All 6 Knife Shops in Kyoto — Aritsugu, Nishiki Market & Teramachi (2026)
Six shops in Kyoto sell kitchen knives as specialists: Aritsugu, Kikuichimonji, Jikko, Kanetaka Hamono, Yagi Hocho-ten and Takegami. Every address, phone number and opening time below was checked against the shop's own website. If you only have one free afternoon, Aritsugu is the name to know; if that afternoon is a Sunday, Jikko is the one that will be open.
The 6 Knife Shops
1. Aritsugu (有次 — Nishiki)
450 years — Nishiki Market
Kyoto's best-known knife shop, and the only one the company runs directly in the city. Alongside hand-forged knives it sells copper pots and traditional Kyoto kitchen tools. Free name engraving on purchase, plus ongoing servicing of the knives it sells — the two reasons chefs keep coming back. Start here.
- Address: 219 Kajiya-cho, Nishikikoji-dori Gokomachi Nishi-iru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8052
- Phone: 075-221-1091
- Hours: 10:00-17:00 (last new orders 16:30)
- Closed: Wednesdays, Jan 1-4, and Jan 31 (stocktaking)
- Access: 8 min walk from Hankyu Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station (no parking)
- Also sold at: Aritsugu counters on 6F of Kyoto Takashimaya S.C. and 7F of Hankyu Umeda (both 10:00-20:00) — departmentstore counters rather than branches, but useful when Nishiki is packed
2. Kikuichimonji (菊一文字)
Swordsmith lineage — Sanjo-Teramachi
The shop traces its line to Norimune, one of Emperor Go-Toba's swordsmiths in the Kamakura period; the name comes from the chrysanthemum crest and single horizontal stroke he was granted for his blades. From the Meiji era the house moved into kitchen, craft and horticultural blades. Handmade scissors are a speciality alongside the knives.
- Address: 14 Ishibashi-cho, Sanjo-dori Teramachi Higashi-iru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8036
- Phone: 075-221-0077
- Access: About 5 min walk from Keihan Sanjo Station
- Known for: Knives in the swordsmith tradition, handmade scissors
- Note: Opening hours are not published on the company site — call ahead
3. Jikko (實光刃物 — Nishiki-Teramachi)
Open Sundays — Teramachi arcade
The Kyoto outpost of a Sakai knifemaker founded in 1900 — which makes this the easiest place in Kyoto to buy Sakai-forged blades. The Teramachi shop is known for its "knife tower" display. It has essentially no closing days and stays open to 19:00, so it covers the Sundays and evenings when the older shops are shut. Two more branches in the city: Pontocho and Arashiyama.
- Address: 536-1 Higashigawa-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8046
- Phone: 075-746-4204
- Hours: 11:00-19:00
- Closed: Essentially never
- Access: 5 min from Hankyu Kyoto-Kawaramachi, 7 min from Keihan Gion-Shijo
- Other branches: Kyoto Pontocho (208-4 Shimokoregi-cho, Nakagyo-ku), Kyoto Arashiyama
4. Kanetaka Hamono (金高刃物老舗)
Founded 1651 — by Rokkaku-do
Founded in 1651 as a Japanese razor forge trading as Fujiwara Kanetaka, and settled at its present spot in front of Rokkaku-do since around 1770. The oldest Kyoto knife shop with a founding date you can verify from the company itself. Being off the main tourist route, it is the easiest of the six in which to have an unhurried conversation.
- Address: 244 Donomae-cho, Rokkaku-dori Higashinotoin Nishi-iru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8134
- Phone: 075-221-5446
- Hours: 9:00-17:00 (weekdays, Saturdays and public holidays)
- Closed: Sundays, public holidays, and July 17-18 and 24-25 (Gion Matsuri)
- Access: About 5 min walk from Karasuma-Oike Station
5. Yagi Hocho-ten (八木庖丁店)
About 150 years — Sakaimachi-dori
For roughly 150 years this shop has supplied knives to professional cooks in Kyoto and across Japan. It also carries copper, aluminium and brass pans and other cooking tools. The stock leans professional — tell them what you cook and let them pick. Note the Sunday and Monday closing before you plan around it.
- Address: Sakaimachi-dori Shijo Agaru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8123
- Phone: 075-211-1833
- Hours: 10:00-17:00
- Closed: Sundays, Mondays and public holidays
- Known for: Knives, copper and brass pans, cooking tools
6. Takegami (食道具 竹上 — Kyoto)
Founded 2010 — Kuromon-dori
The youngest of the six by three centuries, and the most technical: honbazuke edge-setting, adjustment and full restoration are the core of the business, not a sideline. The stated philosophy is to sell things that can be repaired and kept, which makes this the shop to visit if you already own a knife that needs bringing back. There is also a workshop in Nantan.
- Address: 238-2 Sugiebisu-cho, Kuromon-dori Takatsuji Sagaru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8386
- Phone: 075-802-3378
- Hours: 10:00-17:00
- Closed: Sundays
- Known for: Knife sales, honbazuke, adjustment and restoration
Which Shop Should You Visit?
- One knife to take home from Kyoto: Aritsugu — engraving included, and Nishiki Market is worth the walk anyway
- You are only free on a Sunday or in the evening: Jikko Nishiki-Teramachi (essentially never closed, open to 19:00)
- You want the history: Kanetaka Hamono (1651) or Kikuichimonji (swordsmith lineage)
- You cook professionally: Yagi Hocho-ten
- You want a knife you already own put right: Takegami
About Kyoto Knives
Kyoto's knife culture is inseparable from kaiseki, the refined cuisine that grew up here. Kitchens chasing delicate vegetable cuts and exact presentation do not tolerate compromise on sharpness or precision, and the city's blade shops sharpened their craft answering that demand — thin, precise edges above all.
Kyoto is also one of Japan's great sources of natural whetstones (tennen toishi). The finishing stones quarried from the surrounding mountains have grown scarce as the quarries wound down, and they are now prized by knife enthusiasts worldwide.
Getting There
- Nishiki Market (Aritsugu): 8 min from Hankyu Kyoto-Kawaramachi, or 8 min from Shijo Station
- Sanjo-Teramachi (Kikuichimonji): 5 min from Keihan Sanjo Station
- Teramachi arcade (Jikko): 5 min from Hankyu Kyoto-Kawaramachi
- Rokkaku-do (Kanetaka): 5 min from Karasuma-Oike Station
- From Kyoto Station: Karasuma subway line to Shijo Station, about 5 minutes
- From Osaka: JR Special Rapid to Kyoto Station, about 30 minutes
- From Tokyo: Shinkansen to Kyoto Station, about 2 hours 15 minutes
Aritsugu, Kikuichimonji and Jikko all sit within walking distance between Shijo and Sanjo, so half a day covers three of them. Add Kanetaka and Yagi Hocho-ten and you want a full day.