10 best things to buy at JR Tokyo Station’s Gransta

It’s hard to beat the freshly baked pastries from Curly’s Croissant Tokyo Bake Stand. The croissants are made with Hokkaido flour and high-quality fermented butter to give them that beloved buttery, crispy texture. There’s a tempting range of croissants with a variety of fillings including chocolate, anko (bean paste) and butter, and even savoury options like ham and cheese. Can’t decide on a flavour? Go for the Seasonal Box with four different croissants including the seasonal flavour.

One of the joys of taking the shinkansen is being able to pick out a tasty ekiben (station lunch box) for your ride. Ekibenya Matsuri has more than 150 types of original bento lunch boxes including these adorable kid-friendly ekiben shaped like shinkansen trains. This cute ekiben is designed to look like the Hokuriku Shinkansen E7 series linking Tokyo and Kanazawa. The lunch box contains two onigiri rice balls, fried chicken, shrimp fritters, a sausage, french fries, macaroni salad and a small cake. 

Kouro-an specialises in traditional Japanese confectionery such as mochi rice cakes, dorayaki pancakes and monaka wafers filled with sweet bean paste. The Tokyo Station speciality is the bell-shaped monaka filled with koshian (smooth red bean paste) and soft gyuhi mochi. They come in boxes of four and make for a lovely gift or tasty souvenir to remind you of the city. Price as of March 2023

R.L Waffle Cake hails from Kobe, but you can pick up its sweets at this dedicated shop in Tokyo Station. Waffles, a popular breakfast food, are transformed into gorgeous ‘cakes’, which are made by sandwiching different flavoured creams between two waffle slices. The Tokyo Station-limited waffle set is a gorgeous souvenir and comes with ten different waffle cakes packaged in a sleek box with an illustration of Tokyo Station. The box also contains five limited-edition flavours that can only be found in this special set.

Chopsticks might just be one of the most useful souvenirs you can pick up in Tokyo. Nihonbo is managed by chopstick speciality shop Hyozaemon and has everything from shorter pairs for children to sets for specific food like ramen. You can even get your new pair of chopsticks engraved with your name for free.

For a quintessential Tokyo dessert, head to Kajitsuen Liber. This café is known for its over-the-top fruit cakes and towering parfaits, making it the perfect place to try out some of Japan’s highly coveted seasonal fruit. While the entire menu here is temping, we suggest starting with one of the fruit parfaits, like this strawberry beauty. The parfait is piled high with whipped cream, ice cream, strawberry sauce and plenty of berries. It’s a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth before continuing your journey.

This tonkatsu specialist in Gransta Yaekita is renowned for its high-quality fried domestic pork cutlets served with rice, cabbage and miso soup. If you're eating at the store, grab a spot at the counter where you can see the chefs frying tonkatsu right in front of you. In a hurry? Opt for a takeaway bento lunch box with a choice of katsudon bowls served with egg over rice or the classic rosu katsu (pork loin) with shredded cabbage and rice. 

Looking for a way to use up all your loose change? Put those coins into these gashapon capsule toy machines for all sorts of fun trinkets and souvenirs. Kenelestand has more than 250 gashapon machines with collectables that even adults will appreciate. We especially love the mini Meiten Kakigori toys designed after the ubiquitous shaved ice desserts. For something cute, look no further than the adorable maneki neko (beckoning cat) figurines.

This Kinokuniya Entrée outside the JR ticketing gates is a great place to pick up a few last minute souvenirs or snacks before your train ride. Kinokuniya's own line of products are particularly noteworthy and they're sure to appease foodies. Our top choice is Kinokuniya’s Luxurious Truffle Soy Sauce made for egg dishes like tamago kake gohan (raw egg over hot rice). For even more shopping, check out Kinokuniya Entrée Gransta Tokyo inside the ticketing gates.

At the Tokyo Station outpost of Traveler’s Factory, you’ll find a wide variety of stationery and lifestyle goods like this original ‘Train Trip from Tokyo Station’ cotton drawstring bag. It features an illustration of the iconic Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building, and you can use it to keep pens, pencils and other small items you can also get at the store.