Hand tool shops in Tokyo?

[Brad Swanson]

I have a last minute trip to Tokyo scheduled in the near future, and I have the morning free before my return flight. Can anyone in the know recommend woodworking tool establishment in Tokyo that would be worth the effort to visit? Thanks.

Brad

[Evan Ryan]

Tokyu hands, i was in Tokyo last year and this store had some nice hand tools. I think it was the store in Shibuya.
it reminded me of a Tokyo Big box but there were hand planes, chisels and sharpening stones that looked nice.
I know "nice" is vague, but i am not an expert on Japanese woodworking tools, I mean they weren't cheap like the sharpening stones or hand planes at a U.S. big box.
If you like spending time in a hardware or general store you can kill an hour or two at Tokyu hands.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I'm jealous! With the yen at .0081 to the USD, we wanted to fly to Japan, but from where I live it's thousands of dollars per person and waaaaaay too long of a flight with a 2-year-old. The cost of tickets offsets the savings by far.

Please post an an update with pics when you return.

[David Wong]

There is a stone shop I have tried to visit, but unfortunately it was closed due to a holiday the day I tried. My wife did go there one trip, and the owner said he gets a few foreign visitors. She did not get the impression that he spoke english though.

http://www.morihei.co.jp/?mode=f4

Here is a tool shop in Shibuya that I recently heard of. I have not had the opportunity to visit here either.

http://www.h6.dion.ne.jp/~y3-rikou/profile/profile-top.htm

If your trip is not for 2 or 3 weeks, you could also try ordering ahead of time from http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/ and have the items shipped to your local address. Could save on the EMS shipping charges.

[Brad Swanson]

Thanks for the input. Unfortunately I'l be getting to know the Shinkansen well on this extremely short notice work trip. There is a Tokyu Hands located next to Tokyo Station, so I should be able to look around there. I thought about ordering from Stu and having it shipped to my hotel, but the trip is in 6 days.

[David Wong]

The Takenaka Carpentry Museum in very close to the Shin Kobe Shinkansen station, if you are traveling down to Kobe.

[Shawn Pixley]

As others have said Tokyu Hands (the one is Ginza is okay, the one in Shibuya is better). For chisels, knives etc… the place l like is in Kyoto. It is blacksmithing shop and store. That said, I end up ordering everything from Japan if I am only going to Tokyo. Beyond woodworking, I can recommend many other crafts, items, and skills types of stores in Tokyo.

If you want to visit something, I'd recommend the Traditional Crafts Museum. The Modern Crafts museum is also great. I love Itoya (Stationary, Art Supplies and Pen shop). I avoid Akihibara. Last time I was there, they had a furniture competition (Chairs) in Rypongi. The Panasonic Showroom is amazing. Toyota City is also great but a bit more of a train ride. … a few quick ideas.

[Stanley Covington]

The oldest and largest tool store in Tokyo (assuming you are talking about woodworking tools) is Suiheiya, which translates to the "Spirit Level Store." Used to be the biggest in Japan. Located not far from the Kaminarimon in Asakusa. They close at 4:30 PM, and are closed on weekends and holidays. Their English sucks. The owner is an (as was his father, may he RIP), but the cousin that works behind the counter with the woodworking tools is a good guy. They have an excellent selection of quality tools in stock (unless you are looking for kataba rip saws), and a glass cabinet full of some really fun stuff to see. Not cheap.

Address: 〒111-0031　東京都台東区千束１丁目１－３ (1-1-3 Senzoku, Daito-ku, Tokyo)

A smaller store is Tsuchida Hamonoten. A strange but quaint store, with room for only one or two customers at a time to stand in front of the counter. The entrance door is hard to find, being set back from the sidewalk in a condo building. English sucks, but Noboru is a kind man with an easy smile and gives excellent advice. Excellent tools, but unless you know what to ask for, they may not bring it out to you. Noboru has blacksmiths make tools to his specs, which he, his father, and grandfather developed over many years, and which he adjusts per client requests. Neither the store nor the tools sold there are intended for the amateur. By comparison, Suiheiya is bigger, lighter, cleaner, and more fun, but Tsuchida's place has better people and consistently top-notch excellent tools (if you know what to ask for).

世田谷区三軒茶屋2-16-13 2-16-13 Sangenjaya, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, closed Wednesdays (and sometimes Tuesday afternoon).

There are other stores, and if you can give me an idea where you will be in Tokyo, and what sort of tools you want, I can give names and addresses, but these are the best two IMO.

Stan

[Alec Schmid]

I'm actually going to Japan soon myself. I got in touch with someone from a place called Sanjo City, where apparently there are a fair amount of blacksmiths. I guess the tourism bureau employs someone to communicate with forigners and show them around. Possibly a tourist trap, but I think they sell a lot of hand made tools in Sanjo City at a 20-30% discount. Will ask the hotel to research where we can go in Kyoto. I'm not going back any time soon, so I'm pretty sure this will probably be the most expensive part of the trip. Any advice for mid grade planes, carving chisels, bench chisels, marking knives/gauges would be really helpful. Have a JR pass and some time to kill. I think I can also talk my wife into going to the hand tool museum in Kobe...knock on wood.

[Allen Jordan]

I only went to a small blacksmith shop in Kyoto called Shigeharu after the owner. They sell some planes, saws, chisels, etc. I bought a nice smoothing/jack plane there hand-forged from blue steel. It's right by Nijo Castle, so an easy stop after touristing.

[Brad Swanson]

Thanks much for the feedback. Both Toyu Hands stores near Tokyo Station were a bust. Pretty much nothing of note in either store. Their offerings at these stores must've changed from previous reports from years ago. Unfortunately I'm heading to the airport from my hotel in Ginza in a few hours, so the tool hunt for this visit was unsuccessful. The company I work for was recently acquired by FujiFilm, so I suspect this won't be the only trip to Japan for me. I'll try to follow-up on the other recommendations on future trips.

[Brian Holcombe]

^ are they hiring? :D