Japan is one of the smallish number of countries with a strong tradition and style of knife making. If you are used to German / Western style knives, there is a whole different world of Japanese knives. Though Western style knives are popular — and you will find many Western style chefs knives in stores, especially department stores — the rabbit hole goes so much deeper in Japanese knives. I’m a bit of a collector and love to embrace the things that are unique in places I visit so when I went to Japan I set out to get a few knives that are unique to this tradition. This is a guide synthesizing what I’ve learned across several trips, and buying a number of knives. Starting with (some of!) the kinds of knives you’ll encounter, different materials, and places to actually go shopping, including a few that are quite off the beaten path.