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Togoshi Ginza Food Walk: Croquettes, Fish Cakes and a Sento

Snack your way down Tokyo's 1.3 km Togoshi Ginza shopping street, from oden croquettes to soup dumplings, then soak in a black-water bath.

By JOHN NANJO 2026.10.24 4 min read

Togoshi Ginza is what a Tokyo shopping street looks like when it's built for the people who live there. It runs for about 1.3 km, with more than 400 businesses selling fish, meat, vegetables, croquettes and everything in between. There are no big sights here, just an afternoon of snacking your way down one long street, then a hot black-water bath at the end.

Time3–4 hours, about 2 km

BudgetSnack money + a ¥600 bath

Best forA slow afternoon like a local

StartTogoshi-Ginza Sta. (Ikegami Line)

Why this street is called "Ginza"

After the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, Ginza was left with piles of broken bricks. Togoshi was a low, muddy area that flooded easily, so local shopkeepers collected the bricks and used them to pave their road. The name stuck: Togoshi plus Ginza. The eastern end is even called Ginza Ginroku, after Ginza 6-chome, where the bricks came from. It's a good story to know as you walk, because nothing here feels like the other Ginza at all.

Start: the station and the info centre

1 Togoshi-Ginza Station

Tokyu Ikegami Line · a few minutes from Gotanda

A small station that opens straight onto the shopping street. Take the Ikegami Line from Gotanda on the JR Yamanote Line. Turn left or right and you're already in the middle of it.

2 TOGOSHIGINZA Information Center

1-15-16 Togoshi · weekdays 10:00–17:50, weekends & holidays 12:00–17:00 (as of Oct 2026) · 1 min from Togoshi Sta. (Toei Asakusa Line)

Pop in for a map of the street before you start. It's close to Togoshi Station on the Asakusa Line, which is handy if you're coming from Asakusa or Shinbashi instead of Gotanda.

Eat: croquettes, fish cakes and dumplings

Togoshi Ginza is famous for croquettes, and several shops make their own versions, so the fun is in comparing. Buy one at a time, eat it by the shop, and keep walking.

Goto Kamaboko-ten

2-6-8 Togoshi · 11:00–20:00 · closed Wednesdays (as of Oct 2026)

A fish-cake shop with more than 30 kinds of satsuma-age, fried fish cakes with burdock, ginger and more. The one to try is the oden croquette: oden ingredients mixed into a potato croquette. There's also a wagyu menchi-katsu (fried minced beef cutlet) if you want something heavier.

Ryuki

2-6-4 Togoshi · 11:00–20:00 (as of Oct 2026)

Just down the street from the fish cakes. Get the pan-fried xiaolongbao, soup dumplings with a crisp bottom. Let one cool for a minute before you bite: the soup inside is very hot.

Onigiri Togoshiya

2-5-3 Togoshi · open daily from late morning · no credit cards, IC cards and QR pay OK

An open-front rice ball shop that makes onigiri to order, big and warm. A good way to fill up between fried snacks. Check the hours before you go.

Yakitori-ya Ryuho

2-16-3 Hiratsuka · takeout 11:00–21:00, eat-in from 16:00 weekdays, 13:00 weekends (as of Oct 2026)

Grab a couple of skewers to go, or sit down later for yakitori and motsu-ni, slow-stewed offal, which is only on the eat-in menu. A good place to end the walk if you'd rather have a beer than a bath.

Finish: a black-water bath and a garden

Togoshi Ginza Onsen

2-1-6 Togoshi · 15:00–1:00, plus 8:00–12:00 on Sundays & holidays · closed Fridays (as of Oct 2026)

A neighbourhood sento with real hot-spring water: dark brown "black water," plus jet baths and a sauna. It charges the standard Tokyo sento price, which is ¥600 for adults (as of Oct 2026). Bring a small towel, wash before you get in, and keep the towel out of the water.

3 Togoshi Park

Free · open all year · near Togoshi-koen Sta. (Tokyu Oimachi Line)

A free Japanese strolling garden dating back to the Edo period, with seasonal flowers through the year. Come here if you want a quiet bench after all that frying. From here, the Oimachi Line takes you back to Oimachi or toward Jiyugaoka.

Make the walk work

Go in the afternoon. Most shops open around 11:00 and the street is liveliest from lunch to early evening.
Avoid Wednesdays and Fridays if you want both the fish cakes and the bath.
Bring cash and an IC card. Many small shops prefer cash.
Eat where you buy. Stand by the shop to eat rather than walking through the crowd, and take your rubbish with you or give it back to the shop.
It's a living street. People are doing their shopping. Keep to the side when you stop for photos.

Words that work

コロッケを一つください (korokke o hitotsu kudasai) — One croquette, please.
ここで食べてもいいですか？ (koko de tabete mo ii desu ka?) — Is it OK to eat here?
タオルを借りられますか？ (taoru o kariraremasu ka?) — Can I rent a towel?

A shotengai is how Tokyo neighbourhoods look after each other. The fish-cake seller knows which grandmother wants the small pieces, and the bathhouse keeps the street warm at night. Buy one thing, say thank you, and you've joined in for an afternoon.
— John Nanjo