Yoshisada hamono (kitchen knife shop)

My wife and I had a wonderful experience in this little knife shop earlier today. Two friendly and cheerful women expertly guided us in the purchase of a beautiful santoku knife with a walnut handle.

The price was beyond reasonable for the craftsmanship involved and we both feel that we got great value for our money. Upon purchasing the knife we received origami and exchanged names and stories that concluded a genuine and wholesome interaction. We left with big smiles all around.

The kind ladies are eager to speak English, but Google Translate helps with specific questions. Their English is so much better than my Japanese :)

Really great experience buying a santoku and petty (utility) knife. Lady owner recommended a two knife set with Japanese wood handles that she had been using similar for the last 30 years. She had small translated cards that described the particular knives. Price was very good (27600 yen). Knives were well balanced, felt comfortable, not heavy and had western style handles. Had researched knife buying before I left and this shop came out in front. Terrific experience and will happily go again should I need other knives. Btw she placed two origami cranes in the box prior to wrapping. Wonderful touch.

Bought a beautiful stainless santoku for under 100 USD. Also has santoku-petty knife set for just over 100 USD, which is pretty sweet. This is where you can get great value knives that are made in Kyoto. Out of the box sharpness was pretty good, could push-cut through regular paper without issue. Choil shot included. Lady was very polite and helpful, and puts a cute little paper crane in as well :)

They do also have carbon steel knives in more traditional Japanese styles, including for outdoors (machetes, carvers) and even some that look like swords from an RPG.

Will come again next time I'm in Kyoto!

Loved this shop! Just happened upon it while walking back to the hotel. The bladesmith himself was at the shop explaining the knives to everyone (in Japanese). I already bought a knife from a shop in Pantocho the previous day but wished I had stumbled upon this store sooner. I ended up buying a nakiri for a very reasonable price (~¥12k)! Can’t wait to try it out! The experience was more heartfelt and genuine.

Great prices and a friendly lady who is very helpful. Ended up purchasing a set of knives plus an extra as a gift. Worth having google translate if you are going to ask the owner questions.

Great little old school knife shop, old lady doesn't speak much English and I don't speak much Japanese but we worked through that, she's passionate, friendly, and a small business so happy to support. I believe the sign on the wall is a certificate from the emperor about knife making.

Great service but you’ll need google translator. Knives made from 10th generation smith. Beautiful knives of all types.

Lovely little knife store. Very cheap prices for the quality of knives and not all touristy like many other stores in Kyoto. Owner is an older lady, she speak a little english but you will need to use some gestures if you don't speak Japanese.

Lovely store owner whose family make the knives. Prices are much more competitive than the knife shop in nishiki market. The owner takes the time to explain the different type of knives and doesn’t pressure you to buy. She also gave me an origami crane as a thank you ^^

I discovered this store for the 1st time in 2013 when walking in the street. Back in 2016, I bought a pair of knives for cooking and my father a small one for fruits. Using the knives almost every day, cooking 3 to 5 meals, I never sharpened them and they still are the bests of the drawer. When my father lost his knife I was in Osaka. I went back to this store for buying the exact them one. I am glad the store is still opened!

Very nice service. Good quality. Please check out this knifes shop.

Really good shop.
The pricing is correct
We paying for quality
I recommend everyone going’s in the lady have a translator on her phone so there no problems for communication

They are really kind☺

Beautifully crafted Japanese knife.
Incredibly good value, and high quality.

Hand made and the sharpest I have used!

Got my 1st Santoku! Had a super pleasant experience at the shop.After I did some research on several knife shops in Kyoto, I ended up with this place. The lady patiently explained each knife for me - even you don’t understand Japanese - Google translation is a big help. The price also better compared with other places.

Visited this great little shop and was pleased with the selection considering the shop size. This was my last ditch effort to purchase a Japanese knife on my last day in japan. It was located 5min from the Kyoto train station which was convenient since I had no time to waste. Was in japan for 12 days and could not find knives that was in my price range and the look I was trying to find (Damascus). Was greeted by a nice lady and she helped be decide. I ended up purchasing 4 knives :) Price was very good considering the great quality of the knives. Got to use them as soon as I got home from japan and the blades are top quality! If I ever make my way back to Japan I will definitely shop there again.

Beautiful and quality knives made by the very family a bit more north up the country for 10 generations. The lady was nice enough to show, recommend, educate, and even contact the makers when I asked if there will be more of a specific knife in shop.

Brought a few knives. Kitchen and just for fun man knives. Only place that i saw that has hunting knifes. Better prices than popular destinations at the markets. Worth checking out. Have your google translate ready.

Excellent store. Friendly woman working the store was patient and nice to me, despite the fact I cannot speak Japanese. It was so nice finding a quality store with such a friendly person to help. Thank you, it was exactly the items that I wanted! They have a wide variety of items, including knives, wood carving tools, a couple swords, shears, scissors. It is not a huge store but all the items appear good quality. Thank you from a Canadian tourist!

Excellent little shop. Very friendly lady helped us select. We bought two knives which have been amazing: I now use mine every single day since (6mos ago now), lovely balance, remains sharp for a very long time

Got a pair of knives on sale to bring back home to Canada at this store, I couldn't be happier with the product that I got, and this is your typical mom and pop kinda shop, nothing fancy just what I was expecting and great service. I rather give my business to this type of stores and rather than the crowded knife stores in town that hardly have the attention for you. I also got a sharpening stone and got a free how to sharpen your knife tutorial using the stone