Knife experience in Sakai City or surrounding areas

[elana]

I'm headed to Osaka in a few weeks. I know Sakai is famous for their knife makers and it's only about an hour away. Are there any particularly good small family owned workshops to visit where you can see them at work? Also I think I read somewhere about a knife making experience in Sakai. That would be cool too.

I know Kyoto has Aritsugu and they are famous and all that. I have a petty knife from the one in Tokyo but I think they are different companies. Willing to spend up to $200 on a gyuto or santoku and prefer a smaller workshop that maybe doesn't sell internationally online. I have two aogami knives (yanagi and nakiri), and I was thinking of an aogami super gyuto or santoku, but I'm flexible with the steel used.

 

[TheDza]

Takada is very responsive and speaks great English. He may have some stock but it's always a toss up.

Jikko is cool to go to to see the shop front, very posh, very fancy

You can also consider Baba Hamono, Konosuke, Hado, Ashi. I made the unfortunate mistake of going to Sakai on a Saturday and most places were closed. Can consider messaging in IG or emailing ahead of time

Also check out the museum, very cool displays and plenty of knives to buy


If you're in Tokyo, stop by Kappabashi. Kama Asa is

 

[Yoshi]

I was at Sakai a month ago, lots of shops as mentioned in the reply above. There's also the knife museum where you can buy knives.

Takada only had two knives in stock, and konosuke with 2. Baba has around 10.

So yes I would suggest email in advance to see what they have.

Most of them also close for about 2 hours for lunch break.

 

[elana]

Takada is very responsive and speaks great English. He may have some stock but it's always a toss up.

Jikko is cool to go to to see the shop front, very posh, very fancy

You can also consider Baba Hamono, Konosuke, Hado, Ashi. I made the unfortunate mistake of going to Sakai on a Saturday and most places were closed. Can consider messaging in IG or emailing ahead of time

Also check out the museum, very cool displays and plenty of knives to buy


If you're in Tokyo, stop by Kappabashi. Kama Asa is

Thanks for the tip. I was thinking of going on a Saturday but I'll rethink that plan I'll google for those makers. This is the Takada you're talking about? https://www.instagram.com/takadanohamono

Last time I was in Japan, I went to Tokyo and I did stop by Kappabashi. I remember going into Kama Asa based on the gmaps photos. The stairs to the second floor are very distinct. I'm not going to Tokyo this time. Just a short trip to Osaka and the Kansai region.

 

[elana]

I was at Sakai a month ago, lots of shops as mentioned in the reply above. There's also the knife museum where you can buy knives.

Takada only had two knives in stock, and konosuke with 2. Baba has around 10.

So yes I would suggest email in advance to see what they have.

Most of them also close for about 2 hours for lunch break.

Thanks, I'll email them then before I head to their shops.

 

[henkle]

For those of you in the know, generally speaking, are knife prices in Tokyo significantly (or even a little) better than what you can find online?

 

[elana]

For those of you in the know, generally speaking, are knife prices in Tokyo significantly (or even a little) better than what you can find online?

When I went to Tokyo in 2019 I spent a LOT of time looking at knives, and I found that for some shops that sell multiple knife brands in Kappabashi (they aren't the maker), it was cheaper to just buy off of **************. I ended up buying directly from the makers. I got a yanagi at Kanesoh, a petty from Aritsugu, and a nakiri from Masahisa. Turns out I don't love using the Nakiri (and somehow I cut myself on it twice within the first few months of use) or I would have wanted to look for a Kyoto style one while I'm in the region.

 

[EShin]

I'm headed to Osaka in a few weeks. I know Sakai is famous for their knife makers and it's only about an hour away. Are there any particularly good small family owned workshops to visit where you can see them at work? Also I think I read somewhere about a knife making experience in Sakai. That would be cool too.

I know Kyoto has Aritsugu and they are famous and all that. I have a petty knife from the one in Tokyo but I think they are different companies. Willing to spend up to $200 on a gyuto or santoku and prefer a smaller workshop that maybe doesn't sell internationally online. I have two aogami knives (yanagi and nakiri), and I was thinking of an aogami super gyuto or santoku, but I'm flexible with the steel used.

There’s a webpage with most places that offer visits or knife making experiences in Sakai: https://sakai-openfactory.jp/category/shokushu/hamono/
It’s in Japanese, but with google translate or so you should be able to translate it. I’m not sure how much English is spoken, but I think at least Baba hamono which is close to Mr. Takada’s workshop should be fine. Note though that the knives of Baba hamono and Takada no hamono are a lot over your budget. For your budget, Ashi hamono seisakusho, Enami hamono seisakusho (kajiya_dentoukougeishi on instagram) or Fujii hamono seisakusho are great choices. They don’t offer knives in aogami super though which aren’t made in Sakai anyway. And as others have pointed out, don’t forget to contact in advance.

 

[elana]

There’s a webpage with most places that offer visits or knife making experiences in Sakai: https://sakai-openfactory.jp/category/shokushu/hamono/
It’s in Japanese, but with google translate or so you should be able to translate it. I’m not sure how much English is spoken, but I think at least Baba hamono which is close to Mr. Takada’s workshop should be fine. Note though that the knives of Baba hamono and Takada no hamono are a lot over your budget. For your budget, Ashi hamono seisakusho, Enami hamono seisakusho (kajiya_dentoukougeishi on instagram) or Fujii hamono seisakusho are great choices. They don’t offer knives in aogami super though which aren’t made in Sakai anyway. And as others have pointed out, don’t forget to contact in advance.

Thanks for the details and information. I'll reach out to them in advance for sure. I'm headed to Osaka in about 3.5 weeks but the itinerary isn't fixed yet. I'll be in Japan for 5-8 days.

 

[Yoshi]

Thanks for the details and information. I'll reach out to them in advance for sure. I'm headed to Osaka in about 3.5 weeks but the itinerary isn't fixed yet. I'll be in Japan for 5-8 days.

No point emailing to far out, there's a kaiju at kono the week before I was there and it's gone by the time I got in

 

[elana]

No point emailing to far out, there's a kaiju at kono the week before I was there and it's gone by the time I got in

You think a week to week and a half in advance is enough lead time?

 

[Yoshi]

You think a week to week and a half in advance is enough lead time?

That would probably give you a slightly more accurate picture of the stock level.

But then again Sakai is not really that far away from Osaka, and it's not a completely lost even if you don't get what you want, there's still plenty to see there

 

[elana]

That would probably give you a slightly more accurate picture of the stock level.

But then again Sakai is not really that far away from Osaka, and it's not a completely lost even if you don't get what you want, there's still plenty to see there

True And the knife museum looks nice, so at least there is that.