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EveryMasala

Spices of Tokyo

Japan's capital, where shichimi togarashi, a seven-flavour chilli blend, has been sold since the Edo period.

Tokyo

Traded and grown here

ShichimiZanthoxylum piperitumWasabiSesame

Best time: Year round.

Tokyo, once Edo, has old shops that sell shichimi togarashi, a Japanese blend of chilli, sansho, orange peel, sesame, hemp seed, nori and ginger. Japanese cooking uses spices sparingly but with care, including wasabi, sansho and mustard.

View of Shinjuku skyscrapers and Mount Fuji as seen from the Bunkyo Civic Center, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo
Photo: Morio, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Spices and trade

Shichimi, or nanami togarashi, is sprinkled on noodles, soups and grilled food. Sansho, the Japanese prickly ash, gives a green scent and a light numbing effect and is a classic with grilled eel.

The place and its people

Shops in the old city, near Asakusa and Nihonbashi, grind blends to a customer's taste. Karashi mustard and wasabi are other pungent seasonings.

Visiting

Asakusa and Kappabashi Street are easy places to find spice shops, and many shops sell small tins as gifts.

A trail idea for Tokyo

  1. Asakusa Find a shichimi shop near Sensoji.
  2. Kappabashi Street Browse kitchen and food shops.
  3. Tsukiji Outer Market Look at wasabi and dried goods.
  4. A soba shop Add shichimi to noodles.
About this page

Written by the EveryMasala desk with AI assistance. Background: "Tokyo" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets and tours change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.

PartSeedBarkRootFlowerFruitChilliLeafResinBulbStigmaBlendPasteSeasoning
FlavourHot and fieryWarm and sweet-spicedSweet and mellowEarthy and deepCitrus and brightSharp and pungentSmokyFloral and perfumedBitterAnise and liquoriceSour and tartSavoury and umamiNumbing and tinglingHerbal and green
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