Where Can You Make a Knife in Japan?
Knife making in Japan: sharpen and engrave in Tokyo, forge a blade in Kyoto or Tsubame-Sanjo, finish a Damascus knife in Seki. Prices, time, who each suits.
If you are based in Tokyo, the answer is a sharpening and engraving workshop in Asakusa; if you want to forge a blade from hot steel, you have to go to Kyoto or Tsubame-Sanjo. Japan’s knife experiences on the booking platform fall into three kinds of work, and the place decides which one you get.
Three kinds of knife making
- Sharpening and finishing (Tokyo). You receive a finished blade, sharpen it on whetstones, fit or hammer on the handle and engrave it. 40 minutes to 2 hours.
- Damascus finishing (Seki). A Damascus blade is prepared for you; you polish it, draw your own design on it, etch it, sharpen it and test it with a craftsman. One Seki listing states outright that it does not include forging a blade from raw steel.
- Forging (Kyoto, Tsubame-Sanjo). You heat steel in a forge and hammer it into shape before sharpening it.
None is a lesser version of the others. They are different jobs, and guests rate all three highly: BAC’s Tokyo workshop has 503 reviews at 4.9, Traveling Tokyo’s 40-minute Asakusa session 419 at 4.9, and the Kyoto forging session 1,030 at 4.9.
The four places compared
| Place | Tour | What you do | Length | From | Rating (reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo (Asakusa) | BAC Knife Making Workshop | Sharpen, engrave, hammer on the handle | 1.5 hours | $150 | 4.9 (503) |
| Kyoto | Knife making at a blacksmith (Kendo Experience) | Forge from a piece of iron, sharpen, polish | 3 hours | $151 | 4.9 (1,030) |
| Seki (Gifu) | Hand-designed Damascus knife (MOST JAPAN) | Polish, draw, etch, sharpen a Damascus blade | Workshop 2.5 hours, plus lunch and a museum | $315 | 5.0 (78) |
| Tsubame-Sanjo (Niigata) | Copper and knife workshop day from Tokyo (PAK LAND) | Hammer a copper cup, heat and sharpen a small blade | 13 hours, private | $757 per group up to 6 | No reviews yet |
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.
Tokyo: the easy yes
Tokyo is where most visitors already are, and the workshops are an hour or two in Asakusa rather than a day out. BAC’s session is the fullest: a haori jacket, the history of Japanese knives and swords, a choice of up to five blade types, sharpening, engraving and gift packaging. Traveling Tokyo’s one-hour workshop is from about $88 and its 40-minute Asakusa session from about $91, so a Tokyo finishing workshop runs from $88 to $150 a person and 40 minutes to 1.5 hours; Taimatsu’s two-hour class is a sharpening lesson rather than a souvenir workshop. The cheaper and shorter options are in knife making class prices in Tokyo. If you care most about learning to keep an edge, read knife sharpening classes in Tokyo.
Kyoto: the one where you forge
Kendo Experience’s three-hour session is the most-reviewed forging session in this guide: 1,030 at 4.9. You change into blacksmith attire, heat raw iron until it glows, strike it with a hammer under close guidance, then cool, sharpen and polish it. The finished knife is about 13 to 15 cm long. It is not for children under 15, and it runs at two studios in Sakyo Ward. If Kyoto is on your route, thingstobookinkyoto.com covers what else to book in the city. Our page on the Kyoto blacksmith workshop has its notes.
Seki: a Damascus blade with your own drawing
Seki, in Gifu Prefecture, is one of Japan’s oldest blade towns; craft sources put its sword-making tradition at over 700 years. MOST JAPAN’s workshop starts at Sekitomioka Station and runs at the G. Sakai Knife Museum with a craftsman the listing says has over 50 years’ experience. You choose a santoku, gyuto, nakiri or bunka, draw a name or design on the Damascus blade, and etch it in. Lunch and the Seki Swordsmith Museum are included. It is for adults 18 and over, and Seki is easiest as a day from Nagoya. Knife making day trips from Tokyo covers the logistics.
Tsubame-Sanjo: metal town, long day
PAK LAND’s private day picks you up at 06:00 in Tokyo and drives to Tsubame-Sanjo in Niigata. You hammer a copper cup at Gyokusendo, a copperware workshop founded in 1816, and heat and sharpen a small blade at Sanjo Kajidojo, a working blacksmith dojo, with the Tsubame metalware museum between. Lunch is at your own cost, and it does not run on Sundays because the workshops close. The price is for the whole group of up to six. By train, the Joetsu Shinkansen reaches Tsubame-Sanjo Station from Tokyo in about 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours.
Who should go where
Knife Making Workshop, Asakusa
Sharpen, engrave and hammer on the handle in 1.5 hours.
Check dates →Blacksmith Knife Making, Kyoto
Heat and hammer the steel yourself, 3 hours, ages 15+.
See this workshop →Damascus Knife, Seki
Draw, etch and sharpen a full-size Damascus blade, adults only.
See this workshop →Before you book
Every option here has free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Whichever you choose, the knife comes home in checked luggage, never in your cabin bag. For the history behind each town, see Japan’s knife towns.
Book the Tokyo Knife Making Workshop
BAC's 1.5-hour workshop in Asakusa: choose a blade, sharpen it, engrave the handle and hammer it on, then take the knife home. Rated 4.9 from 503 reviews, from about $150 on the platform in October 2026.
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