The importance of a first-rate knife for both professional and amateur chefs should not be underestimated. It can enhance the overall cooking experience and lead to better results in the kitchen. And when it comes to quality and sharpness, few nations compare to Japan. Beyond that, Japan also stands out for the quality of its kitchenware overall, from traditional wares to sleek and ultra-modern cutlery. Below are some of the best places to get knives, tableware, cutlery and other kitchen essentials and household goods.
Nihonbashi Kiya: Knives and Other Cutlery
Founded in 1792, Nihonbashi Kiya offers some of the sharpest and most sought-after knives in all of Japan. Traditional methods are used to produce blades that offer the precision sharpness required by professional chefs. One of the most popular types is the deba knife, a raw fish carver with a single-edge blade, so that users can separate bones flawlessly. At Kiya, there’s a wide range of knives dedicated to specific food items, ranging from fish to vegetables.
Knowledgeable staff at the shop are available to advise customers on the blade that suits them, as well as how to maintain and care for the knives to ensure long-lasting use. The store also sells other kitchenware goods, such as traditional rice cooking pots, chopping boards and cutlery. It has a museum-like feel to it, with displays covering the history of Japan’s leading blacksmiths and their creations.
Nousaku: Stylish Interior Goods Made From Metal
Nousaku is a highly revered company that showcases the beauty of metals like tin, brass and bronze. It was established in 1916 in Takaoka, a city in Toyama Prefecture that’s known as the largest production area of copperware in Japan. The company started out manufacturing Buddhist ritual objects, Japanese tea ceremony utensils and flower vases made of brass and bronze. In recent years, it has expanded into interior goods, attracting attention both at home and abroad due to its stylish cast metal items that fuse traditional techniques with modern designs.
Particularly popular is the KAGO series, which uses 100% real tin — the third most expensive metal after gold and silver. Due to tin’s softness, it is possible to bend and stretch the items, meaning they can be freely shaped according to the consumer’s own ideas. Nousaku sells a variety of dazzling products, including cups and glasses, pitchers, plates, bowls, chopsticks rests, vases, incense stands and more.
Rakushien: Traditional Crafts and Tableware
A specialty ceramics store focusing on traditional crafts, Rakushien offers a wide variety of carefully selected tableware products for everyday use, as well as gift items with intricate designs. It is the shop owner’s goal to spread awareness about the charms of Kyo ware — the style of ceramics that grew from the Higashiyama area of Kyoto during the early Edo period — and Kiyomizu ware — pottery produced along the street leading to Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto. When it comes to this kind of ceramics, there’s not one set style or rule, which means the pieces have an individualistic quality to them.
The shop is well known for its vivid hand painted Masuiro Komon tea cups and bowls by Shozo Yano that boast original designs using ancient patterns. Other popular items at the store include artistic chopstick rests and Mount Fuji-inspired cups.
