How to Buy a Japanese Knife Online From Japan: Shipping, Duties and Size (2026)

Payment

Card, usually charged in yen

Carriers

EMS (Japan Post), FedEx, DHL

EMS from Tokyo

5–6 days to UK, DE, FR, CA (average)

Import tax

Expect it — from the first $ or €

TL;DR — the short version

Ordering from a Japanese knife shop works: you pay by card, usually in yen, the shop ships by EMS, FedEx or DHL, and the knife reaches you in roughly one to two weeks. What has changed is tax — assume you will pay import tax, either at checkout or to the carrier before delivery.

• Tax from the first dollar or euro. No US duty-free allowance since 29 August 2025^[1]; in the EU, VAT on every import plus €3 duty per item up to €150 since 1 July 2026^[2][3].
• Quick once it ships. EMS from Tokyo averages five days to the UK and Germany, six to France and Canada^[4], plus the shop’s handling time.
• Japanese pages are manageable. The number after the knife type is the blade length in millimetres: 牛刀210 is a 210 mm gyuto^[5]. Compare it with a knife you own.
• Returns are short and at your cost: 7 to 14 days in the policies we read, and no change-of-mind returns for a used knife^[6][7][8].
• UK: a knife must be handed to an adult, and photo-ID checks at the door are coming^[9][10].

How ordering from a Japanese shop works

It is an ordinary web shop, with four differences.

• Prices in yen, paid by card. Kiwami takes card payment^[11] and lists every knife in yen, even on its English pages^[5]; some export-focused shops, such as JapaneseChefsKnife.com, price in US dollars^[7]. Your card issuer sets the exchange rate and any foreign-transaction fee.
• Product names often stay in Japanese, as they do in Kiwami’s English store^[5]. A browser’s translate function handles descriptions; the table below covers the words to check against the original.
• No Japanese consumption tax on exports. Goods a seller exports are exempt^[12], so check whether the total changes once you enter an overseas address.
• Shipping is priced per country at checkout^[13] or as a published flat rate^[14].

Carriers and delivery times

Japanese shops ship abroad by EMS, Japan Post’s international express mail, or by the couriers FedEx and DHL, and the choice is often the shop’s: Kiwami picks one of the three by destination and buyers cannot choose^[13], while JapaneseChefsKnife.com and Hocho Knife offer all three^[14][8].

For EMS, Japan Post publishes the average number of days from posting in Tokyo, not counting the day of posting^[4]:

These are averages, not guarantees: customs clearance, remote addresses, weekends and holidays, and flight disruption can add time^[4]. Couriers are quoted by the shops themselves — JapaneseChefsKnife.com gives 2–3 days to the US, 3–5 to Europe and 2–5 to Australia, New Zealand and Canada by DHL Express or FedEx, and 3–7 days by EMS^[14]. Add the shop’s handling time: Kiwami normally ships within three days of confirming the order^[13], Hocho Knife takes up to three to five business days^[8].

US buyers: Japan Post now accepts postal items to the United States worth US$100 to US$2,500 — EMS included — only if the sender prepays the US duty through a CBP-approved service, and only at designated post offices^[15]. That is the shop’s paperwork, but it affects which carrier it uses.

Import duty and tax by country

Duty is the customs tariff on the product; VAT or GST is sales tax on the import. A knife order can attract either, both or neither. Each rule below was checked on 2026-10-01 against the official page cited.

United States

The $800 duty-free allowance was suspended for all countries from 29 August 2025^[1], for every mode of transport including post; duty is owed according to the knife’s classification, origin and value, and the gift exemption excludes anything acquired by purchase^[16]. We are not printing a rate, because it depends on classification and US tariff measures have been revised repeatedly since 2025. What you can control is who pays: JapaneseChefsKnife.com ships US orders by FedEx DDP^[14], Hocho Knife advances duties on eligible US orders^[8], and Kiwami leaves them to the buyer^[13]. Ask for a delivered price before you pay.

Canada

Above C$20 you pay duty plus GST or HST, and PST where it applies, on the full value^[17][18]. A courier’s clearance fee comes on top and is separate from the duties and taxes^[19].

United Kingdom

Up to £135 the seller puts 20% VAT in the price and no duty is charged; above £135 you pay VAT and any duty to Royal Mail, Parcelforce or the courier before delivery, and an unpaid parcel is held for about three weeks and then returned^[20][21]. The government has brought forward the removal of the £135 duty relief to October 2028^[27].

European Union

VAT is due on every import: the seller charges it at checkout if it is registered for the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS); otherwise the postal operator or courier collects it on delivery^[2], usually with a service charge^[22]. Since 1 July 2026, distance sales up to €150 also carry a flat duty of €3 per item, until 1 July 2028 and whatever VAT scheme the seller uses^[3]. An “item” is each product category declared on its own line, not each piece^[28]: one knife is €3; a knife and a whetstone, two different tariff headings, would be €6. Above €150, normal duty applies according to the product and its origin^[23].

Another charge is on its way. On 21 September 2026 the European Commission adopted an EU handling fee of €2 per item on distance sales, applying from the tenth day after publication in the Official Journal and covering consignments above €150 as well^[29]. Check whether it is in force when you order.

Australia

Up to A$1,000, nothing is collected at the border; instead, overseas sellers with A$75,000 or more a year of sales to Australian consumers register with the ATO and charge GST at checkout^[24]. Above A$1,000, duty, 10% GST and an import processing charge apply^[25][26].

Knife-specific rules

Separate from tax, some rules concern knives as such. This is what the official sources state:

• United Kingdom. A delivery company working for a seller outside the UK commits an offence if it delivers a bladed article — any kitchen knife, regardless of size or design — to someone under 18, and packages should be marked for delivery only into the hands of an adult. Flick knives and gravity knives have been banned from sale and import since 1959^[9]. Under the Crime and Policing Act 2026, sellers will check photo ID at purchase and couriers at the door, delivering only to the buyer and never to a locker, doorstep or neighbour; the government’s factsheet gives no start date^[10].
• United States. The import rules on switchblades cover knives that open automatically by a button, by inertia or by gravity, including balisong, butterfly and ballistic knives; the same regulations count a “customary household purpose” as utilitarian use^[30].
• Canada. Prohibited weapons include knives with a blade that opens automatically by gravity, centrifugal force or a button or spring, as well as push daggers and blades concealed in innocuous-looking objects^[31].
• Germany. Customs lists knuckle knives, butterfly knives, gravity knives and switchblades as prohibited, with a narrow exception for certain side-opening switchblades^[32].
• France. Some weapon categories need an import authorisation (AIMG) from outside the EU, and classifying the item is the importer’s responsibility^[33].
• Australia. Weapons listed in Schedule 13 of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations need permission to import, and claw-shaped karambits were expressly added in 2019^[34].

None of these lists names an ordinary kitchen knife; they target automatic, gravity, butterfly, push-dagger, claw-shaped and disguised blades. If what you are buying folds, locks or looks like a weapon, check your own country’s rules first.

Choosing type and length without holding it

In a shop you would pick the knife up. Online, you replace that with four comparisons.

1. Type first. Decide what the knife is for before you look at steel or finish. The usual first choice is a gyuto, a santoku or a bunka; a nakiri suits vegetable-heavy cooking and a petty is the small second knife. Our best gyuto, best santoku, best nakiri and best petty pages narrow the field within each type.
2. Length from a knife you know. Measure the blade of the knife you reach for most, from the heel of the edge to the tip, in millimetres. That is your reference, because Japanese listings give blade length rather than overall length — Kiwami’s, for example, state the 刃渡り in the description and repeat the number in the product name^[5]. Our gyuto size guide puts 210 mm as the default for most home kitchens and 240 mm for a long board and counter, and suggests keeping the blade to about two-thirds of your board’s width. Santoku are typically 165–180 mm.
3. Handle and bevel. A Japanese-style (wa) handle is lighter than a Western (yo) handle and changes the balance — see wa vs yo handles. Double-bevel knives (両刃) work in either hand; single-bevel knives (片刃) such as yanagiba and deba are made for one hand, so left-handers need the 左利き用 version (left-handed guide).
4. Steel and upkeep. Carbon steels such as aogami and shirogami rust if left wet; stainless asks less of you. Our carbon vs stainless guide sets out the trade-off.

If a listing leaves out weight, blade height or bevel, email the shop before ordering: the answer costs nothing, a wrong size costs return postage to Japan. For a first Japanese knife, start with our first knife buyer’s guide.

Shops in Japan that ship abroad

Many Japanese knife shops ship abroad. These three are listed because their own sites say so and explain how; this is not a ranking.

Kiwami (kiwami.top) is a knife shop in Tokyo’s Kappabashi kitchenware district with an online store. It ships abroad by FedEx, DHL or EMS, chosen by destination; duties, import taxes and any clearance charges are paid by the recipient^[13]. Product names are in Japanese and prices in yen, including on its English pages^[5]. Links to Kiwami on this site are referral links; the box below says so.

JapaneseChefsKnife.com (JCK) is an online retailer based in Seki, Gifu Prefecture. It ships by DHL Express, FedEx or EMS at flat rates^[14], prices in US dollars, ships US orders duty-paid and ships to the EU duty-unpaid, with VAT and fees collected on delivery^[7]. japanesechefsknife.com

Hocho Knife ships from Japan by EMS, FedEx or DHL, allows up to three to five business days for handling, and says it advances import duties for eligible US orders^[8]. hocho-knife.com

Going to Japan anyway? See our Tokyo buying guide, the Kappabashi shop map and flying with Japanese knives.

Returns and warranty: what to expect

Sending a knife back to Japan is possible but rarely worth it for a change of mind, so read the policy before you buy. The three we read:

• Kiwami: 7 days from arrival; not for used, customer-damaged or engraved knives, or items missing their original label. The buyer pays postage for a change of mind; defective or wrong items are repaired or replaced free^[6].
• JapaneseChefsKnife.com: 14 days, unused, dry and in the original packaging, return postage paid by the customer; products are warranted against defects in material and workmanship, not misuse^[7].
• Hocho Knife: 14 days from delivery, unopened and unused; the buyer pays return postage unless the shop made an error^[8].

Two consequences. Engraving makes a knife yours for good, so settle on the knife before adding a name. And import tax does not come back on its own: in the UK, a private individual reclaims duty and VAT on rejected imports — defective, or not as contracted — by applying to HMRC within one year^[35]; elsewhere, ask your customs authority before posting anything back. Open the parcel on arrival, photograph packaging and blade, and contact the shop inside the window if anything is wrong.

Checklist before you pay

1. The type and the blade length in millimetres, compared with a knife you own.
2. Bevel (両刃 or 片刃) and, for single-bevel knives, the correct hand.
3. Steel: carbon (鋼, 青紙, 白紙) or stainless (ステンレス), and whether you will dry it after every use.
4. The total in yen at checkout, with shipping, converted at your card’s rate.
5. Who pays import charges: duty-paid (DDP) or collected on delivery (DDU).
6. Your country’s threshold and rate from the table above, plus any carrier clearance fee.
7. The carrier and the shop’s handling time.
8. The return window, who pays return postage, and whether engraving rules out a return.
9. For anything that folds, locks or opens automatically: your country’s weapons rules.
10. In the UK: someone aged 18 or over — ideally you — at home to receive it.

When it arrives, our knife care guide covers the first wash, drying and storage.