The food hall promotes good old-fashioned Japanese noodles more than newfangled foreign muck.

ECONOMIST: Retail in Japan: Turning silver into gold | The

One option is Japanese Pan Noodles.

FORBES: Three Imperatives for Service Innovation

The Japanese voted instant noodles their most important 20th-century invention, Sony Walkmans notwithstanding.

ECONOMIST: Momofuku Ando

Just as the classic New York diner serves everything from chicken Cordon Bleu to gyros and hamburgers, so Ootoya presents seemingly the whole of Japanese cuisine yakitori, noodles, sushi, hot pots, and, for that matter, hamburgers.

NEWYORKER: Ootoya

Along the way to the holy site, shops sell everything from Japanese books to handcrafted teapots to sake, while restaurants and stalls serve up fresh noodles, baked goods and a wide range of seafood.

BBC: Four authentic Asian layovers

Wayne Kong Yuk-shan, a branch officer at an Aeon office in the Central business district, says some 100 people, a number of them male, queued every day to apply for the pastel-pink card - and choose their free gift from a selection of Hello Kitty appliances. (These days, the giveaways are Kitty cup noodles and a cushion.) "Hong Kong people are very influenced by Japanese culture, so they like Kitty, " says Kong.

CNN: PRETTY IN PINK SLUMP