Document 72 Hours

Kappabashi: Tokyo's Kitchen Capital

Kappabashi Street in Tokyo is a place like no other in the world, with 170 shops that stock everything from cooking utensils to tableware. Here professional chefs inspect knife blades with discriminating eyes, and a young man stocks up on supplies for the noodle restaurant he's about to open. Others shop for pots, bowls and knives as they mark life's turning points with new homes, new families and new lives. We spent 3 days watching shoppers come and go in Japan's kitchen equipment capital.