COTOGOTO

Select From Only The Finest Items Made in Japan
[published July 2023]

Cotogoto is a homeware shop in Koenji, Tokyo that carries a selection of high quality Japan-crafted products. Items range from kitchen utensils to traditional Japanese household cleaning tools and everywhere in between. Small bamboo baskets or chopsticks make great souvenirs. If there are any items you are curious about but are unsure of their function, ask and the staff will do their best to explain.

A very important characteristic of Cotogoto’s stock is of course that all items are made in Japan using Japanese materials as much as possible. Tableware such as “owan” wooden bowls, “ramen donburi” ceramic ramen bowls, and bamboo “zaru” colanders are popular items. Top quality kitchen knives and pots and pans sold here are made by some of the finest craftsmen in Japan. Cotogoto’s items are sure to boost your cooking skills and repertoire.

Among these, in Japan a rectangular pan called a “tamagoyaki-ki” is commonly used specifically to make tamagoyaki, Japanese rolled egg omelet. Tamagoyaki is a very popular and common item in Japanese cuisine, which you will find available as part of Japanese breakfast menus, at sushi restaurants or high-end Japanese restaurants. While the seasoning and flavors of tamagoyaki vary from region to region and household to household in Japan, what they all have in common is that they are made using the same type of rectangular-shaped pan. If you try to make a Japanese rolled omelet in a standard round pan, you will quickly realize how difficult it is, as in order to make it correctly you have to make a thin egg sheet and repeatedly roll the omelet in layers. Cotogoto has a great variety of tamagoyaki-ki pans, made of iron or copper, that come in various sizes from large to quite small, the latter which is perfect for tamagoyaki-for-one and easy to fit in your luggage for a souvenir.

A Tamagoyaki-ki is a special rectangular frying pan for making Japanese rolled omelet.

Duty-free shopping is also possible at Cotogoto in Koenji, so remember to bring your passport. Gift-wrapping is available, as well as cushioning for breakable items, making taking home your souvenirs simple. Cotogoto is just a 2-minute walk from Koenji Station (JC07, JB06), which is about a 6-minute train ride from Shinjuku Station. Find Cotogoto on the 2nd floor opposite OK Supermarket.

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writer: M. Mizuochi
photographer: A. Kasamine
translator: G. Mudarri