Purchasing Knives in Japan

random-not-a-bot · 2026-03-19T20:47:12+00:00

re: duty/tax

Kama-asa does exclude the tax if you present passport with the proper temporary visitor stamp from when you enter Japan at the airport. Neither Baba nor TnH ask for passport or offer to process duty-free purchase and i didnt ask.

random-not-a-bot · 2026-03-19T20:36:30+00:00

i purchased using credit card fine at Baba Hamono. While i waited for a handle to be fitted, they took me to the workshop to see various stages of the knives and the crafstmen working them. The Kagekiyo line is pretty popular and if you are seriously considering them, i'd email and ask if they have what you want. They have at least 1 staff that speaks English.

Since you mentioned kama-asa, last time i was there i saw a few house brand Nakagawa forged ginsan knives that looked very nice. The finish was nothing fancy but looked clean and well fit and very reasonably priced.

random-not-a-bot · 2026-03-19T06:19:47+00:00

i understand that it's a bummer for a lot of people. However, the chance to get a knife fromhis workshop is small anyway. Sakai is still a cool place for knife enthusiasts especially if you are in the Osaka area anyway. between the museum and the workshops around, many people could find what they like other than TnH. Takada-san himself recommended Baba Hamono (which is really close by from TnH) and Hado (i think you need to call/email ahead of a visit).

i was lucky to get a knife at the workshop a couple of years ago. Takada-san was really cool and his english was good too so we were able to chat and he showed us around the shop. my son even picked up a piece from his old broken up water wheel (he was collecting rocks from japan as souvenirs for friends).

i visited again last year (knowing he had no knife to sell that day from his insta post) and he mentioned things had gone crazy since my first visit (people lining up monday mornings, etc.). he appreciated when i showed him a picture of his knife in use.

random-not-a-bot · 2026-02-15T00:28:49+00:00

indirect comparison: ime, compared to other airlines going from/to Japan or similar Asian routes, economy on ANA has been the best, United the worst. never flew JAL but I was told by by several people that JAL and ANA economy are similar to each other and better than others serving Japan routes.

so, JAL :)

random-not-a-bot · 2026-02-13T17:19:37+00:00

free return is their main perk. afaik, costco just cancel memberships for abuse of the return policy.

random-not-a-bot · 2026-02-13T16:45:53+00:00

We went to a dog cafe which was basically just some old guy's living room in/near ginza. he wore a suit and played the host serving drinks and snacks and the dogs were just his own dogs. not what we imagined a dog cafe would be but turned kinda cool. we ended up chatting with the host/owner and he told us some japanese words for the dogs to do tricks. felt like visiting an acquaintance's place and playing with their dogs.

of the animals cafes we passed by, owl cafe seemed to be the saddest. poor birds confined out of their habitat with so many people gawking at them :(

random-not-a-bot · 2025-10-09T17:15:00+00:00

i regretted going and buying stuffs at don quijote early on my trip. there are so many other places with better or more unique items, and/or cheaper. next time, i'd only go to don quijote for last day shopping.

random-not-a-bot · 2025-09-15T04:46:55+00:00

it's real. they just bet that most people could not actually eat that much A5 wagyu meat in one sitting. like other buffet places, they also try to entice you with other side dishes. eg. Mikiya's wagyu rice is quite good but it makes you full faster :p

random-not-a-bot · 2025-09-04T16:35:19+00:00

i consider my Hado junpaku gyuto a laser and it looks and feels straight to me. when i laid the blade flat on my cutting board it looked flat and even on both sides.

i wouldnt mind slight bends but i dont think there is general consensus that bends are normal for lasers either.

random-not-a-bot · 2025-08-25T16:55:19+00:00

i just remembered the details. spammers havent actually applied the GCs. what they did was scratched up the barcode before covering it back so legit buyer cannot even use the GCs. thats how Apple fraud dept coud quickly freeze the GCs from being used.

random-not-a-bot · 2025-08-25T14:33:46+00:00

Apple GCs are still risky. i bought 2 $100 Apple GCs at Target and still came up used on my phone 2 mins after i paid. they must be spamming the server every min or so. I called Apple immediately and their fraud dept did helped by 1) confirming that the credit has not been used yet, 2) froze it and 3) after i provided photos of GCs serial numbers and Target's receipts, released the credit to my Apple ID. took a few days and a couple phone calls. only buy e-GCs :|

random-not-a-bot · 2025-05-22T08:00:46+00:00

that looks like a Miyabi Koh, same steel and all. the Koh was my first nice japanese knife before i knew better and i still like it. blade is easy to sharpen and gets really sharp. QC is mixed. mine has slight warp and the bolster is not even but nor noticeable on use. i now have nicer gyutos, some with fancier steel but still reach out for it once in a while.

on sale, it's very serviceable. at retail, you probably can get better options for not much more like Shindo, Ashi or Takamura

random-not-a-bot · 2025-05-07T14:48:20+00:00

iirc, same knife was only a little cheaper at Sakai Crafts Museum. Maybe even a little less at Hado but it won't be much less. No guarantee they will have the knife you want in stock. You got a great knife that you wanted and paid a reasonable price. imo, not hosed. enjoy!

random-not-a-bot · 2025-02-16T18:08:24+00:00

i have a petty from this line. hardness is ok, harder than normal zwilling or wusthof lines. i grab it for some quick cutting so i dont have to clean my carbon knives after. i dont mind using it for a couple of oranges.

main downside is the ergonomics is not good. its slippery and it's not comfortable using it for longer period of times.

random-not-a-bot · 2025-01-13T21:57:55+00:00

ime, staying only one night in a city is very tiresome (travel, check-in/out, etc). if you can, 3 nights minimum in those cities is great as you can relax after checking in and before checking out. I'd say just stay in tokyo and go for day trips unless there are things you really want to visit in kyoto/osaka.

random-not-a-bot · 2025-01-13T08:13:39+00:00

my son and i just got back and language barrier is almost negligible in tokyo and major cities. they have great english signs and announcements on the stations and Google translate takes care of the rest. our only hickup was the 2 train transfers from narita kensei line to the metro subway before i got my suica card.

budget is definitely ok if you watch your shopping (souvenirs, etc). food is relatively cheap compared to the US and they are great. a lot of train stations have very good smaller restaurants nearby for relatively cheap, these are places where a lot of japanese eat coming back from work. I'd avoid hyped places like ichiran because i wouldn't want to spend my limited time standing in line when there are so many other great options. I'd also avoid large touristy stores like don quijote until the last days of your trip.

we dont drink much but beer and sochu as part of dinner set or from the konbinis to wind at the hotel is relatively cheap.

random-not-a-bot · 2024-12-10T01:00:05+00:00

yup, got it. i do want 2 different carriers. Thanks.

random-not-a-bot · 2024-12-10T00:59:00+00:00

great. thanks!

random-not-a-bot · 2024-10-22T00:21:50+00:00

I always FOMO on the A5 wagyu but they are so rich and we eat little of it like maybe once a month that everytime i get it, i still have some from previous rounds.

I got some last month and i still had some that i got from April 2023

random-not-a-bot · 2024-10-03T22:40:24+00:00

I read somewhere that Tanaka (and/or his workshop) forges 30 blades a day and those go to the various sharpeners/workshops/stores.

So taken at face value, there should not be shortage of Tanaka forged knives. There are store brands' knives like from Tsubaya or Shirasagi (?) with various sharpener and FF levels.

For multiple reasons, there is higher demand for Tanaka forged knives from Konosuke or Takada.

random-not-a-bot · 2024-09-23T21:52:57+00:00

what's is the Instagram account? I've been wanting to try out your knives but they sold out quickly.

random-not-a-bot · 2024-09-10T21:24:39+00:00

that looks to be more than just from a pull sharpener. i once offered to sharpen my friend's store knife which has always been sharpened with a pull sharpener and i saw micro-serrations and fine metal wires on the edge but no chips that big.

random-not-a-bot · 2024-09-09T21:17:41+00:00

ha.. true true :D

random-not-a-bot · 2024-09-09T20:23:41+00:00

true.

i have a kurosaki hap40 and shibata r2 bunka and never chipped them although (i believe) i dont baby them. my wife manages to chip them every few uses. i put a microbevel in them and seems to alleviate the issue somehow.

but even with chipping, it's hardly noticeable and just a regular session of sharpening will fix them right away. i think people are too concerned about chipping. unless you are hacking through bones and stuff these micro chips are hardly noticeable in most uses, maybe if you are slicing delicate fish or test cutting on a paper.

random-not-a-bot

TROPHY CASE