort is like riding a time machine.
(I want to write some of my posts in Chinese and English. If I write anything incorrectly, please tell me!)
(我想用中文跟英文寫一些我的博客文章。如果我寫錯的話，請告訴我！)
If you want to buy a lunchbox (bentō; 弁当) at Tokyo Station you have many choices! Do you love to eat beef? Are you vegetarian? Do you eat seafood, but not meat? Do you like a lot of rice in your lunchbox? No problem, you will definitely find a lunchbox that suits you at Tokyo Station. There are cheap and expensive ones, but they're all appetizing.
Every time I see Japanese-style lunchboxes (especially the expensive ones) I think, "How special!" In my opinion, each lunchbox is like a work of art. According to Japanese custom, chefs have to consider which vegetables have beautiful colors because a traditional Japanese lunchbox must be colorful. Also, they have to carefully choose the right cooking method (grill, fry, boil, etc.) because after vegetables and meat are cooked they often change color. Chefs also have to consider which foods complement the lunchbox's shape. Naturally, chefs cannot messily put the food into the lunchboxes, they have to plan which placement of the food is the most beautiful. However, I think these guidelines only relate to expensive bentō boxes (1000 yen or so upwards).
Lunchboxes from connivence stores aren't particularly made with color or organization in mind, but many connivence stores have their own special lunchboxes (e.g., healthy, made with local ingredients, seasonal, etc.)
