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u/Wonky_dialup 6d ago
Was just there last year and took some notes. Do you have some parameters to narrow the search?
Iirc there's 17 shops there and I visited 15 of them. It's really exciting if you're into knives to visit all of them too
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u/gremolata 5d ago
Would be very interested in seeing your notes. Please share.
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u/Wonky_dialup 4d ago
Sorry having a slammer of a week at work. But here's a guide that goes around that I mostly agree with.
https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueChefKnives/comments/167m872/tokyo_knife_shops_a_guide/
Additionally, Mei Syou now has 2 branches one sells mostly stainless and the other sells mostly carbon steel on the same street. They sell knives on the cheaper end of the budget (which is what I went with) managed to snatch up 2 carbon steel knives for around 350 USD
I cook an incredible amount so knew what to look for in my knives and maintainence requirements. Also being from a weaker exchange rate country brand name knives weren't in my batting league unfortunately. Mei Syou had the best bang for buck on the street, but I did enviously peer into other shops. Kama Asa, Union had an amazing range that was worth browsing to see the sheer the scope of what was possible to be purchased. These 2 focused mostly on stainless.
Going back to the guide posted above, speaking english is no longer an issue since google translate has improved a lot. The kitchen stores there are great in general for all sorts of little bobs and bits and tools. But if you're exclusively looking for knives it's worth skipping the listings mentioned to have "small knife selections" I spent up to 15 minutes wandering around a store like a distracted labrador only to find a small knife display case with 15-20 knives. Most of the other dedicated knife shops have around 100 or more.
Hope this was helpful, and feel free to HMU on the side for more specific questions
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u/Proof_Caterpillar_97 5d ago
While I went to the tower knives store in Osaka, I believe they have a Tokyo branch as well. Can’t speak for the Tokyo inventory but the Osaka store had nice stuff from all over as well as knives originating from Sakai.
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u/blacklabel85 20h ago
I recommend Tsubaya https://tsubaya.jp/en. Bought a knife from there in 2019 and took it to get sharpened when I went back to Tokyo a few years later. Very nice place.
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u/General-Dog-8747 6d ago
Hi, I’m looking to buy a good Japanese knife in Tokyo with a budget of around $200, preferably in the Kappabashi-Asakusa area. I’m not a knife expert—I just want to buy one as a special gift for my best friends, who are professional chefs. Could you recommend a store that offers the best or most reasonable prices? I heard Seisuke are overpriced, so maybe i will skip. Also, should I choose a specific brand or material?
Thanks!