Suburban Tokyo is Where Anyone can go to Master Japanese Knives

Update-Date: Aug 12, 2025

Author: Sydney Seekford

Categories: Tempura

Suburban Tokyo is Where Anyone can go to Master Japanese Knives

We head out on an unforgettable tour to Nishi Koyama, a sleepy neighborhood where old shotengai are still full of neighbors who call each other by name. Here, local izakaya owners are working to introduce guests to the delicate work of using and protecting now-famous Japanese knives. Through chef Ryuki Matsumoto’s helpful guidance and great tempura, we experience a chef’s daily life hands-on.

>>Tokyo: Sashimi, Tempura & Japanese Knife Masterclass
Participation fee: 19,000 JPY (tax included)

Sydney Seekford

Gourmet Creator

American living in Japan since 2022. Food writer and gourmet content creator for Japan’s most well known food media. Founder of menu translation and language support service MENUWIZ. Work history includes copywriting for booking platforms, video and media production and appearances, and consulting in F&B for household brands. Passionate about regional revitalization and slow tourism with a focus on local food culture.

Craft and Culture of Japanese Knives

“Oh, where in Tokyo did you visit during your vacation?”
“Nishi Koyama!” is admittedly, not a frequent exchange between travelers, even though it's just a few minutes from Shibuya and Nakameguro. This tour to the cozy, retro neighborhood of Nishi Koyama is where visitors can learn about Japanese knives and knifework hands-on from a professional chef. Tempura Izakaya Tenchi has started teaching travelers to actually care for the precious Japanese knives they come all the way here to buy. On the other side of town Kappabashi swarms with home-cooks and professional chefs ogling Japanese knives. However, these residential streets provide a chance for guests to form a closer relationship to their prized possessions and new purchases.

Japanese knives are used in internationally awarded kitchens around the world, by all kinds of chefs. In this experience, we learned just what it means to master Japanese knives while learning to appreciate the true omotenashi of a normal Japanese neighborhood.

According to our guide, the first Japanese knives closely resembled katana. These blades were used mostly for ceremonial purposes, called the houchou-shiki (hoh-choh-shikee), where ingredients like fish would be sliced and presented to the gods. The houchou-shiki itself had an intense regimen. The performer wasn’t allowed to touch any of the ingredients, so knives and long utensils were used to arrange the ingredients into the appropriate shape.

These ceremonies were used to give thanks to local gods, ensure bountiful harvests and so on. Ha-mono, any kind of bladed instrument in Japan, were reserved almost exclusively for religious and official (military) purposes for many years. It wasn’t until culture trickled down from the aristocracy that the Japanese knife as it is known today came into the hands of common people.

According to Sasa-san, our helpful interpreter and resident Japanese expert, today’s most commonly used knives can be divided into several categories, which have both common and industry names. At Tenchi, chef Ryuki Matsumoto’s workshop shows ordinary travelers how to care for these knives and get the best experience using professional tools and skills. He and our guide are here to educate us as much as entertain, since we are handling the work of craftsmen and holding our own piece of Japanese culture. The owners of Tenchi saw an opportunity in transferring their techniques to visitors, making sure that the high-quality knives people purchased in Japan could be used for years.

Chef Matsumoto wanted to show that these treasured tools were as beautiful as they were useful. What he has created at his shop feels valuable and special, both as fans of Japanese culture and people who like to cook. As we sit around a petite table, he carefully explains the parts of the knife - the thick base, or root, the hanaka (middle of the knife), and the hasaki, the tip.

When we move to the workshop space, he makes the process of sharpening a knife to clean-slicing precision look too easy. Moving in a windshield wiper motion over a slightly damp #1000 grit whetstone, chef Matsumoto effortlessly pushes and pulls the piece of steel to grind away signs of wear. When we tried to do it, we weren’t quite as successful. Fortunately, chef Matsumoto is happy to show us where to place hands and remind us to keep a 30-70 balance of pressure to protect the bevel.

Because we are learning from a professional chef, we get the perks of studying a few advanced honing techniques, such as how to improve the blade’s integrity. Even when we fail, he gladly transfers our knives to his whetstone and quickly shapes them to the ideal sharpness. It’s not the kind of watch-me tour that’s typical when working with sharp objects – the hands on experience is especially valuable.

After sharpening the knives, chef Matsumoto introduces us to their many utilities. We go through a wide variety of decorative knife techniques. Some look simple – tricks moms use to make their kids’ meals more appealing – and some are as elegant as the cucumber carving seen in high-end ryotei. It turns out the simple-looking, home-cooked ingredients are some of the hardest.

We take turns trying to carve carrots into plum blossoms and cut the characteristic star into shiitake caps. Getting a hands-on introduction to each decorative vegetable made us appreciate the controlled movements needed for even simple knifework.

One of the most fascinating techniques was how to prepare eggplant for tempura. Obviously, as a tempura specialist, this is one of chef Matsumoto’s best tricks. First, a spiral cut around the sepals of the eggplant allows its spiny flower to be removed. Then, lengthwise cuts into the base of the eggplant create tines. Done carefully, it can be used to control the amount of surface area the eggplant has when dipped into tempura batter. If the cut is perfect, the fried eggplant will fan out to create a perfect balance of crispy and soft.

Tempura made for the people

When he’s not conducting tours and workshops for foreign visitors, chef Matsumoto runs Tenchi with his wife, where they use their individual passions and skills to serve delicate tempura and homey food made for the people in their neighborhood. Even before Tenchi became Tenchi, the couple knew they wanted to create a restaurant here. It was just a matter of making sure what they created wouldn’t blend in and be forgotten. So they decided to hone in on tempura, which wasn’t widely available in Nishi Koyama, and created their own style of izakaya in the process.

Only about 14 people can squeeze around the tables and along the bottle-covered bar. Behind the counter is chef Matsumoto’s wife, a calming presence； both casual and devoted to her work. She greeted us while sailing in on her bike, a fresh daikon wedged into the basket. But she’s just one among 3 or 4 other locals who stop to say hi to our party on the way from the station, all of them friends and neighbors of people in our group. On a hot summer day like this, the whole scene is charming and easy; the way the couple runs their business makes complete strangers feel known and welcome, and the neighborhood regulars are friendly.

Right now, their typical tempura options are complimented by specials like medium-rare fried tuna and seasonal summer seafood. We got to try our hand at slicing sea bream and tuna sashimi, just like they do here every night. The different fish have different muscle structures and call for different cutting methods. Like the vegetable decorating, chef Matsumoto makes it look easy. Our sashimi come out jagged and lopsided, but taste good all the same.

After we’ve gotten a full introduction to our knives and the night’s menu, we do fortunately get to taste some of our hard work. Our hosts are nice enough to serve us the vegetables we cut ourselves, plus some of their own additions for a point of comparison. Not that it’s not obvious which ones were cut by whom. Even so, there’s something especially satisfying about eating food you made yourself.

Biting into the fruits of our labor, we realize the tempura here is a little different from what we’re used to. The batter is incredibly light, without a strong fried aroma or intense crunch. More than anything, it just seems to emphasize the flavor and quality of the ingredients themselves. Chef Matsumoto explains that on top of using chilled eggs and flour, he puts carbonated water in the batter for extra lift. Even the frying oil isn’t typical vegetable oil, but rice bran oil. This is all because chef Matsumoto and his wife mostly serve people from their neighborhood. Nishi Koyama isn’t exactly a hip and lively youth center, so the people eating their food need something better suited to their generation.

Knowing their customers personally adds a layer of care you wouldn’t normally experience in busier areas. Chef Matsumoto and his wife needed to create food that would be both palatable and friendly to the aging guests that frequent their counter. The typical heavy-battered tempura of chain restaurants is a little hard on the stomach, so they developed tempura that kept the same experience with a lighter touch.

We appreciated the amount of thought put into each dish, and found the emphasis on purity of flavor in chef Matsumoto’s tempura to be especially delicious. The couple also make their own tsuyu dipping sauce from ichiban dashi — the essential, classic dashi made simply from steeping dried bonito in water. The tsuyu, like the tempura, is restrained and well balanced. It only adds enough flavor to enhance the warm, juicy vegetables and flavorful shrimp. The salt is dashi-infused,too, offering a punch of flavor if the tsuyu isn’t enough.

We felt lucky to be able to step behind the scenes and experience Tenchi’s daily process and the importance of knifework first-hand. It’s always fun to get excited about something with other people who feel strongly about it. Whether that’s sharpening knives or developing one’s own unique tempura batter. While learning from and eating with chef Matsumoto and his wife, we got to feel like we were a part of his neighborhood too. As Tokyo grows and changes, these experiences become an important part of this city, one we’re glad many more people can enjoy.

>>Tokyo: Sashimi, Tempura & Japanese Knife Masterclass
Participation fee: 19,000 JPY (tax included)

• Learn proper knife care from a Japanese chef
• Practice slicing sashimi and decorative cuts
• Enjoy a handmade sashimi and tempura lunch
• Build confidence to recreate dishes at home

〈Itinerary〉
1. Meet at Nishi-Koyama Station (ground level exit)
2. Walk to the venue with your guide (10 min)
3. Knife care & sharpening lecture (50 min)
4. Cooking session: sashimi & tempura (30 min)
5. Enjoy the meal you prepared (30 min)
6. Tour ends at the venue

〈Inclusions〉
Knife lesson, lunch, English speaking guide

〈exclusions〉
Hotel travel, transportation

Disclaimer: All information is accurate at time of publication.

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