Fuji Craft is a newly opened specialty knife shop located in Shimyoshida, a short walk from Shimyoshida station, Omuro Sengen Shrine, and Honcho Street. They offer knives from over 25 traditional Japanese makers, such as the historic sword making areas of Gifu and Kochi prefectures. The focus of the shop is on kitchen and cutlery knives, but a selection of survival, camping, and hunting knives, along with scissors, shuriken, and kunai (ninja throwing stars and throwing knives) are also available.

 

 

“Seki” knives from Gifu Prefecture can have as many as ten different processes in the knife making. Each process is handled individually by a different specialized craftsman, such as forging, sharpening, polishing, and handle fixing, whereas the process of the traditional hand-crafted knives of Shimanto-cho in Kochi prefecture are handled by a single craftsman from start to finish.

 

 

Shop owner Ayaka Sato will use her superb English skills to explain the nuances of the various knives on display, from Damascus steel to carbon, stainless, and nickel knives, there are various levels of pricing and design.

 

Ms. Sato is a graduate of Tsurubun University, and is originally from Ibaraki, Japan. She is happy that her shop can cater to the many foreign tourists visiting the Fuji area. Her long term goal for the shop is not just sales; she hopes that it will eventually be able to help fund her work with preschool and special need children in years to come. She’s a free thinker who insists that “there are many shapes of happiness in the world.” If you have the chance, please stop by to check out the knives, chat, and maybe even purchase a quality hand-made Japanese knife that will greatly enhance your cooking at home.

Instagram: @fujicraft_fujiyoshida