On the cutting edge: shopping for Japanese knives on Kappabashi Street

If Japanese craftsmen can make a mean samurai sword, Japanese kitchen knives should be pretty kick-ass too, right? Just as expected, Japanese cutlery is both sleek in design and extremely durable.

The most common type of knives today are "honyaki" -- high-carbon steel -- and "kasumi" -- high-carbon steel and soft iron. The kasumi type is most similar to a samurai sword in that it is produced from two metals and requires frequent maintenance. The honyaki, on the other hand, has a very long lifespan compared to Western stainless steel knives.

The best place to sample the variety of available knives is Kappabashi Street -- Tokyo's restaurant wholesale district. A decent all-purpose kitchen knife can be purchased within the price range of ¥5,000 to ¥10,000. Anything less and the quality will be subpar. Store owners will help customers in choose the best knifes, as the rows and rows of knifes on display are quite intimidating for the first time buyer.

Although there are stores that sell everything from pots and packaging to knives and fake food, it's best to buy hocho from a store that exclusively sells knives.

Union Commerce (Nishi Asakusa 2-22-6, Taito-ku, tel. 03 3845 4040, www.unioncommerce.co.jp), located on the corner of Kappabashi-dougugai and Kappabashi-hondori streets, offers domestic and international blades. In addition to all-purpose knives, Union Commerce offers products that are specific in material or function. For example, the "Octopus hocho," a knife made especially for slicing octopus, and the Misono series knives, which are made in Japan but formed from high carbon steel from Sandvic Sweden.

Kamata (Matsugaya 2-12-6, Taito-ku, tel. 03 3841 4205, www.kap-kam.com), located across the street from Union Commerce, specializes in grinding and sharpening knives. A knife purchased at Kamata comes with a free name-engraving service.

Japanese knives make a great gift without being cliche. To avoid problems during travel, however, pack the knife in bags that will be checked-in.

For those who want a special opportunity to visit the hood, Kappabashi holds a festival every year during the first or second weekend of October. Vendors of the neighborhood set up stalls in front of their stores for big close-out sales on kitchenware and restaurant supplies. Plastic food items such as monjayaki and tempura, which are often seen in display cases in Japanese restaurants, are also sold at ridiculously low prices.

Around one-third of Kappabashi cutlery stores are closed on Sundays.

Closest station to Kappabashi Street: Tawaramachi (Ginza Line) or Iriya (Hibiya Line)