Crafts / Knife and sword making / Tokyo

Knife and sword making in Tokyo

Five workshops at four places. Two studios in Asakusa have you sharpen and finish a ready-made kitchen knife. A blacksmith in Chiba, just east of Tokyo, has you make a whole knife in a day. A smithy in Ome, on Tokyo's western edge, lets you forge a blade from sword steel. Prices run from about US$57 to ¥260,500.

Prices checked 10 Nov 2026, in the currency each site showed; Wabunka prices are in yen, the currency it charges in · Some links may earn us a commission

Some booking links may pay us a commission. You pay the same price either way. Details.

The short version

If you want a knife the same day ZEN Japanese Knife Workshop A one-hour sharpening class in Asakusa. You leave with a finished kitchen knife. US$56.89 · Klook If you want to make the whole knife Goko Hamono A five-hour private session with a blacksmith in Chiba. You leave with a finished chef's knife. From ¥102,000 · Wabunka If you want to forge, in English Hirata Sword Smith: small katana A private session at a working smithy in Ome with an interpreter. The blade is shipped to you. From ¥189,500 · Wabunka

Side by side

Cheapest on the left, as listed. Scroll sideways on a phone.
Group classZEN Japanese Knife Workshop
Group classBAC Knife Making
PrivateGoko Hamono
PrivateHirata Sword Smith: small katana
PrivateHirata Sword Smith: kitchen knife
Price per person
US$56.89 (listed as 50% off)
From €141
From ¥102,000
From ¥189,500
From ¥260,500
Length
1 hour
1.5 hours
5 hours, with a lunch break
2.5 hours for 1 or 2 people. 3.5 hours for 3 or 4, 4.5 hours for 5 or 6.
3 hours
Group size
Not stated
Shared class. Size not stated.
Your party only. 1 or 2 people make a knife; up to 6 more can watch.
Your party only, 1 to 6. Priced for at least 2.
Your party only, 1 to 4. Priced for at least 2.
Where
Asakusa, Taito
Asakusa, Taito
Kashiwa, Chiba (outside Tokyo)
Ome, western Tokyo
Ome, western Tokyo
What you do, as listed
Sharpen a ready-made blade on whetstones, polish it and fit the handle. No forging.
Choose a ready-made blade, sharpen it, fit the handle and engrave it. No forging.
Make a gyuto kitchen knife from a steel blank: cut, grind, heat-treat, polish, fit the handle and sharpen.
Forge a blade about 18 cm long from the smithy's own tamahagane steel. The smiths finish and engrave it.
Forge a kitchen knife with an 18 cm blade from tamahagane steel. The smiths finish and engrave it.
You take home
The knife, same day
The knife, same day, boxed
The finished knife, same day, boxed
Nothing on the day. The finished blade is shipped to you.
Nothing on the day. The finished knife is shipped to you.
Getting it home
Not stated
Checked luggage only. The studio says it can show you how to ship it.
You carry it yourself. Shipping is not mentioned.
Shipping is in the price. Customs fees may apply, and you must check the blade is legal where you live.
Shipping is in the price. Customs fees may apply, and you must check the knife is legal where you live.
English
English-speaking staff
English-speaking instructors
English-speaking guide included
English-speaking guide included
English-speaking guide included
Free cancellation
Up to 24 hours before
Up to 24 hours before
Up to 4 days before
Up to 11 days before
Up to 11 days before
Reviews
5.0 from 450 on Klook.
4.9 from 549 on GetYourGuide.
None shown
8 on Wabunka. No star score shown.
5 on Wabunka. No star score shown.
Book
See on Klook
See on GetYourGuide
See on Wabunka
See on Wabunka
See on Wabunka

Before you book

Most "knife making" is sharpening. The Asakusa classes give you a finished blade to sharpen, polish and fit with a handle. Titles and web addresses use words like "making" and "forging" anyway. For fire and steel you have to leave the city center.

Nobody here sells a full-size sword. We found no Tokyo workshop where a visitor makes a full-size katana. The "small katana" on this page is a blade about 18 cm long.

Plan how the blade gets home. A knife can't go in carry-on luggage. The Ome blades are finished after you leave and shipped later; the listings tell you to check that the blade is legal in your country and that customs fees may apply.

The same class has more than one price. One Asakusa class was 25,000 yen on the studio's own site, from €141 on GetYourGuide and US$173.85 on Klook when we checked.

The forges are a trip in themselves. Ome is about 1 hour 20 minutes by local train from Shinjuku. The Chiba workshop is near Kashiwa and its listing gives no travel time. Both listings warn of heat in summer and neither includes lunch.

The five workshops

No. 002-1Group class

ZEN Japanese Knife Workshop

1 hour · Asakusa Tosei Building, 10th floor · Listed on Klook as "Asakusa Japanese Knife Craft & Sharpening Workshop"

The cheapest of the five, with sessions starting every hour from 9am to 6pm. The listing talks about creating a kitchen knife with traditional techniques, but the package you book is called a knife-sharpening workshop, and that is what it is: you sharpen a finished blade on whetstones, polish it and fit the handle. Nothing is forged. A second package lets you choose your own blade and handle; we did not price it. The listing says nothing about flying home with a knife or shipping it. Payment on site is by card only. GetYourGuide lists what appears to be the same class as 40 minutes long.

Reviewers liked: Patient instructors with good English, and a class that complete beginners could follow. People value learning to use a whetstone and leaving with a knife they will use.

Reviewers didn't: No recurring complaint in the reviews we read.

Summarized from the reviews Klook showed first (5.0 from 450).

Pick it if you want a usable kitchen knife and a sharpening lesson in an hour, at the lowest price here.

Skip it if you want to forge anything. This is sharpening and assembly, whatever the title suggests.

US$56.89 per person · listed as 50% off · checked 10 Nov 2026 See on Klook
Hands sharpen a kitchen knife on a whetstone set in a wooden stand over a water tub Photo: GetYourGuide
No. 002-2Group class

BAC Knife Making

1.5 hours · Shared class · Asakusa · Listed on GetYourGuide as "Japanese Knife Making Workshop (Sharpening, Engraving)"

A 90-minute class run by BUB Activity Center. You put on a samue work jacket, hear a short history of Japanese knives and swords, choose one of up to four blade types, sharpen it, fit the handle and engrave it. The studio says its blades are hand-forged, but not by you. The same class had three prices when we checked: 25,000 yen on the studio's own site, from €141 on GetYourGuide and US$173.85 on Klook, where the listing uses the word "forging" for what is a sharpening class. Larger blades cost extra and the listings don't say how much. The studio also runs this class in Osaka and the GetYourGuide listing has two meeting points, so make sure you pick Tokyo; the review count may cover both cities.

Reviewers liked: Friendly hosts who are easy to talk to, and practical teaching on sharpening and knife care. One reviewer counted three instructors for a class of ten or fewer.

Reviewers didn't: Some reviewers wanted clearer information up front on upgrade fees and what the price includes.

Summarized from reviews on GetYourGuide (4.9 from 549).

Pick it if you want a longer session than the cheapest class, with engraving and a choice of blade.

Skip it if you want to forge a blade, or you dislike add-on charges. Larger knives and observers cost extra.

From €141 per person · checked 10 Nov 2026 See on GetYourGuide
A red-hot knife blade resting on charcoal in a forge, with blue flames rising behind it Photo: Wabunka
No. 002-3Private

Goko Hamono

5 hours · Private, 1 or 2 makers · Kashiwa, Chiba · English-speaking guide · Listed under "Tokyo & around"

A full day in the workshop of a blacksmith who makes gyuto, the Western-style chef's knife developed around Tokyo. This is the only session here where you make a whole knife and leave with it. You trace and cut the blade from a steel blank, grind it, coat it in clay, heat it to nearly 1,000°C, quench and temper it, then polish it, rivet on the handle and watch the smith do the final sharpening. A short inscription in kanji or katakana is included. The workshop is in Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, and the listing doesn't give a travel time. Stainless steel costs extra, with no price given. Bring lunch, because the listing says there are no restaurants nearby, and wear long sleeves in natural fibers; unsuitable clothing means renting workwear for 1,000 yen in cash. Adult rates apply from age 13.

Reviewers liked: Not stated. The listing showed no reviews when we checked.

Reviewers didn't: Not stated.

No review summary. Wabunka showed no reviews for this session.

Pick it if you want to make a complete kitchen knife in one day and take it with you, with an interpreter included.

Skip it if you want to stay in Tokyo, or you want reviews to go on. It takes most of a day and the workshop is in Chiba.

From ¥102,000 per person · checked 10 Nov 2026 See on Wabunka
A small forged blade with an engraved tang, lying on a cracked wooden block Photo: Wabunka
No. 002-4Private

Hirata Sword Smith: small katana

2.5 hours or more · Private, 1 to 6 people · Ome, about 1 hour 20 minutes by train from Shinjuku · English-speaking guide

A private session at a smithy run by a married couple: she smelts tamahagane, the steel used for Japanese swords, and he forges it. You heat and hammer a blade with their help, then they finish it, engrave your name, fit one of three handle finishes and ship it. Despite the name, this is a blade about 18 cm long, not a sword; the smithy's own site sells what looks like the same session as a knife workshop. The listing says a minimum charge for two applies, so one person pays more than the headline price. Shipping is included, though the listing warns of possible extra charges on site, payable in cash. The forge gets very hot in summer. Minimum age 6.

Reviewers liked: The interpreter, who reviewers say made the session easy to follow, and two smiths described as patient and good-humored. Several call it the best thing they did in Japan.

Reviewers didn't: No recurring complaint, though there are only eight reviews. One mentions the heat.

From 8 reviews on Wabunka. No star score shown.

Pick it if you want to forge a blade yourself with an interpreter beside you, and you don't mind waiting for it to arrive by post.

Skip it if you expected a full-size sword, or you want something to carry home that day. Ome is also a long ride from central Tokyo.

From ¥189,500 per person · checked 10 Nov 2026 See on Wabunka
A kitchen knife with a pale wooden handle resting on a cracked wooden block Photo: Wabunka
No. 002-5Private

Hirata Sword Smith: kitchen knife

3 hours · Private, 1 to 4 people · Ome, about 1 hour 20 minutes by train from Shinjuku · English-speaking guide

The larger of the two blades you can forge at the Hirata smithy, which is why we list both. You hammer red-hot tamahagane into a kitchen knife about 33 cm long overall; the smiths then finish it, engrave it and ship it. The listing says its schedule is updated irregularly, so dates can be scarce. As with the small katana, a minimum charge for two applies, shipping is included, and the listing warns of possible extra charges on site, payable in cash. Lunch is not included. The listing doesn't give a minimum age.

Reviewers liked: Smiths who are patient with beginners and quietly correct their mistakes, and a session that explains the whole process from raw steel to blade.

Reviewers didn't: No recurring complaint, though there are only five reviews.

From 5 reviews on Wabunka. No star score shown.

Pick it if you cook, and want a knife you forged yourself from sword steel, with an interpreter included.

Skip it if the price is a stretch, or your dates are fixed. The listing says availability is updated irregularly.

From ¥260,500 per person · checked 10 Nov 2026 See on Wabunka