{"id":194069,"date":"2026-05-16T07:30:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T07:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/194069\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T07:30:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T07:30:35","slug":"philly-swag-everything-nihonbashi-phillys-owners-purchased-to-take-back-to-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/194069\/","title":{"rendered":"Philly swag: Everything Nihonbashi Philly\u2019s owners purchased to take back to Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends.\u00a0Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare for Philadelphians to take so keenly to outsiders, but Tomomi and Kosuke Chujo<\/a> are the clear exception. Since their bar Nihonbashi Philly<\/a> opened in Tokyo in 2011, the pair have slowly made their way into our hearts becoming unofficial ambassadors of the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Chujos visited Philadelphia last week, heading to playoff games, doing cooking demos and dining around town. They\u2019ve received recognitions from city council, SEPTA, the Eagles and were even honored at the 2025 Billies Awards by Billy Penn<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kosuke said that he\u2019s always surprised when Philadelphians think he\u2019s a \u201ccelebrity.\u201d I don\u2019t make music, I don\u2019t make art, I just make cheesesteaks, he noted.<\/p>\n

Still, while much is said about their cheesesteaks<\/a>, not enough is said about their fashion influence. Over the years, the Chujos have collected over 300 t-shirts and more than 100 hats. The most recent Nihonbashi Philly trip was more than just a visit, it was also a shopping adventure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last week, the Chujos purchased:<\/p>\n

Over 25 hats<\/p>\n

30 T-shirts<\/p>\n

2 jackets<\/p>\n

1 pair of shoes<\/p>\n

16 pint glasses<\/p>\n

1 bag<\/p>\n

Over 50 stickers<\/p>\n

Over 20 pins\u00a0<\/p>\n

2 novelty hair clips\u00a0<\/p>\n

5 pieces of local art<\/p>\n

\"\"Items from Tomomi and Kosuke Chujo\u2019s recent visit to Philadelphia. (Courtesy of Nihonbashi Philly)<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

We sat down with Tomomi and Kosuke at Ray\u2019s Cafe in Chinatown to learn more about where they shop in the city, as well as some favorite items they picked up along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love wearing Philadelphia clothes in Japan,\u201d Tomomi said. \u201cMy house is only t-shirts, hats and shoes \u2014 only in Philadelphia colors.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SEPTA shop<\/p>\n

\"\"A SEPTA rail map apron (screenshot via septa.org)<\/p>\n

While SEPTA is often beleaguered by locals, it\u2019s also beloved. The Chujos said that they enjoy stepping into the transit museum, which sells merchandise at its official shop. During our get together at Ray\u2019s, Tomomi was sporting SEPTA socks. On this visit, the Chujos purchased a cooking apron with a full SEPTA map on it. Hopefully, wearing it will take their recipes where they need to go.<\/p>\n

Red Gravy Goods<\/p>\n

\"\"Philly hair clips from Red Gravy Goods (Courtesy of Nihonbashi Philly)<\/p>\n

Passyunk Avenue is overflowing with cute shops and fun Philly-inspired knick knacks. The Chujos are fond of Red Gravy Goods, in particular. During their week in Philly, the pair ended up buying a tote bag, embroidered with cute Philly-isms \u2014 like the LOVE Park logo, a water ice cup and the Liberty Bell. Tomomi also purchased novelty hair clips \u2014 one of a soft serve ice cream in a Phillies helmet and the other of a Wawa coffee cup. We can\u2019t help but give a chef\u2019s kiss to these accessories.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mitchell & Ness<\/p>\n

\"\"A Sixers Hip Hop t-shirt and matching bucket hat (Courtesy of Nihonbashi Philly)<\/p>\n

Kosuke Chujo is a big Mitchel & Ness fan. In Japan, the brand is quite popular for its basketball line. However, it\u2019s much, much more expensive overseas. Thus, he likes to hit up the store here in Philadelphia \u2014 so much that Tomomi has to cut him off after a certain point of shopping. During this visit, Kosuke bought a Sixers t-shirt with the team\u2019s revived mascot Hip Hop. The entire fit is complete with a matching bucket hat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reading Terminal Market<\/p>\n

\"\"Shirts and glasses from Reading Terminal Market (Courtesy of Nihonbashi Philly)<\/p>\n

Reading Terminal Market was recently voted the number one public market in the country by USA Today readers<\/a>. Still, while Philadelphians know to head to Reading Terminal when they are in need of some lunch or groceries, we don\u2019t always think to pick up swag. The Chujos bought two artistic Reading Terminal pint glasses that they will use in their bar in Tokyo. Some of the items are designed by local artists. They also picked up a matching t-shirt with an old fashioned train and banner that reads \u201cfeeding Philadelphians heart and soul.\u201d \u201c Every time we go there, we always check and buy some,\u201d the couple said.<\/p>\n

The stadium official shops\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"A Nihonbashi Philly vintage All-Star Game jersey (Courtesy of Nihonbashi Philly)<\/p>\n

When Tomomi and Kosuke go to games \u2014 whether that be the Sixers, Flyers, Eagles, Phillies or Union \u2014 they do not skip the official team store. On their most recent visit to see the Fightins in action, they purchased a custom-made, retro \u201cNIHONBASHI 3\u201d jersey from the All-Star Game collection. While you may expect the number to rep Bryce Harper, it\u2019s actually a tribute to their address in Nihonbashi. To top it off, they also received a special edition Jackie Robinson hat.<\/p>\n

\"\"A special edition Jackie Robinson Phillies hat (Courtesy of Nihonbashi Philly)<\/p>\n

Lapstone & Hammer<\/p>\n

\"\"Special edition Lapstone & Hamme Asics, matches and a t-shirt (Courtesy of Nihonbashi Philly)<\/p>\n

The Chujos love Lapstone & Hammer in Center City. Last week, Kosuke picked up a special edition pair of Lapstone & Hammer Asics shoes. Dubbed \u201cThe Spark,\u201d the sneakers have a diamond knit mesh, black suede design and red dipped lace tips. Because Asics is a Japanese company, the limited edition Philly collaboration felt like kismet. As a bonus, the shoes also came with a custom-printed box of matches and Kosuke purchased a red and white Lapstone & Hammer t-shirt to complete the look. Sometimes, he noted \u201cpeople teach me how good Japan is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Leaving Philadelphia<\/p>\n

Tomomi noted that Kosuke often enters a funk when they leave Philadelphia. It\u2019s become their home away from home. \u201cPhiladelphia gives him the energy for life, that\u2019s why he wants to come back,\u201d Tomomi said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a special city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luckily, they teased, they will be in Philly again this summer for America 250 celebrations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In total, the Chujos took over 100 items back to Japan \u2014 some of which they purchased, others were gifted. Sometimes when they are visiting places in the city, someone will come up to them and just give them a hat.<\/p>\n

\"\"Michelle Freeman and the Chujos at the Philadelphia Visitor\u2019s Center. (Nick Kariuki\/Billy Penn)<\/p>\n

The couple also took back some perishables to Japan \u2014 like a whole bunch of Butterscotch Krimpet Tastykakes, which Tomomi will serve at their bar topped with ice cream and sprinkles in a Phillies cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Repping Philadelphia through fashion has become an important part of the Chujos\u2019 lives. So much so, they wouldn\u2019t be caught dead wearing another city\u2019s teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once, Kosuke accidentally wore a hat with the initials NY on it. It was for a campaign featuring their local Nihonbashi-Kayabacho neighborhood and riffing on the Yankees logo. He said he would not make that mistake again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clearly, from this latest shopping trip, the couple won\u2019t run out of Philly items anytime soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends.\u00a0Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today. It\u2019s rare for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":194070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4064,564,86373,86374,36240,69,71,70,8740,7625,9812,40290,8785],"class_list":["post-194069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-eagles","tag-featured","tag-lapstone-hammer","tag-mitchell-ness","tag-nihonbashi-philly","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-phillies","tag-philly","tag-reading-terminal-market","tag-red-gravy-goods","tag-shopping"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}