Private Tour
Private Echizen Knife Making Factory and walking Tour
Overview
Available languages
2 hours 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
A rare opportunity to see authentic knife making factories in the heart of the scenic Echizen area. Guests will also get to speak with real knife making craftsmen who dedicate their lives to making the world renown Echizen knives. For Japanese knife lovers, this is the perfect tour.
For the tour, guests will get to check out amazing knife handles made at Yamaken Woodworks and then see how the blades are made at Ryuzen Hamono. Within the tour guests will also get to experience a part of the knife making process.
Additional Info
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Yamaken Woodworks is a factory that makes beautiful knife handles. Guests can enjoy the aroma of wood as they learn about the intricate work that goes into making the handles. They will also get the rare opportunity to speak directly with the craftsmen about their work. They will also get to check out the shop next to it where they sell the handles created in the factory.
Ryusen Hamono is a knife factory and store filled with high quality products. At the factory guests will get to interact with actual knife making blacksmiths and learn about the process that goes into creating high quality knives. They will also get to experience a part of the knife making process. At the shop guests will get to see the assortment of beautiful knives.
What‘s Included
Factory Tour
English Guide
Experience
Shop Tour
Food and Drinks
Options
Private Echizen Knife Making Factory and walking Tour
Reviews
12 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Excellent guide and tour for first time visitors.
amypC1248TH,,Oct 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Very good private tour. So much better than going with a bus full of folks from the cruise ship. Our guide helped us purchase some knives with no hard sell whatsoever. She introduced to some amazing artists and craftsmen, then made an excellent suggestion for lunch in a local restaurant. Educational and fun.
Echizen Washi Village is truly a national treasure!
439toddm,,Jul 13, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00My day at Echizen Washi Village was truly amazing. I would even call it spiritual. Sawyer is a great tour guide and translator. He did a great job answering my questions and showing me around the village. The paper mill owners and employees were friendly and inviting, and I felt at home in many of the spaces. The Echizen museum and cultural center were also incredible experiences. I don't know Japanese, but the staff members were all very friendly and welcoming. It's truly one of Japan's national treasures, and I hope more people from around the world can experience it. I'm ready for a return visit! Thank you to Sawyer and everyone at Echizen Washi!
Craftsmanship
Mary S,,Mar 28, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00The out if way knife- making area and tour is well worth the side trip from Fukui. Driving to the destination would be the easiest way to arrive but we enjoyed our 35 minutes walk from Oshio train station that led us through rice fields and short walk along a road. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and translated the explanations from the local factory employees very well. We especially liked the craftsmanship at the knife handle making factory and watching the machines finalize the blades. My husband said it was his favorite tour so far.
Echizen Knife Tour
bluedude80,,Mar 25, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00With a history that goes back 700+ years, this was a such an incredible and rare look into how Echizen knives are made from the handle to the steel knife itself. Sawyer was a great guide and translator to the knife makers, even able to translate some harder questions form English that I had for them. Highly recommend to others.
Fantastic experience on learning knife making process and the different types of knives
Journey49093304608,,Dec 16, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00It was an eye-opening experience to see many different types of knives and the guides have been excellent in English so it was not too difficult to communicate. The knives there look very exquisite and if you have the money, I will highly recommend to buy the knives there. Thanks
Truly unique and exceptional tour!
Ellie M,,Apr 7, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00An absolutely fantastic experience! The tour was very interesting and informative, and it was great to be able to see the process behind making the beautiful knives, as well as learning a bit about the history of knife making in the area. They are true experts of their craft, and every detail is meticulously thought out and perfected, from blade to handle to the final product. We were also able to speak directly to each of the craftsmen and artisans, which truly set this experience apart from any others we have had before. I also cannot speak highly enough of our wonderful guides. They made sure we were well looked after before and during the tour, and went above and beyond to ensure we made it back to our final destination as smoothly as possible. There was also an excellent translator available so we could ask as many questions as we wanted. All in all, a fantastic experience that I would highly recommend to anyone!
Truly unique and exceptional tour!
elliemU8955RA,,Apr 5, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00An absolutely fantastic experience! The tour was very interesting and informative, and it was great to be able to see the process behind making the beautiful knives, as well as learning a bit about the history of knife making in the area. They are true experts of their craft, and every detail is meticulously thought out and perfected, from blade to handle to the final product. We were also able to speak directly to each of the craftsmen and artisans, which truly set this experience apart from any others we have had before. I also cannot speak highly enough of our wonderful guides. They made sure we were well looked after before and during the tour, and went above and beyond to ensure we made it back to our final destination as smoothly as possible. There was also an excellent translator available so we could ask as many questions as we wanted. All in all, a fantastic experience that I would highly recommend to anyone!
Hidden Gem, Exceptional Staff!
P819KPjonathanw,,Feb 23, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This is an amazing experience, and worth the trip out to this area in Fukui! I usually never leave online reviews, but this just such an incredible tour. Seeing knife and handle manufacturing was definitely one of the highlights of our trip to Japan. Eri was our coordinator, and everything went smoothly. She helped with transportation as well as even above and beyond with portions of our trip after this experience. Having an english translator was also crucially important in this area. So grateful to have such a helpful staff! Thank you!
Highly recommended!
Rueykablooey,,Feb 16, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00What an amazing experience! We were well looked after by Yoshie-san (our guide & interpreter) and Eri-san and Hibiki-san from Craft Invitation/SOE. To start off, we had a short introduction to the history of knife-making in the building belonging to Echizen Knifemakers' Association. From there, we visited Etoe/Yamaken, a studio and mill factory belonging to Takuya & Yuma Yamamoto. The lovely couple specialise in crafting knife handles, some of which have beautiful lacquer art drawn by Yuma-san herself. Takuya-san enthusiastically talked us through the entire woodworking process and showed us the wood blocks which he sourced from around the world. We rounded off our tour with a visit to Ryusen Hamono's showroom and forge. The chairman himself, Mr Koji Masutani, proudly showed us around. It was cool to see their master craftsmen at work, two of whom are over 80 years old and still going strong! Koji-san finished off by giving us a tutorial on how to sharpen knives at home and we headed back to their showroom to have a go at chopping some vegetables with their knives. All in all, a great experience and we were super proud to be everyone's first Malaysian guests. Obviously there was some excited photo-taking all around to commemorate the occasion. Thank you Craft Invitation for a wonderful and memorable experience; we will cherish this for a long time! (^_^)
Outstanding Knifemaking Tour - Near Kyoto by Train
danfR9139BP,,Nov 24, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was a truly outstanding tour and was one of the highlights of our trip to Japan. Our tour guide Taiga Ishibashi was extremely attentive and kept in contact with us before and after (we bought some knives, and he helped us get them back to the US). Echizen is a small town that you can reach by Shinkansen from Kyoto in about 1 hour 30 minutes (including the taxi from Takefu station, which is specially priced at 500 yen each way). Because we were on our way from Kyoto to to spend time in Kanazawa, we had some luggage with us, and Taiga helped us store for a few hours while we did the tour. The benefits of a private tour like this are remarkable. We were able to spend time with the founders/company heads for knife-making and handle-making businesses that have been around for generations. We had personal discussions and were shown custom equipment and techniques that were developed by and for these artisans. We were even offered the opportunity to operate some of the equipment and were taught how to properly use a whetstone by the President of an internationally known knife company. This tour company and their guides and staff are professionals who care about the customer experience, and they are well connected in this craft community, because they were able to give us an insiders' view of these operations. Bravo!! Highly recommended!!
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Operated by Craft Invitation