The making of 300 years in the making...

Day 1266:

Not to give too much away...

We first started with the filming of forging...

With master forger Yoshikazu Ikeda.

Then took a lunch break at the most popular ramen shop in Sakai--Menza Gin (麺座ぎん).

Which is known for their tsukemen.

But I was in the mood for ramen.

Surprisingly, it was better than most tonkotsu-gyokai shops that I've eaten at in Tokyo.

That would explain the high ranking.

Then it was back to filming.

Next up was the art of blade sharpening...

With master sharpener Shunichi Tahara.

Viola!

And of course we couldn't call it a day without some good food.

Thanks to everyone who made this happen!!

Unfortunately our funding fell short of its goal. But we will try again. This is too good of a story not to be told. A big thanks to all that contributed and I hope you will be so gracious again when we start it back up. Stay tuned!

Back to Sakai...

Day 1265:

I woke up early to catch the first bullet train out of Tokyo. Okay so maybe it wasn't the first, but it was still pretty darn early.

Hello Sakai!

So you might be wondering why I'm back. Well if you recall, I was here a couple weeks ago with my friend Will Shear and after posting several pics of us making knives on my blog, my friend Kris Brearton wanted to make a film about them. So without hesitation I set us up for another visit to intimately film and interview the skilled craftsmen of Japanese bladesmithing.

Being that it was Sunday and that everywhere would be closed, we did a quick browse of the Sakai Hamono Museum...

Said hello to Big Bro Ikeda-san...

Ate tsukemen at a local shop called Tamon (つけ麺 鉄餃子 多聞)...

And then spent the rest of the day in Kobe. Akashi to be exact.

Why Akashi? Well Ueyama-san and his family invited Kris and I to take a tour of their hometown.

And it was amazing!

Thank you Maho, Saho, and Ueyama-san!!!

I think I really like Kobe.

I definitely wouldn't mind living here someday.

Bladesmithing day two...

Day 1246:

Day two would begin in the afternoon.

So we spent the day strolling around Sakai.

Hangin' at the Sakai Hamono Museum.

For lunch we wandered into Chuuka Hourai (宝来).

A gem of a find.

With a shio-flavored Gomoku Soba that was incredible.

And now we begin day two...with master sharpener Tahara-san.

I don't have any words to describe this so please just check out the pics.

Amazing!!

Thank you Tahara-san and Ikeda-san!! And also Yamanaka-san and Will for making this happen!

Time for some food and drinks!

Otsukare!!

炙りや やっすん！

Thank you Sakai!!!!

But before we go I need to check out Ryukishin (龍旗信 堺本店).

Shio Ramen.

Ryukishin once collabo'd with Jiraigen on an instant ramen. It was nice but it felt a little bit too manufactured. Whatever that means.

Once again, thank you Sakai!!!