A kitchen knife is an important tool that determines the final outcome of a dish. It is said that the appearance and taste of a dish change depending on the knife. If you want to improve your cooking skills and take your home cooking to the next level, you should pay attention to your kitchen knives.
We recommend high-quality kitchen knives made in Japan. In Japan, high-quality kitchen knives have long been made to support delicate Japanese cuisine. Even today, if you visit a specialty store, you can find knives made by craftsmen using traditional techniques and other special kitchen knives.
In this issue, we featured places where you can buy high-quality Japanese kitchen knives for those who want to see them in person! Here are 8 recommended kitchen knife specialty stores in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya.
Tokyo
TSUBAYA Knife
TSUBAYA Knife is a kitchen knife specialty store located on Kappabashi Tool Street, where you can find all kinds of cooking tools, from household to professional. It is a long-established store that has been in business since the early days of Kappabashi.
The shop offers a wide variety of kitchen knives, including Japanese and Western-style knives, single-blade and double-blade knives, and household, professional, and soba (buckwheat) knives.
One of the best things about buying kitchen knives is that more than 1,000 knives are lined up in a bare row so that you can easily hold them in your hands and check their texture. You can quickly pick up the knife you are interested in, compare its sizes, weight, and grip, and choose the one that is right for you.
The staff can also speak English, making it a great place for foreign tourists.
Nihonbashi Kiya
Established in 1792, Nihonbashi Kiya is a store specializing in cutlery. It offers a wide range of household tools, mainly kitchen knives, but also scissors, pots, bonito shavings, hair pluckers, and more.
The shop offers a full lineup of kitchen knives for home and professional use, Japanese, Western, and special knives, and even knives for left-handed people. We recommend this shop to those who want to buy good kitchen knives but find it difficult to go to a general kitchen knife specialty store.
Tsukiji Yuji
There are many excellent kitchen knife stores near the market, and “Tsukiji Yuji” in Tsukiji Outside Market is one of them. Originating from Fujiwara Yuji, a swordsmith, Yuji is a long-established store that manufactures and sells kitchen knives using techniques cultivated over more than 400 years of tradition.
Although they handle knives of various ranks depending on the steel material, all of YUJI’s knives are handmade and forged by hand. They are loved by many chefs. Let’s find a special knife that you will be attached to.
Masamoto Sohonten
Masamoto Sohonten is a long-established shop founded at the end of the Edo period. This brand is trusted by professionals for its unrivaled high-quality kitchen knives.
We also have a full lineup of Japanese-style knives made of honyaki (Japanese pottery) for those who are particular about their work. We also have a wide range of easy-to-afford kitchen knives, such as Western-style knives made of hyper-molybdenum steel. If you want to improve your cooking skills, why don’t you try our professional kitchen knives?
Osaka
Jikko cutlery sakai
Jikko cutlery sakai is a professional kitchen knife manufacturer located in Sakai, Osaka, one of Japan’s three major production centers of cutlery. The knives are made with the traditions and techniques of Sakai cutlery and are used by chefs at famous restaurants and ryotei (traditional Japanese-style restaurants).
Jikko Knives has four physical stores where customers can pick up and choose knives. At the Sakai Honten showroom, customers can view more than 100 different kitchen knives at once, and an advisor who is knowledgeable about kitchen knives can help customers choose the right one.
The Sakai Honten also has an open factory. You can observe craftsmen manufacturing kitchen knives. Since you can talk directly with the craftsmen, you will be able to find a particular knife that you will love.
You can also try cutting kitchen knives at the Lynx Umeda store and the Namba Sky-O store. If you want to try the sharpness of a high-quality kitchen knife once before purchasing, you should check out these stores as well.
Tower Knives
Japanese kitchen knives are attracting attention from around the world due to the recent Japanese food boom. They are also popular among foreign tourists as Japanese souvenirs.
Tower Knives Osaka is recommended for foreign tourists who want to buy quality Japanese kitchen knives to take home. The Canadian owner was attracted to Sakai’s Japanese kitchen knives and opened this kitchen knife specialty store in 2011.
The store has a large selection of carefully selected kitchen knives from all over Japan, including Sakai Uchihamono. The counter has a cutting board where you can try out the knives you are interested in and get a lecture from the staff on how to use them. There is also a workshop in the back of the store, where you can watch the craftsmen at work through a glass window. The attraction of this shop is that you can learn about kitchen knives as well as buy them.
Sakai Ichimonji Mitsuhide
Sennichimae Doguya-suji Shopping Street is lined with stores specializing in cooking and kitchen utensils. Osaka is also known as “the kitchen of the nation” and “the city of Cuddalore,” and many tools that have been carefully selected by professionals are gathered in Doguya-suji to support Osaka’s chefs.
Sakai Ichimonji Mitsuhide is a kitchen knife specialty store located in this area. The store has more than 2,000 types of kitchen knives on display, allowing you to choose the one that you are looking for from a wide variety of products.
The store also offers a free personalized imprinting service and a free sharpening service coupon that never expires.
In 2019, the store will be renovated and a booth will be set up in the store where customers can experience the sharpness and sharpening of the knives. You can also learn about the sharpness of knives made by craftsmen and their maintenance.
Nagoya
Miura Knives
Miura Knives, located in Osu, Nagoya, is a kitchen knife specialty store that boasts one of the best selections in Japan. It stocks all kinds of kitchen knives from all over Japan, ranging from well-known brands to individual and small-scale blacksmith brands, to the works of famous craftsmen.
They carry a wide variety of kitchen knives, including special ones such as sushi and tuna knives. They also carry a wide range of kitchen knives, not only for professionals but also for the average home cook. You are sure to find the perfect knife for you.
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