For knives and other weird, wonderful and downright cool kitchen stuff, I recommend the Kappabashi district, where you can also get the plastic food items you see in Japanese restaurant windows (sushi keyrings make great souvenirs).

Yup, those guys. When my kids bought those phony dull samurai swords at Asakusa, those cops totally unwrapped them and personally verified they were the dull kind before letting us pass.

This reminds me of something...

Back in the 1989 or 1990, I was flying Aeroflot from NRT to LHR (via Moscow). Shortly after take-off, the Aeroflot FA handed my neighbour a couple of huge Japanese kitchen knives. I was somewhat concerned to be sitting next to an armed stranger for the next 9 hours, so I made friendly conversation...

He explained to me that he was a keen amateur cook and admirer of Japanese knives. Apparently, the policemen had confiscated them from him at the entrance to Narita airport, and they told him that the airline would return the knives to him after arrival in Moscow.... I was struck by the efficiency of the Narita police in delivering the knives to the airline... and the sloppiness of Aeroflot who didn't have any interest in knives.

I doubt that this could happen today.

From a chef's point of view, the most significant difference between a Japanese knife and a Western knife is that nearly all Western knives are sharpened on both edges of the blade, whereas many traditional Japanese blades are sharpened on only one edge. This style is called "kataba" (片刃　）.

http://www.toyokuni.net/mente/dumen.htm

Most "kataba" blades are right-handed. So if you're shopping for a left-handed cook you need to ask for a special one with the left edge sharpened instead. (If you're interested, you can start another thread to discuss Japanese attitudes towards left-handedness).

Having only one edge of the knife sharpened allows for cleaner cuts and more precision, but learning to use only one edge requires practice. Needless to say, many Japanese people have opted for two-sided "ryouba" (両刃　） knives for home-use.

There are other differences between Japanese blades and Western blades - in the types of steel and techniques used to build the blade. But I imagine that from a chef's point of view, these are not obstacles to using the knife.

I think the comments about Japanese intestines being longer (and no word for "no") are intended as examples of the bull$hit that Japanese trade negotiators have used to explain why Western products should not be admitted to these "unique and special" islands. "We can't allow your pharmaceuticals to be sold in Japan, because of the uniqueness of the Japanese digestive tract." etc.

In the case of Japanese knives, it is no bull$hit to say that Japanese blades are different.

ADDING LINK TO WIKIPEDIA. This tells you more than I can:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_kitchen_knives

OH please let us not go there.......... :mad:

Totally off topic, but there is a store for lefties in London with the wonderful name "Our Customers Are Seldom Right."

It's in front of a small japanese supermarket (and down the road from the Rice Wine shop) which I frequent regularly - and it's called 'Anything Left Handed' on Brewer Street - the above caption is the store's prominently displayed slogan.

Wow, your correction sort of got us back on topic! :)

I thought you were living in Tokyo these days.

Only partly, remember - home is where the heart is - and mine's most definitely living in Tokyo (as are my eyes and ears) :D

Resurrecting this thread for all things cookware. I am looking to replace a Japanese round bottom wok I bought here in LA that was never quite seasoned correctly and has now gained a unremovable thin layer of carbon "stuff" along one side and doesn't have much nonstick capability remaining.

I would like to start over with a new wok which I can pick up in a couple months when I'm back to Tokyo - not too expensive, maybe around 18" or so across the top, round bottom, Japanese style and high quality carbon steel - ideally pre-seasoned and ready to go.

Any suggestions on retailers with something that might fit the bill, or is it better to just wander around the kitchenware area of Asakusa and get something random?

I'd say Kappabashi is your best bet for any kind of cookware shopping, but if you don't want to trek out there, the big box electronics stores like Bic and Yodobashi should also have a good selection. (For example, here's what Yodobashi sells online)

If you're looking for a wok, you might be better off trying to find something in your local Chinatown. It'll be a lot more convenient than making the trek out to Japan and trying to fit it in your suitcase to bring back.

I’m in Japan frequently so I wouldn’t say I’m going there just for this - but I buy most of my stuff there, phone, laptop, Doltz dental care machines, rice cooker, my knives and endless food items I’m not allowed to buy here.

But for cookware like this, I’ll only buy a product made in Japan. We have Japanese cookware shops here that sell woks but they are prohibitively expensive especially given we’re enroute to 160JPY/USD, so I can buy it Tokyo for a fraction of the cost plus have more choices.