Chopsticks
Chopsticks are the quintessential utensil for any Japanese meal. They are personal as well, since many Japanese use their own individual set of chopsticks at home during mealtime. It's easy to customize the size, material, decoration, and finishes to suit individual tastes and needs. Choices like natural wood, hand-carved, hand-painted, and lacquered make chopsticks highly collectible and a great gift.
Wakasa Lacquerware
Wakasa lacquer ware has a 400-year history, stemming from Fukui Prefecture - circling the city of Obama. The stunning patterns and hand-painted motifs are made by painstakingly coating items with multiple layers of lacquer, and each piece is then carefully polished and finished by the skilled artists creating the work. Wakasa’s lacquer artisans are most famous for producing distinctive patterns reminiscent of the seafloor, often laboriously inlaid with bits of shell and mother of pearl. Even the smallest Wakasa lacquerware items (such as chopsticks) can take up to 6 months to finish due to the time-consuming process used to produce them. The final result of Wakasa lacquer work is a smooth-to-the-touch finish that offers a lifetime of durability.