How Much Is a Knife Making Class in Tokyo?
Tokyo knife making class prices, October 2026: from $63 in Narita to $177 for a two-hour class, what each includes, the upgrades, and what a shop knife costs.
A knife making class in Tokyo costs from about $63 to $177 a person on the booking platform in October 2026, and every one of them includes the knife you work on except the knife-skills sushi class. BAC’s 1.5-hour workshop, the one with the most reviews, is from about $150.
Every Tokyo option by price
| Tour | From | Length | Rating (reviews) | What you take home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Narita: Sharpen Your Own Japanese Knife | $63 | About 1 hour | 5.0 (3) | The knives you sharpened, in a free case |
| Japanese Knife Craft Workshop (Sharpening), Traveling Tokyo | $88 | 1 hour | 5.0 (4) | A knife you sharpened |
| Knife Craft & Sharpening Workshop in Asakusa, Traveling Tokyo | $91 | 40 minutes | 4.9 (419) | The knife you refined, with its handle |
| Japanese Knife Skills & Tuna Don/Sushi Workshop | $125 | 2 hours | 5.0 (5) | Knife skills, a meal, a certificate (no knife) |
| BAC Knife Making Workshop (Sharpening, Engraving) | $150 | 1.5 hours | 4.9 (503) | An engraved knife, gift-packed, plus a key-holder |
| Traditional Japanese Knife Sharpening Class, Taimatsu | $177 | 2 hours | 5.0 (1) | Your freshly sharpened knife |
Prices, ratings and review counts from our October 2026 data check; operators change prices, so treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.
Three listings show a struck-through base price: BAC’s workshop is listed from $150 against $158, the 40-minute Asakusa workshop from $91 against $114, and Traveling Tokyo’s one-hour workshop from $88 against $126. The live calendar shows the rate for your date.
What the price buys, and what costs extra
BAC ($150). The standard-size multi-purpose knife, the sharpening and engraving, Japanese snacks and drinks, bilingual staff, gift packaging and a key-holder. Extra: the bigger usuba, deba and petit yanagiba blades, and an observation fee for anyone who comes to watch but not take part. Transport and meals are not included.
Traveling Tokyo, 40 minutes ($91). Use of the workshop and tools, the blade and handle, bilingual staff. Guests mention a choice of handles and an engraving upgrade, so budget a little more if you want your name on it. Payment on site is cashless only.
Taimatsu, 2 hours ($177). A Japanese knife, whetstone, sharpening stand, apron and towel; you can arrive empty-handed. Capped at 8 people.
Narita ($63). The sharpening session, the knives you sharpened, a knife case, an apron, gloves and the whetstone set to use, and tax. Matcha in the on-site shop is extra.
The sushi class ($125). Lunch, miso soup, sake, a costume, a certificate and 10% off in the 1F shop that day. The sushi-set option skips the sharpening for time.
Shopping tours and day trips
If you would rather buy a knife than make one, three guided Kappabashi tours are on the platform: NipponGo’s three-hour walk from Asakusa with lunch (from $76 a person, knife not included), Japan Guide Agency’s four-hour private tour with Tsukiji (from $199 a person), and Yamaguchi Motors’ four-hour private tour with hotel pickup (from $233 for a group of up to six). Outside Tokyo, the forging and Damascus days run from about $151 in Kyoto to $757 for a private group day to Tsubame-Sanjo; see knife making day trips from Tokyo.
What a knife costs to buy instead
A workshop knife is a souvenir you made, not the cheapest way to own a Japanese knife. Shop prices on Kappabashi run from entry-level stainless to hand-forged knives. Shop listings on LIVE JAPAN, which warn that prices may have changed, show for example a 170 mm carbon-steel nakiri at Musashi Japan for ¥25,800, a stainless santoku at Jikko for ¥33,000, and a 240 mm gyuto at Musashi’s Minami Kappabashi branch for ¥49,800, tax included. Buyer guides disagree on how much cheaper Japan is than abroad; estimates run from about 20% to 50%, and import duty at home can eat into it.
Under the tax-free rules that apply from 1 November 2026, you pay the tax-inclusive price in the shop and claim the refund when you leave Japan, after customs confirms the goods. The minimum spend stays ¥5,000 before tax at one shop on one day, and you must carry every item on the receipt to departure.
Taking the knife home
Japan’s Swords and Firearms Control Law bans carrying a blade longer than 6 cm without a legitimate reason. Taking a knife home after buying it is one, but carry it so it cannot be used on the spot: boxed, wrapped and in a bag, and go straight to your hotel or the airport. Since 2019, knives on trains must have the tip covered, the blade wrapped and the whole thing inside a bag. Knives go in checked luggage on every flight, never in the cabin. BAC’s staff will show you how to ship the knife instead if you prefer. Your home country’s import rules are yours to check.
Before you book
All six Tokyo options have free cancellation up to 24 hours before. To weigh a Tokyo workshop against forging elsewhere, read where to make a knife in Japan; for the sharpening-first options, knife sharpening classes in Tokyo.
Book the Tokyo Knife Making Workshop
From about $150 on the platform in October 2026 for BAC's 1.5-hour workshop: the knife, sharpening, engraving, gift packaging, snacks and a key-holder. Rated 4.9 from 503 reviews.
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