Shoichi Hashimoto calls himself a “Modelling Knifemaker” (造形刃物作家). At first you might wonder WTH does this mean, but once you go through some of his work, it suddenly makes perfect sense: Shoichi is an artist, a sculptor, and a knifemaker. Shoichi always design his work from scratch, then makes all the niecessary components, forges the Damascus steel himself and even sharpen the knife: a 100% one-man work.
This blog entry introduce some of Shoichi's super cool work.
When buying a knife with a saya, the saya often comes bigger and requires a pin to stop the knife from falling out. This post shows you how to make the saya friction fit.
It’s a question on everyone’s mind when choosing between knives that would serve the same purpose in the kitchen. Two knives might seem practically indistinguishable especially to a first-time buyer, and it’s honestly difficult when you don’t particularly know what might set them apart from each other. If that’s you, hopefully this post might be able to introduce you to a very important consideration when comparing knives - balance.
Nothing can beat a Sushi dinner, and this time my partner Kyo brought me to his favorite restaurant: Sushi-Sen (鮨千).
Just like any other great sushi restaurants in Japan, Sushi-Sen has only a few bar seats, has a sole chef and a couple of helping hands. Chef Sen-san (that is how patrons call him) mostly makes Nigiri sushi, but does have other dishes as well, such as shrimp miso soup (Okay, it is the best that I can describe this delicious soup).
After visiting Tanaka in Miki, we visited the Church of the Wind by Tadao Ando on the way to Nishinomiya. Tadao Ando is a very influential architect of modern Japan, you can see his unique style everywhere in Japan if you pay attention. It is located on the hilltop of the Mt. Rokko, and IMO worth a visit if you are around Kobe area.
The second day in Osaka we vistied Miki in Hyogo prefecture. There is a super interesting speciality hardware store in Miki, and visiting Shigeki is always cosy.
I have to travel a lot, and often with one way tickets and last minute change-of-plan. This post shows you how to save money on air tickets with the help of airline's frequenty flyer program.