STORY

"A knife shop that's hard to find"

I get lost in a residential area looking for a knife shop.
What came into view was a black wall.

Maybe it's here? I thought, and stopped the car.
Someone who looked like a staff member appeared from inside.
Let's call out to him.

"Is this a knife shop?"

Then, in a cheerful voice, he said, "Yes!"

"Really?" I thought as I parked the car.

"This way," we were told, and was directed to a house.

"Eh... is it really okay to stay here?"
I went inside, half in disbelief.

Then, what caught my eye was not a cafe, nor a jewelry shop, but a completely different knife shop from what I had imagined...
A small space of about 4.5 tatami mats.
Sunlight filtering through the windows.
There are many knives on the wall.


Are there really that many knives?
I was confused, but the staff member said to me,

"What kind of knife are you looking for?"
he asked with a smile.

"There are a lot of them..." I said, unable to answer the question.

"Are you going to use it at home?"
"That's right."


Then the staff member removed some knives from the wall.
He then lined them up one by one, explaining the steel material and features of each one.

"Try holding it."

I was taken aback by his words and hesitantly grabbed it.
So it's something like this... This isn't bad...
Hmm, maybe it's thicker than the last one...
But this one is... hmm, maybe it's heavy...

Of course, the outside looks great,
When you hold them, you can feel that each one has its own unique character, with different handle thicknesses and weights.
I tried holding a few, but they were just different.


And finally, the knife I held.
The moment you hold it, it feels like it becomes one with your hand.
I had a sudden realization: "This is it!"
Without hesitation I said, "This is the one!"


Then, holding the knife carefully in the wine bag,
I left the store.
I drove the car.
The view of the store reflected in the rearview mirror gave me a different feeling than when I first arrived.


This is a knife shop.




A hard-to-find knife shop