An iconic, long-established cookware shop near Tokyo's Asakusa district will soon expand to another of the world's culinary capitals. Kama-asa, which boasts a 110-year history, plans to open its first overseas outlet in Paris' Saint-German-des-Pres district on May 14 in hopes of conveying the quality of Japanese cooking utensils.
As more foreigners visit Japan, Tokyo's Kappabashi Dogu-gai shopping street has become popular with visitors as they can examine and purchase a variety of cooking utensils. Kama-asa has become especially popular due to its large selection of utensils made by skilled craftsmen from around the nation. Chefs from famous overseas restaurants are among the clientele who purchase knives at the shop.
Kama-asa's popularity has translated into strong earnings, as sales to foreign customers from April to December rose about 15 percent from the same period the previous year. During that same period, the number of foreign customers rose about 20 percent year-on-year.
Amid the worldwide popularity of Japanese cuisine, Kama-asa has moved to strengthen its overseas profile. It opened temporary shops at galleries and other events in Paris on five occasions from 2014 to 2017. The shops conducted workshops that were immensely popular, as visitors learned the backgrounds of various utensils and how to sharpen knives. Such activities yielded benefits with more than 20 Japanese restaurants and other businesses in Paris currently doing business with Kama-asa.
The new shop in Paris will initially sell about 280 products and about 130 types of cookware. Along with Western and internationally popular Japanese knives, it plans to to sell a wide range of products including Nambu ironware, chargrilling tables, scrubbing brushes and cutting boards. The shop aims to attract both professional chefs and everyday people who love cooking. "We would like to demonstrate the quality of Japanese cooking tools in our own words," said Daisuke Kumazawa, 43, Kama-asa's fourth-generation owner and president, in an interview with The Japan News on Wednesday.
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