Hey! I used this sub a lot for planning my trip last week and I just want to give back to the community by providing some (updated) info.
I would like to preface this with the fact that I’m a student, so I do have a limited budget and I did not go for more fancy options that were available. But I know when I see a good deal and will probably splurge a bit when I feel like it.
# Tea
I collated a few places to visit from both /r/tea and this sub. If you are interested in tea, you’ll probably know of some distributors on the internet that sell pretty good Chinese tea, so this guide is mainly focused on Japanese tea (sencha, hojicha, matcha, genmaicha etc.) that you can get in Tokyo. Additionally, I prefer loose leaf teas compared to those sold as teabags.
* **[Ippodo Tea Tokyo Marunouchi](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ppqumny3oJwEE3LC7)** – This was a really good tea house that gets really crowded due to limited seating. Fortunately, I managed to get a seat and try out their koicha (thick matcha), which I subsequently realised isn’t really my thing (but it’s definitely a good first experience). The set I ordered came with chocolate and a small glass of hojicha which I felt helped balance the umami and bitter taste of koicha, but it was just too dehydrating and I had to drink lots of water to finish it. In their retail section, Ippodo specialises in sencha, matcha and gyokuro, with different grades depending on how rich/light you want the taste to be. Though the staff do not speak much English, I greatly appreciated their service and help.
* **[Cha Ginza Uogashimeicha Ginza](https://maps.app.goo.gl/x5rRuAZmZriQeF9U7)** – I would NOT recommend getting tea from this store. Their tea selection is a bit generic and hides their region of origin, with the different tea grades being sold under nonstandard names. A tea sample of their most popular brand was provided, but I didn’t really appreciate the taste (it was a bit light). I wouldn’t even say their teas are worth, and some are not affordable especially when you aren’t sure of the quality that you’re getting. I left after a few minutes or so.
* **[Matcha Sweets Kaminari-Issa](https://maps.app.goo.gl/A3dFzEwiMBRBnEGx7)** – Only a few minutes walk from Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, I would recommend visiting this place for a short dessert stop. They also have machines on display that grind matcha into powder, and another machine that roasts hojicha. The roasting smelled so good I purchased a packet on the spot. Their (matcha) dessert selection is also pretty extensive and good to cool down in the heat. However, they have limited seating within the store.
* **The Matcha Tokyo** (multiple branches) – I visited the branch along Omotesandō / Cat Street. I would NOT recommend; as a cafe specialising in matcha, their matcha latte was very ordinary and would be about the same standard as any other restaurant that _doesn’t_ specialise in matcha. They also sold rather gimmicky products like matcha protein which was a minor red flag.
* **[Sankō-en Store](https://maps.app.goo.gl/WfehPAHUbifnM4DH9)** – Located along the Ameyoko shopping district in Ueno, I would more accurately characterise this as a distributor store. They do sell a wide variety of tea, but they come from different production places (at least, for the packets that I took a closer look at). The prices seem worthwhile but I did not get anything from the store. They do also sell teaware (canisters, cups, etc.) and seaweed.
* **LUPICIA** (multiple branches) – I went to the branch at Aeon Mall at Makuhari, but they have other stalls in Tokyo and in department store basements. They sell a wide variety of tea, including Chinese/Indian tea. This is a good place to pick up some standard tea at a pretty affordable price.
_Special Mention_ to Kuuya, which sells confectionary to complement tea. They do have wagashi, but these expire on the day itself. I got their monaka instead, and these have a slightly longer expiry date of 7 days. Contrary to online reviews, I didn’t need to make a reservation, and they still had the smallest size available. It’s a really hole-in-the-wall place even though it is really famous, and I wasn’t sure whether I was at the right place; the owner had to welcome me in.
# Teaware
Teaware is actually plentiful in Japan, but it depends if you are looking for mass produced ones or something that looks a little more traditionally made. Nonetheless, I would recommend looking through the kitchenware district (Kappabashi Dougu street, closest station is Tawaramachi). There are multiple stalls that sell products that feel more unique or handmade and I appreciated that part of the production process. I would say that most of the stalls here do not really have English speaking staff, so be prepared. The prices here seem a bit more affordable than those sold at teahouses and other tea specialty shops (including things like bamboo whisks and teapots). It’s a pretty long street, and I didn’t walk the entirety of it.
# Trading Card Games (more specifically, Magic the Gathering)
Most TCG shops in Tokyo are focused on Japanese card games. The main popular ones are Pokemon and Yugioh, while there are more niche card games like Duel Masters and One Piece (and others with girls on cards which I have no idea what they are). As someone looking specifically for MTG cards, this was a bit of a problem, as even MTG’s stores locator would list stores that no longer sell MTG products. Searching “mtg” or “magic the gathering” in Google Maps gave shops that didn’t have MTG cards either.
I mainly found card game shops around Akihabara, but there are quite a few shops around Suehirochō station as well that are worth checking out. Those further away from Akihabara had slightly cheaper prices but not an extensive collection; they are worth checking out as some cards are sold for less in Japan compared to other places. I was specifically looking for singles, and my friend did say that most stalls have card showcases that will let you quickly browse through some popular cards on sale (mainly the most recent set + a few staples from current formats). This applies to all TCGs for the card games I visited, and most stores have more space dedicated to these showcases rather than for play areas.
The largest MTG shop in the area would be **[MTG Hareruya Akihabaraten](https://maps.app.goo.gl/MVwRXVJT94kZvtYR9)**, which focuses exclusively on MTG cards (their other outlet, Hareruya 2, focuses on Pokemon cards, and when I mistakenly stumbled there, they didn’t even point me to their MTG outlet a few blocks away. Weird.). This is really near the Akihabara station and worth checking out even if you don’t intend to purchase any cards.
Their showcase includes original dual lands and other reserved list cards that go for a few hundred on Card Kingdom, but also staples for the current formats (which are curiously sorted by color and card type rather than expansion). They also offer “rare”, “phoenix rare” ‘packs’, where the pack consists of mythics/rares and a special insert that has a chance of netting you another pack of the type you bought, or a card from their showcase. For the latter, the insert would specify the tier of card that you can get from the showcase, which is roughly sorted by price. These didn’t seem worth it to me as they are probably stuffed with bulk rares/mythics.
They do have trays of bulk cards where you can sift through them to find what you’re looking for. These include bulk foils or lands. As I was looking for a full set of foil ukiyo-e lands, this took a while and I managed to get the last card for some of them. The Grixis tax even applied for lands, as I paid 80 yen for WG and 150 yen for UBR. But I think the bulk trays are a good deal if you know what you’re looking for.
# Other shoutouts
**Food wise**, I think [Sushi no Midori Akasaka](https://maps.app.goo.gl/6zhguSFkN4mYmQXe9) is worth checking out for the good quality sushi at affordable prices; it also gave me some time to explore for Akasaka area that’s pretty trendy. [Tamatoya](https://maps.app.goo.gl/M5UKcE1K29hqQF3D7) is also such a great restaurant for grilled food (okonomiyaki/teppanyaki/monjayaki) and their servings are huge. Don’t expect much English help at these stores, but the service is good and the staff will help you through the process.
**Entertainment wise**, there are so many Taiko no Tatsujin rhythm game machines that I played them to my heart’s content (other rhythm game machines are less common, including maimai DX). It was also cool to go for a single act at [Kabuki-za theatre](https://maps.app.goo.gl/wvTHjBT582mbNZQp9) to watch a traditional Kabuki play, but it would be a bit difficult to sit for longer acts without a good command of Japanese.
# Conclusion
All in all, this pretty last minute Tokyo trip was very enjoyable and I’m more hyped to tour the different areas of Japan. Would definitely want to visit Kyoto and Uji next time for better tea experiences!!
4 comments
Tangential to teaware; have you come across any shops that sell sake sets, and if so do you have any recommendations?
Clever username!
Useful info! Will definitely check out the place you mentioned in Asakusa 🙂 is the tea as good as it smells?
We like going to Lupicia a lot. They do have some teas that are from a single region and I want to say they do have some more expensive single estate teas.
What’s fun about Lupicia is they also tend to have pretty tins, seasonal LEs, and regional LEs. They’re also large enough that they often make deals with other Japanese company to produce LE teas for them. (See Pokemon and Studio Ghibli, though Karl Capek also once did a collab with Pokemon.)
Interesting about MTG, I remember seeing just ordinary packs a few years ago at Hakuhinkan Toy Park, but it was pre-Covid.
MTG was doing a huge display in Shinagawa Station this June for the Lord of the Rings themed expansion. I picked up a brochure for fun.