1
£72
GALLEY
Donabe — clay rice pot, medium
Clay pot from Iga, for cooking rice the right way on a gas hob. The rice will ruin supermarket rice for you. Worth it.
Check on AmazonGift Finder · 6 curated picks
Japanese gifts for foodies
Galley kit, spice blends and the one pot that ruined supermarket rice
Japanese kitchen gear earns its reputation. Donabe, shichimi, the right whisk — these aren't status symbols, they're the boring correct tool for a specific job. Buy a foodie friend one piece and they'll mention it to you for years.
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2
£14
GALLEY
Shichimi togarashi — Yagenbori, Asakusa
The seven-spice blend, from the shop in Asakusa that's been making it since 1625. Put it on everything. Replace your chilli flakes with it.
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£12
GALLEY
Bamboo sushi rolling mat — makisu
A proper one — thick bamboo, tight weave, not the flimsy one from the supermarket. You'll roll maki twice and then it lives in a drawer. Fine.
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£13
GALLEY
Shirayuki kitchen cloth — binchotan charcoal
Handwoven in Nara, Japan's ancient capital, from layered fine-mesh linen with binchotan charcoal fibres spun in. Wipes glassware and lacquerware without streaks, kills odours, gets softer every wash. Every Japanese kitchen has a stack of these; most Western ones have a disappointing microfibre square.
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£10
GALLEY
Yamako Mino-yaki chopstick rests — set of 5
Real Mino ware, handmade in Gifu, one of Japan's six ancient pottery regions. The deep Nishiki red with gold and sakura detailing is a classic — the kind of set you'd see in a proper ryotei restaurant in Kyoto, not a tourist one. Five pieces, under a tenner. Easily the most elegant thing on a dinner table per pound spent.
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£10
GALLEY
Mizuho Kakinotane — soy-sauce rice crackers (pack of 3)
Kakinotane — literally 'persimmon seeds,' named for the curved shape — are Japan's default beer snack. Soy-glazed, crunchy, faintly spicy, impossible to stop eating. A pack of three 50g bags means you can open one, hide two, and still have the equivalent of what a Tokyo salaryman orders with his first pint.
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