Crafted with Care – Discover 17 of the Best Japanese Wooden Kitchen Tools

Japanese culture is renowned for its emphasis on craftsmanship, attention to detail, and the use of natural materials. When it comes to kitchen products, the Japanese have perfected the art of creating unique and functional items from wood. These wooden kitchen products not only showcase the beauty of natural materials but also offer practicality and durability. In this article, we’ll explore a collection of beautiful Japanese wooden kitchen products that enhance your culinary experience and bring a touch of elegance to your cooking space. 

From vegetable peelers to cutting boards, sake cups to bento boxes, these items embody the essence of Japanese craftsmanship while providing functionality in the kitchen. Read on to dive into the world of unique Japanese wooden kitchen products!

Japanese Wooden Utensils for Preparing Vegetables

Kinpirakun Wooden Japanese Vegetable Julienne Peeler

This peeler is designed to finely peel vegetables into a julienne shape and features a magnolia handle to provide an elegant, yet sturdy finish, and effective stainless-steel blade similar to a kitchen knife. This peeler is perfect for any recipes that call for julienned veggies or Japanese-style kinpira dishes.

Wooden Japanese Wasabi Oroshi Grater & Paddle

Save time in the kitchen with this stylish wooden Wasabi Grater, designed to effortlessly grate fresh wasabi into a paste. It can also be used to grate ginger or garlic into a paste too. This product contains a stainless-steel grate to effectively grate vegetables and features a strong and supportive handle.

Itamaesan Wooden Japanese Vegetable Skin Peeler

Enhance your vegetable peeling experience with this Vegetable Skin Peeler, skilfully crafted from premium wood. This handy tool effortlessly removes the peel from a variety of vegetables and features a sleek magnolia handle for a more controlled grip and precise peel.

This peeler is equipped with a high-quality stainless-steel blade that glides through tough vegetable skins such as daikon and carrot and is a must-have addition to your culinary toolkit.

Japanese Wooden Cutting Boards

Umezawa Round Hinoki Cutting Board

Experience the exceptional qualities of Aomori Hiba wood with this round cutting board crafted from this unique variety of hinoki cypress. This type of wood is renowned for its versatility in kitchen tools and this board embodies the perfect blend of functionality and natural beauty.

Available in three sizes - Small, Medium, and Large, each size ensures ample surface area for effortless food preparation and slicing. Hiba wood is known for its exceptional durability, so you can be assured this cutting board stands up to heavy use with ease. Its remarkable strength and toughness make it ideal to use for both amateur cooks and professional chefs.

Hasegawa Antibacterial Wood Core Rubber Layered Cutting Board

This antibacterial rubber cutting board from Hasegawa features a wooden center and keeps knives sharp for longer because the rubber cushion absorbs the blows of the knife. This versatile cutting board is available in two sizes, medium and large, and is suitable for any of your cutting needs, but it is particularly recommended for cutting ingredients like sashimi or thinly sliced meats. Along with being antibacterial, this cutting board is extremely easy to clean and is less likely to wobble around while using it compared to other cutting boards.

Shimanto Hinoki Cypress Bread Cutting Board

This cleverly designed bread cutting board is made from high-quality Japanese cypress from Shimanto, a rural area of Japan famous for its natural surroundings and beautiful hinoki forest.

Shimanto hinoki features greater antibacterial properties than other types of wood and has a unique aroma. This product’s unique design makes it multifunctional, acting as both a cutting board and a tray that collects breadcrumbs – saving you time on clearing up any mess left behind. 

Japanese Wooden Cooking Utensils

Umezawa Sawara Cypress Hangiri (Wooden Sushi Oke Bowl)

This beautifully crafted Sushi Oke or Hangiri Bowl, is an essential Japanese cookware item for correctly preparing sushi rice. The characteristics of the wood and the wide shape of the bowl quickly cool the hot rice and remove any excess water. You can use this product to make perfect sushi rice every time by mixing boiled rice with sushi vinegar directly in the bowl.

The wood used as the base material of this hangiri is from over 200-year-old natural sawara: a kind of Japanese cypress that is known for its excellent moisture resistance, hardness, and quick drying. Sawara cypress is specifically used for its resistance to mold, rot, insect infestation, and resilience to warping.

The inner surface of the wooden barrel is manually shaved by professional artisans with a plane instead of sandpaper so that the wood maintains its toughness and waterproof quality.

You can also purchase the Umezawa Sawara Cypress Lid, designed for use with this hangiri bowl and useful when temporarily storing cooked rice to prevent it from drying out.

Umezawa Hinoki Japanese Cypress Wood Rice Scoop

This special hand-crafted rice scoop is made by Umezawa, a small woodworking business located in Japan’s Mie Prefecture, at the heart of famous timber-producing regions. The Umezawa rice scoop is made from hinoki wood or Japanese cypress as it is more commonly known in English. 

Its clever design features a unique curved, three-dimensional shape that allows for easy rice scooping and a comfortable grip. There are several advantages of using a wooden rice scoop over a plastic one, including not cutting the rice grains or damaging the rice cooker.

Wooden Spaghetti Spoon Natural Wood Pasta Server 

This unusually designed wooden spaghetti spoon features teeth which work to easily catch and hold more spaghetti with each scoop when serving it. The natural wood pasta server is the perfect gift item for any home cooks or pasta fans!

Natural Bamboo Kitchen Turner Japanese Wooden Spatula

This glossy and stylish bamboo turner functions as a staple kitchen gadget regardless of what you are cooking. More attractive than a typical stainless-steel spatula or other wooden versions thanks to its carefully polished surface, this handy kitchen utensil is sure to serve you well as a general cooking utensil in addition to sprucing up your kitchen. 

Natural Bamboo Sushi Rolling Mat

This authentic made in Japan bamboo sushi rolling mat is the perfect tool for preparing delicious makizushi sushi rolls. This 24cm mat is made of all-natural polished bamboo, perfect for rolling sushi with precision and accuracy. The mat can also be used for cooling down hot food or draining tofu.

Japanese Wooden Tableware

Umezawa Hinoki Cypress Masu Cup

This traditional square-shaped sake cup, known as masu in Japanese, is made from hinoki cypress wood which has excellent antibacterial effects and a pleasant woody aroma. Masu are often used in Japanese celebratory events such as weddings and birthdays where it is common to place a glass cup inside and pour sake until it overflows into the wooden masu as a symbol of goodwill from the person serving.

Noda Horo Enamel Butter Dish with Wooden Lid

This stylish and minimalist designed butter dish features a beautiful enamel dish paired with an aesthetically pleasing smooth wooden lid and is a perfect example of functionality that meets good design. 

The enamel dish is ideal for storing butter thanks to its high capacity for cooling and resistance to corrosion and can store up to 200g of butter despite its compact size. The wooden lid also doubles up as a handy chopping board to cut the butter. For those looking for a bigger size option, a 450g size of this butter dish is also available. 

Japanese Wooden Matcha Utensils

Chashaku Japanese Bamboo Ladle for Matcha Powder

This bamboo ladle known as a chashaku in Japanese is designed for scooping matcha powder and is a standard tool within the Japanese tea ceremony. Bamboo is more durable than other types of wood and is better than using a metallic spoon as it does not generate static electricity. The ladle’s design also features a slight curve to allow for easy scooping of the matcha powder. 

Chasen Japanese Matcha Bamboo Whisk 

This hand-crafted chasen is a traditional bamboo whisk designed for stirring matcha to make a frothy beverage. Chasen is a must-have tool for the Japanese tea ceremony. During the tea ceremony, the chasen is used to whisk the powdered matcha and hot water together. This process requires skill and precision to achieve the desired results.

The chasen is not only a functional tool but also holds symbolic significance in the tea ceremony. It represents the connection between the host and the guest, as well as the transient and delicate nature of the tea ceremony itself. 

Other Japanese Wooden Kitchen Products

Hakoya Hinoki Plastic Bento Box

The Hinokinopla Bento Box is an eco-friendly Japanese lunch box made from a combination of Japanese hinoki cypress and plastic. Hinoki cypress has excellent anti-bacterial properties so it is an ideal material for a bento box, however when used on its own it cannot be microwaved. 

The manufacturer Hakoya has solved this problem by creating a new material combining real hinoki cypress wood with plastic to create a microwavable Japanese lunch box that combines the natural antibacterial effect of hinoki cypress with the durability of plastic.

Bamboo Cleaning Whisk Pot Scrubber

This whisk made from natural bamboo is designed for removing scorches from the surface of iron pans, pots, and woks. It is recommended that for certain types of Chinese cooking pans or woks that it’s better to clean them without using dish soap – so this product allows the dirt to be removed from the pan without stripping away the iron qualities. 

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