Trip Report--Tokyo Flyshops

[teter]

Thanks for this very insightful account of your visit to the two shops, and for your lovely description of the Japanese-made rods and how they fit into the culture. Like any good travel piece, it both provided information and whetted my appetite for going there.

[Flykuni3]

I once visited a coarse fishing shop in Japan, and their display of bobbers were astounding -- hundreds of them, in all shapes and sizes, beautifully crafted and painted. And they have a tradition of very long, multi-piece cane rods, and I mean lots of sections, put up in a fine silk bag. Lacquered, shiny, perfect whippings.

[fefferje]

Thank you Bret for that wonderful Japanese bamboo journey. The 2nd photo in the Tsuruya shop showed some really elegant metal fittings on the reel seats. Would you mind commenting on them? Do you know of any dealers here in the states that carry Japanese makers rods?? I have seen occasional offerings from dealers, but I wondered if anyone had multiple offerings. l look forward to your reflections on the rod you purchased and even the one arriving in 2020. I ‘d love to see more photos of the rod you purchased. Wonderful!!! Thank you! Jed

[wannabe]

I've seen pictures of those traditional multi-piece rods, Flykuni3. Gorgeous. I saw an article about them last year sometime (posted to this forum, perhaps?), where they were talking about the very long, involved apprenticeship process. Yamashiro also showed me one of the traditional Tenkara rods made of bamboo. 12 feet long, I believe. The butt sections were hollowed out and became the case for the tips. I think it was four pieces but it may have been more. Again, everything was done with such ingenious simplicity, with tremendous attention to every detail.

Jed, yes the metal work on the Kakuhiros is great. The rods pictured in those cases are all from Kakuhiro. The blue piece you see is just a paper price tag wrapped around the spacer. But the sliding bands and the butt cap all have a sort of round, fluidity to them. You can see in the pic from my rod the interesting knob on the end of the butt cap as well. I'll try to get some better pics from my rod and post them to show you more details.

Interestingly the Tokachi rod that I own also has really stunning metal work on the ferrules, ferrule plugs, reel seat, and winding check. You can see some photos of his rods on his site. His style is much more angular and clean in contrast to the bulbous, liquid shapes of the Kakuhiro.

I don't know about US dealers with regular offerings. Cdmoore and others may have a better sense. Jim Adams did have an arrangement to sell the Tokachi rods, but I think that ended (amicably) when Hashimoto began building for Scott Rods. At one point Bob Selb was a dealer for Akimaru rods, but I'm not sure if that is still in place. I don't see it listed on his site. Other than that, I've seen a few rods for sale here and there but don't know of any specific relationships. Perhaps others have more info.

Thanks for all the great comments.

Bret

[fefferje]

Thanks Bret. I appreciate your reply. Jed

[Flykuni3]

I can get NHK programs and watched two this week: one, on an incredible bamboo basketmaking craftsman, and the wonder of Japanese peach farming. It's very intensive, and the perfect fruit sells for astounding prices. I think $20 is a bargain price, and it goes up and up. They coddle their trees, stripping off nearly all buds, go through again, strip off smaller fruit on another pass, leaving one king fruit to mature. They hood them with paper, then lay reflective material under the damn tree to bounce sun onto the bottom of the fruit, which gives it a blush.

The basketmaking episode was like watching a cane craftsman -- guy farms the bamboo, picks the perfect stalk (3-4 years old I believe) then splits selected culms, creates exact strips (width and thickness critical), heats and bends to make basket, alternates dark and light strips, mounts brass hinge ("color will change over time," he says, which we know about). Result is a perfectly-made piece of practical art.

All are picked by hand, and carefully. No twisting, a straight pull downwards. The resulting fruits are larger than what we know in the States, blemish-free and far sweeter. Pricey.

[Kurzhaarguy]

Very informative. Do you have addresses for these shops?

[wannabe]

Pardon my delayed response.

Kurzhaarguy, the addresses are as follows (put these into a google-maps page and you'll find them):

Tsuruya: Japan, 〒111-0042 Tōkyō-to, Taitō-ku, Kotobuki, 1 Chome−5, 寿１丁目５−１
Hiranotsurigu: 4 Chome-12-9 Ukima, Kita-ku, Tōkyō-to 115-0051, Japan

Flykuni3: I'd love to get my hands (and mouth!) on one of those peaches, no? Sounds divine.

Jed, I'm posting a few pics of the Kakuhiro rod, with attention to the reel seat. You can see the acorn shaped butt cap, and the rounded lines of the cap and sliding band. I took the rod out for a first trip last week on a small brookie stream (second pic), and it was loads of fun to fish. Delicate and precise, but with a sharp, clean casting stroke. You can feel the Leonard influences, I'd say, but this is a quicker, sharper rod than the Leonards I've handled (which, admittedly, is not many). I haven't done a ton of small stream fishing, so the rod gives me a nice excuse to search out new water in my area. To help you get a sense of its size, the reel is a Flyweight. The grip is a diminutive 4 3/8". You'll also see a picture of the assembled ferrule, where the female has no welt.















Best,

Bret

[fefferje]

Thank you Bret for the close up shots of your Kakuhiro rod. It sounds like you are really enjoying it. Thanks again. You followed up on photos after quite a lot of passing time. Much appreciated. Jed

[Flykuni3]

Mmm schweet.

[snorider]

Well that is just beee-utiful! I love the graceful curved hardware.

[DUCKMANNM]

Can you tell us what kinds of flies they use in Japan? I've seen videos of trout fishing and carp fishing in Japan, but nothing showed the flies that much.

[adrien schnee]

I am brining this thread up in response to a member seeking more info in a post today on Eohemera regarding fly shops in Tokyo. Bret did a great job in reviewing a few for us!

[tabrods406]

One fly shop in Tokyo that's a must see is Blue Dun Fly Shop. They carry a nice collection of bamboo, particularly ones made in Japan plus any other items you could possibly need to fish in the area. If you do get there say hello to my friend Hisao Yamado and tell him Tom from 406 Fly Lines said to say hello.

One caution on looking at bamboo from american makers in Japan. These rods tend to carry a premium above buying them in this country, sometimes double the home price.

Tom

[Pitonboy]

Thanks for this thread. Maybe I will have something to post after my upcoming trip later this month

[wannabe]

Pitonboy,

Enjoy your trip, and do report back if you can. Curious to hear more about Blue Dun's selection if you make it there. As I spelled out earlier in the thread, I found the cane selections wonderful. If you have any need for a brookie net, don't buy one before you go. Unquestionably the most beautiful landing nets I've ever seen, though in sizes smaller than I typically need. Enjoy!

Bret

[ibookje]

Rather than starting a new topic I'll add my recent visit report to Tsuruya fly shop here.

I just returned from a trip to South Korea (visit my parents) and a short trip to Tokyo to meet up with a few Japanese fly fishing friends. I also visited the Tsuruya fly shop one afternoon. Mr. Yamashiro spoke quite good English. He told me this fly shop has been running for the past 90 (!) years.

As Bret mentioned earlier the fly shop is quite different than the typical fly shop in the US. More focused on vintage gear, both bamboo and fiberglass. Fly tying wasn't much but that was perfectly okay for me. I was especially glad to be able to see some rods built by Japanese makers.

The Kakuhiro rods blew me away. Being four piece they are amazingly light and the action was mind-blowing nice medium. I checked out out a 7ft #3 and a 7.3ft #4, and the 3 weight was my favorite for sure. At around $2,000 it wasn't something cheap.

Here are a few pictures:

If one wouldn't know, one would just pass this shop


The shop is quite small but filled with all kind of goodies


I really liked the tiny Japanese curved nets for Yamames


Some nice vintage reels




A nice row of rods. A few Wojnicki's, a Summers, Leonard, Edwards, T&T, Payne...


And some rods made by Japanese makers


And a few shop finished fiberglass rods as well


I told Mr. Yamashiro I preferred 3 piece rods for traveling ease and he came up with these...
Rods by the famous Japanese maker Kakuhiro!


From the book 'Mostly Bamboo' by Yuki Bando


And I get to wiggle the rods!


My Yamashiro allowed me to tie a Catskill dry fly


Thank you Mr. Yamashiro

[Flykuni3]

Wonderful to read through this great thread again. Thanks to all posters.

[rosc78]

Just to echo what many others have said--outstanding post!! Interesting for sure

[creakycane]

Great post. Wish there was a shop like that in my town/state/country? Very nice. For classic, tasteful American/Brit fly fishing kit, go to Tokyo!