Value Village ／ Before you come to Japan

Buying a Japanese kitchen knife or ceramics: how do I get them home?

This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.

The answerKnives must travel in checked baggage — there is no exception for boxed or new blades — and Japan also regards a knife with a blade over 6 cm carried in public as an offence unless you have a "legitimate reason" such as carrying it home from the shop, so keep the receipt and the box sealed. Good knife shops wrap the blade in a saya (wooden sheath) or hard case and will ship internationally by EMS for ¥3,000–8,000, which for a valuable blade is the safest route. For ceramics, ask the shop to pack for shipping (they use double boxes), or carry them in hand luggage wrapped in clothing — never in a checked bag alone. Both can be bought tax-free; both count toward your home customs allowance.

Japanese kitchen knives and ceramics are two of the most-bought serious souvenirs, and both create airport problems: a knife cannot go in your hand luggage anywhere in the world, and a ¥30,000 Arita porcelain bowl does not survive a checked bag without planning. Shops in Japan are used to this and have solutions, if you know to ask.

Knives

ItemDetail
AviationNo knives of any size in hand luggage (Japan and worldwide). Checked baggage is fine, blade sheathed and wrapped. Boxed and receipted new knives are still refused at security
Carrying in JapanSwords and Firearms Control Law / Minor Offences Act: carrying a blade over 6 cm (kitchen knives included) without legitimate reason is an offence. Legitimate reason = taking a purchase home — keep the receipt and shop packaging sealed, go straight to the hotel
BuyingKappabashi (Tokyo), Sakai (Osaka), Seki (Gifu), Tsubame-Sanjō (Niigata), Echizen (Fukui). ¥8,000–20,000 for a good stainless-clad gyūtō or santoku; ¥30,000+ for carbon-steel or hand-forged
SteelStainless (VG-10, AUS-10): easy care. Carbon (shirogami, aogami): sharper, rusts if left wet — dry immediately. Damascus patterns are cosmetic
EngravingMany shops engrave your name in kanji or katakana for free, 10–20 minutes
ShippingEMS from the shop or a post office: roughly ¥4,000–8,000 for a 0.5–2 kg parcel to Europe/US, 3–7 days, insured up to ¥20,000 with extra cover available. Knives are allowed by post to most countries; check your country's import rules and current Japan Post restrictions for US-bound goods (US postal shipments of goods were disrupted from August 2025 by the end of duty-free de minimis entry) (e.g. Australia and the UK allow kitchen knives; some countries restrict blade length)
SharpeningBuy a whetstone (#1000 medium, #3000+ finish) with the knife; honing rods do not suit Japanese steel

Ceramics and glass

ItemDetail
PackingGood shops double-box with paper and bubble for travel on request ("hakobi yasui yō ni tsutsunde kudasai"). Say airplane (hikōki) and they'll pack harder
Where it goesHand luggage for anything you care about — checked bags are thrown. Weight limits (7–10 kg on most carriers' cabin bags) are the constraint
ShippingEMS or Yamato international; ¥5,000–15,000 for a 5 kg box to Europe/US; shop shipping usually includes insurance
RegionsArita/Imari (Saga, porcelain), Mino (Gifu), Seto (Aichi), Kutani (Ishikawa), Mashiko (Tochigi), Bizen (Okayama, unglazed), Karatsu, Hagi. Kappabashi and department stores stock all of them at fair prices
Lacquerware (urushi)Light and durable in transit, but not dishwasher-safe; some travellers' skin reacts to fresh lacquer for a few weeks
[Verify] Blade-length rule (6 cm) with the NPA; EMS prices and knife shipping restrictions with Japan Post and destination-country customs; 2026 tax-free changes with the NTA.

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Sources

https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/15_bf_000006.html

https://www.npa.go.jp/english/

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/ems/index_en.html

⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.

About this article

What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.

This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.

Please decide for yourself, using your own judgement, whether any of this suits your situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from following this article.

Rules and procedures change. Please confirm the latest official information before you act.

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