Japan Bucket List Ideas For Knives and Sword Lovers

Japan, in my books, has some of the most diverse bucket list experiences for any traveler, from the famous tuna auctions to hidden away onsen towns built over bubbling volcanic geysers.

For lovers of samurai swords and knives, you can find whole towns dedicated to knife-making, unique museums housing some of the most famous katanas throughout history, and once in a lifetime experiences where you can hammer and forge your own knives in the traditional way with active swordsmiths and artisan knife-makers.

I’m one of those fans and over my many trips to Japan, I’ve compiled my list of some of the country’s must visit hidden gems and activities for people like me. The list is organized by notable cities as well as a couple of places that are bit more off the normal tourist route.

Let’s start with Tokyo. But you can also jump ahead to Kyoto (Kameoka), Osaka (Sakai), Gifu (Seki), and Takefu for a list of the top things to do in each city. The map below shows Japan’s famous knife-making regions.

Tokyo Itinerary For Knife Lovers

Almost the first stop and last stop for everyone visiting Japan, Tokyo is great area for history lovers and those wanting to buy a Japanese knife or a sword.

Japan has very strict regulations around the purchase and ownerships of swords, both old and new. You can read in-depth about the sword laws and export procedure here, and know that you should be well prepared if you plan on buying a sword to bring home.

1. Kappabashi Dougu Street

Buying a sword in Japan is a bit difficult, but the same forging techniques and craftsmanship can still be found in the knives that are made here. For me, it’s one of those best things you can buy from Japan.

Let me be clear, the only place you should really go to buy a knife in Tokyo is Kappabashidougugai (location). For locals and professional chefs, Kappabashi ‘kitchen street’ is the kitchenware and cutlery center of Tokyo.

It’s worth a couple of hours to just explore the many kitchenware and cutlery stores on your own, but you might want to dedicate more time if you’re looking to buy. Cutlery Tsubaya (location) is one of my favorite shops to pop into whenever I’m around. Wabocho Gallery (location) is also great for an easy browsing experience.

You can find cheap everyday knives to gorgeous handcrafted pieces that are too beautiful to use. And remember – real Japanese chefs shop here.

2. Tokyo National Museum and Japanese Sword Museum

The Tokyo National Museum (location) is a true gem of an archive that houses over 100,000 items and some of the country’s most valuable national treasures including swords, armors, and artifacts from Japan’s feudal era. You might even see one of several famed Masamune sword if it’s on display. It’s possible to visit with a guide.

Hours and Tickets: The Tokyo National Museum is opened Tuesday – Sunday. 9:30 am – 5:30 pm. Opened until 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. The museum is closed on Mondays, except when a national holiday falls on a Monday, when it stays open and closes the next day. ¥1,000 for adults.. ¥500 for university students. Under 18 and over 70 free.

However, if you want to focus on just swords, the overlooked Japanese Sword Museum (location) has a collection of around 50 swords as well as a tranquil garden to escape the crowds. There’s a floor that talks about the history and process of sword making as well.

Hours and Tickets: Tuesday – Sunday. 9:30 am – 5:30 pm. ¥1,000 for adults. ¥500 for students under 15.

3. Craft A Handmade Tamahagane Knife The Traditional Way

If you’re willing to travel to Ome City about 1.5 hours by local train from Tokyo, you can step foot into a working smithy run by a husband and wife duo. She makes the tamahagane steel, traditionally used for crafting swords, while he runs the forge and makes the blades by hand.

Through a collaboration with Wabunka, they offer a few limited spots per month for people to forge a tamahagane kitchen knife in their workshop under their guidance. It’s a labor intensive process of hammering repeatedly at a heated steel bar, shaping, quenching, and sharpening until the steel becomes a one of a kind knife that you take home.

Things To Do In Kyoto For Knife Lovers

1. Natural Whetstone and Hone Museum

A museum about whetstone might not sound terribly exciting, but the Natural Whetstone and Hone Museum, housed in a historic brownstone building once belonging to the University of Columbia, is more studio and workshop than just an archive.

Knife purists will appreciate that the museum’s location in Kameoka is also home to Japan’s finest natural whetstone.

The museum also offers knife sharpening workshops, which is hidden highlight I strongly recommend. If you’re in the market for a new Japanese knife, do what I did, and book a private lesson with the director of the museum, Aki Tanaka. She’ll give you a personal tour of the museum and help you pair one of their natural whetstones with a special carbon steel knife from the famed Tosa region.

You’ll learn how to sharpen a Japanese knife under her guidance and then sharpen your new knife on the properly matched whetstone.

Both are yours to keep and take home.

And the incredible part was that it cost less just buying a similar knife in one of the Kyoto shops.

Housed in the same complex is a rock climbing gym and a restaurant serving a seasonal ‘health’ menu sourced with local ingredients and run by the kindest group of local women. It’s also a great place to pick up some hand-crafted gifts also made by the locals.

I can’t stress enough how great of an experience it was to spend a day out here.

2. Learn How To Sharpen A Knife At Hamonoya Hirai

If you aren’t able to get away from Kyoto, there’s a similar workshop right near the famous Nishiki Market. Hamonoya Hirai is a knife store that’s part showroom, warehouse, and studio.

The shop has ready to purchase knives, but you can also match a blade with a custom handle, that will then get hammered and attached usually within 30 minutes to an hour while you wait.

But you can also take their workshop for ¥25,000 where you choose a Sakai knife, learn to sharpen it, and complete the final step of attaching it to a handle. Again, the value here is incredible when you consider how much a similar Japanese knife costs on its own in most shops.

3. Forge Your Own Knife The Historic Kanetaka Workshop in Kyoto

Kanetaka is one of those special knives shop that most people miss out on because it’s not right in the tourist zone. And perhaps for the better. It’s one of my go to knives shop recommendations for Kyoto.

They recently started offering a private workshop to forge your own knife in a traditional way in their working studio. The availability is limited and is demand seems to be popular, since I wasn’t able to get a slot on my last trip. I’ll plan to book a bit ahead of time for my next trip.

I own a few beautiful Japanese knives, so at this point I’m interested in something that I’ve made myself.

If a kitchen knife not your thing, you can also make a small tamahagane katana (15cm is the legal limit without registration) or craft a Japanese hunting knife. Both are in Kameoka just outside of Kyoto.

4. Kyoto National Museum

Like the Tokyo National Museum, the Kyoto National Museum (location) also houses a great collection of beautifully preserved swords from the Edo Period. It’s home to a tachi blade by Ikkanshi Tadatsuna, considered a national treasure.

Hours and Tickets: The Kyoto National Museum is opened Tuesday – Sunday from 9:30 am to 5 pm. Museum closes at 8 pm on Fridays. The museum is closed on Mondays, except when a national holiday falls on a Monday, when it stays open and closes the next day. ¥700 for adults.¥300 for university students. Under 18 and over 70 free.

Osaka Activities For Knife Lovers

Like Tokyo, Osaka has one shopping street dedicated to kitchenware and cutlery. And just south of the center is the famous Sakai knife making city, responsible for knives that are used by over 90% of the professional chefs in Japan.

1. Explore The Famous Knife Making Town Of Sakai

If you’re visiting on your own, your first stop should be the Sakai City Crafts Museum (location). You can learn about the history of the town and also shop for some knives. You might inquire with the front desk if there are any studios that are open for a visit.

Many knife shops like Mizuno Tarenjo (location) and Wada Store (location) are on the main street of Kishu-Kaido, but most working factories are closed off unless you make arrangements ahead of time. You can try this list of open factories with contact information to set up a visit. It’s in Japanese so you’ll need to translate it.

Most of the working smiths will speak little or no English, so it’s best to speak Japanese or visit with someone who does.

If you don’t speak Japanese, you can try reaching out to Takada-san ahead of time on his IG account, to visit his studio.

Alternatively, it’s much easier and more informative to take a behind the scenes walking tour through Sakai. It runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, visits the Sakai City Crafts Museum and takes you into a working knife factory to see how the steel blades are turned into knives.

2. Craft Your Own Knife At Wada Shouten

If you want something more hands-on in Sakai, I recommend the private workshop at Wada Shouten. You’ll start with a visit to the Sakai City Crafts Museum to learn about the city’s history. Back at the shop, you’ll test out a knife’s sharpness and learn the art of knife sharpening from one of the masters.

You’ll also choose your own Sakai blade to sharpen, heat up and attach to a handle to create a finished Sakai knife that you’ll take home.

Availability is quite limited, so check ahead of time to see if there’s a spot open that lines up with your visit to Osaka.

3. Go Knife Shopping At Sennichimae Doguyashuji

Osaka’s equivalent of Tokyo’s Kappabashi Kitchen Street is Sennichimae Doguyashuji Shopping Street (location). It’s one kitchenware store after another where locals and tourists can shop alike.

There’s something in every price range here, but the abundance of selections, can be a bit overwhelming at times. There are dedicated knife shops like Tokuzo (location), but don’t overlook the kitchen supply stores like Sakai Ichimonji Mitsuhide (location). Many have their own dedicated no-frills knife section and I saw some of the lower prices in them.

No need for recommendations here. Just go and explore yourself and if you need help figuring out what type of knife to buy or what to look for, check out my breakdown of Japanese knives.

Gifu Itinerary For Knife Enthusiasts

Seki City in the Gifu Prefecture is known as the ‘City of Blades’ and their bladesmiths have been making swords and knives for over 700 years. 10 blacksmiths still make swords the in the traditional ways and their knives are ordered from all over the world.

1. Seki Traditional Swordsmith Museum

Learn about the history of swordmaking at the Swordsmith Museum and check out their swords from local swordsmiths over the centuries. Upstairs is a collection of special cutlery. There’s an option for a guided tour of the museum along with a knife sharpening workshop at the nearby Seki Cutlery Hall or a Damascus Hunting Knife making workshop at the G. Sakai Factory.

Hours and Tickets: The museum is opened from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm everyday except Tuesdays.

If you can time your visit with the first Sunday of the month, there are two traditional sword forging demonstrations, at 10:30 am and 1:00 pm. Each session is limited to 100 guests.  The admission is ¥300 and includes admissions to the museum afterwards.

2. Attend the Autumn Cutlery Festival In Seki City

The annual Cutlery Festival takes place on the second weekend of October to celebrate their history and invite producers to showcase their work and products.

There’s forging demonstrations, sword exhibitions, sharpening booths, and a large open air marketplace with over 50 tents and sellers. The event is free to the public and there are plenty of food stalls to purchase from. On the day of the event, the Swordsmith Museum and the Forging Tour is also free of charge to the public.

3. Craft A Small Samurai Blade With Swordsmith

Most of region’s smiths are closed off to visitors without special arrangements ahead of time. Moreover, if you don’t speak Japanese, it will be a tough, since most of the bladesmiths do not speak English. If you are keen, Asano Kajiya offers a full 6 hour workshop where you can craft a small blade from scratch. It’s a rare way to have an in-depth visit into one of the working smiths.

Availability here is limited to Taro Asano’s schedule. You can also try booking here since it seems to have more availability.

Takefu Knife Village In Fukui

If you’re keen on getting away from the major hubs in Japan, Fukui prefecture should on your radar. I’ve been slowly building out my itinerary for the area along with Kanazawa. My focus is to visit some of the artisans in the Echizen Washi Paper Making Village (location) and the Takefu Knife Village (location) as well as the stunning Echizen Daibutsu temple (location).

What makes Takefu Knife Village unique is that its history only really dates back to the 1980’s and yet it’s one of the prominent knife making regions in Japan. You can read about the history here, but essentially the young local craftsmen sought to preserve their artisanal heritage while innovating to keep up with the mass productions field by the post war economic growth.

Today, the village is a collective of the 10 different local knife manufacturers with a large building that is part museum, workshop, and open factory – all observable from a higher floor platform.

You can tour their factory for free, but for a more in-depth experience, they offer a forging workshop as well as knife making workshop, which can be booked here.

Hours: The museum is open everyday from 9 am to 5 pm and admission is free.

Final Thoughts

Personally, my trips are always built around experiences rather than just visiting places. I hope that helps with your Japan planning especially if you’re a knife enthusiast. Even if you’re not, I find that in today’s fast paced word that prioritizes technology and efficiency, it’s comforting to know that there are pockets of the world that still prefers creating things the traditional way.

Japan is a beloved country because of this steadfast devotion to preserving art forms that have survived for centuries. It seems that while the number of old guards dwindle with each new generation, the fire remains strong, if not stronger with the ones that continue to carry the torch.

Updated on March 27, 2025