• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Tiny Urban Kitchen
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Cuisine » Asian » Japanese

    "Street Food" in Tokyo

    Published: Jan 28, 2013 · Modified: Oct 28, 2014 by Jennifer Che

    _MG_0386-2
    This is the seventh post in the series titled Tasting Tour of Tokyo detailing my recent trip to Japan. Other posts include Kikunoi Akasaka, Rokurinsha, Mikawa Zezankyo, Kaoriya, Sushi Sawada, and Sushi Aoki.

    The idea of street food in Japan may almost seem like a oddity.

    After all, it's considered quite rude in Japanese culture to walk while you're eating. Even though vending machines seem to be everywhere on the streets of Tokyo, people are expected to stand near the machine and finish their bottles before walking to their destinations.

    Despite all that, you still do see street food quite a lot. One of the most famous (and most fun, in my opinion) streets is the path leading up to Sensōji Temple, a huge Buddhist temple in the Asakusa neighborhood of Tokyo (walking distance from Kappabashi, my favorite kitchen shopping neighborhood!).
    _MG_0390
    Sensōji Temple

    If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you'll know that I absolutely love snacks and street food. From the unique rice wine yogurt in Beijing and the "bawan" (rice dumpling) in Taiwan to the roli roti in San Francisco and the gyros in Greece, I love it all.

    If you love street food and snacks as much as I do, I would highly recommend taking a stroll down this fun path. You'll get to see people making fresh rice crackers (sembei) over hot coals, red bean filled cakes made by hand or by robot, and many, many other fun snacks.
    IMG_0104
    One of my favorite Japanese snacks is senbei, a type of rice cracker. On the street leading up to the temple, you'll see people "grilling" these crackers over a bed of hot charcoal.
    IMG_0105-2
    It's fun to watch them puff up and brown. You can buy a pack to take home or also just try one piece.
    _X1C2346
    I was also fascinated by this guy who sat behind a window tirelessly hand-making little red bean cakes using a traditional cast iron mold.
    Untitled
    The crowd surrounding this man was huge, each person fascinated by the process.
    _X1C2354
    I was tickled by these Doraemon shaped cakes filled with some sort of yellow custard cream.
    _MG_0384-3
    Another place decided to forgo the human and use this really neat robot machine to churn out a similar type of cake. You could buy one piece to try for 60 yen, or buy packs to take home.
    _X1C2344
    Aren't these cool? I think they are green tea mochi cakes, nicely browned on a hot plate.
    _MG_0488
    I'm not even sure exactly what this is, but it surely looks delicious. If you know what these are, please let me know in the comments and I'll update the post! [Update! It appears that these are grilled or toasted mochi. Thanks all for your help!]
    _X1C2355
    You know you've reached the end of the path when you arrive at the huge temple. After this, if you're comfortable with wandering a bit, you can meander through various side streets to reach Kappabashi, a really fun place to get very reasonably priced Japanese dishware, kitchen supplies, and fake display food. It's one of my favorite places to shop, and probably isn't more than a 15-20 minute walk away. I used the GPS feature on my phone, which was very helpful.

    But Wait! There's More!
    Although the path leading up to Sensōji is the most famous, it's not hard to find other types of food being sold on the streets, especially at festivals or outdoor markets. Bryan and I serendipitously stumbled upon this fun outdoor market during out most recent trip to Tokyo. Here's a look at some of the fun foods they were selling.
    _MG_0472
    All sorts of sweets made with (presumably) taro, green tea, and maybe vanilla or mango?
    _MG_0475-2
    I thought these loaves were super cute. The one on the lower left corner sort of looks like Totoro.
    _MG_0483
    I believe these are okonomiyaki, the Japanese version of an omelete/pancake filled with various types of savory fillings, such as vegetables, seafood, and even noodles!
    _MG_0471
    Cold cucumbers on a stick! Perhaps they are marinated?
    _MG_0485
    I am guessing this is puffer fish, based on the cute little inflatable pusher fish on the left side of the case. They were giving out free samples. Though Bryan has had the nerve to try puffer fish once in the US, I've been hesitant. Nevertheless, we tried a bit and it was fine. It sort of tasted like normal fish, actually.
    _MG_0486
    I guess it's popular to grill this special type of fish, which is brimming full of eggs inside. I had tried something sort of similar at Sushi Mitani, shako filled with eggs.
    _MG_0487
    Here's a pic of the finished product.
    _MG_0482
    The Japanese love their fried fish cake products, and this guy is selling all sorts of shapes and sizes.
    _MG_0477
    And then there were these peculiar yellow-orange citrus fruits.
    _MG_0476
    They're like oranges but with a very different colored skin.
    _MG_0480
    And my favorite? These guys were hand pounding rice in this huge wooden bowl to make mochi.
    _MG_0481
    So fun! Here are the fruits of their labor - all different types of freshly pounded mochi.

    Hope you enjoyed this light and casual post! We only have a few more posts left in the Tasting Tour of Tokyo: a gorgeous 1-star Michelin teppanyaki place where Bryan tasted "the best steak I've ever had in my life", a fun "pop-up" coffee shop inside a traditional Japanese house, and the highly anticipated Sukiyabashi Jiro.

    Stay tuned!

    ©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
    All Rights Reserved

    More Asian

    • Crown Super Deluxe Hong Kong
      Crown Super Deluxe Teppanyaki Hong Kong
    • Liu Yuan Pavilion
      Liu Yuan Pavilion 留園雅敘
    • Aaharn Hong Kong
      Aaharn Hong Kong
    • The Araki Hong Kong
      The Araki Hong Kong

    Recent Posts

    • Wing Restaurant by Vicky Cheng May 22, 2023
    • A Weekend in Bergamo Italy - Trip Report May 17, 2023
    • Bryan's Birthday at 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana May 10, 2023
    • Godenya Hong Kong May 8, 2023
    • Chung Kee - Lockhart Cooked Food Centre Wan Chai May 6, 2023
    • Fiata Pizza Hong Kong May 3, 2023
    • 48 Hours in Warsaw Poland - Trip Report May 1, 2023
    • A Month in Boston: our first post-Covid Trip April 28, 2023

    Reader Interactions

    Trackbacks

    1. Xiamen Street Food - From Oyster Pancakes to Worm Jellies! - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
      July 14, 2018 at 8:32 pm

      […] Related Posts A Weekend Trip to Xiamen – Trip Overview Tour of Top Taiwanese Street Dishes from Night Markets Street Food of Bangkok – Part I Street Food of Bangkok – Part II Jiu Men Xiao Chi – The Best of Beijing Street Food Jalan Alor – Kuala Lumpur’s Most Famous Street Food Newton Hawker Stall – Singapore Hawker Stalls “Street Food” in Tokyo […]

      Log in to Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • Wing Restaurant Hong Kong
      Wing Restaurant by Vicky Cheng
    • Hotel Excelsior San Marco Roof Garden Restaurant Bergamo
      A Weekend in Bergamo Italy - Trip Report
    • Otto e Mezzo Bombana
      Bryan's Birthday at 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana
    • Godenya Hong Kong
      Godenya Hong Kong

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2022 Tiny Urban Kitchen