Category: Photography & Travel

  • Hayakawa Hamonoten 早川刃物店 knife sharpeners in Kyoto

    Hayakawa Hamonoten 早川刃物店 knife sharpeners in Kyoto


    In 2019 I visited Kyoto with a goal to purchase a better さばき包丁 (sabaki knife) for fish and some veggie use. I’ve been to a few houchou artisans in Kyoto and wanted to try somewhere different. After visiting several and being mostly ignored, one guy had a friendly customer approach and we got chatting.

    Their business has been running for around 120 years and has passed through 4 generations. Hayakawa Hamonoten are not knife and scissor manufacturers, but sharpeners. If you purchase your knife your customer experience starts with questioning. Yes, a detailed understanding of customer needs. So many businesses forget how to do this to the point that the customer wants to advocate.

    “What will you use your knife for? How often, what kind of a lifetime do you want, where will you use it, is it a multipurpose and how much effort will you put into maintenance?” These are just some of the questions I was asked as I was guided along the conversation and arrived at the end feeling like I was purchasing a Maserati.

    It was raining and I had in mind a quick purchase and a plan to zip off to a cafe around the corner I’d spied that had a fireplace. But the owner’s passion for the craft, made the hour stay a privileged learning experience. Knife materials, widths and the purpose of blade angles were some of my lessons. Explanations to questions were patient, happy and humbled in the way only decades of experience can provide.

    Hamonoten, like many life sharpeners in Kyoto, engrave your name into the blade along with the founders name – Nobuhisa. Personalisation. There is something very special about old school physical personalisation of a product you purchase.

    It was the end of the day and near their closing time so I casually mentioned I was leaving Kyoto and wouldn’t be back soon, expecting the result would be a postage option the next day. But customer service – “head off to the cafe, take my umbrella and I’ll finish it for you”. One hour pst closing time, I received my knife. He’d stayed back working on the grinder just for me.

    Customer experience. 

    • Gather a true understanding of the customer’s needs.
    • Deliver an amazing product and service through passion.
    • Work every angle, so every single customer walks out happy and an advocate.

    I took my new knife on every fishing trip. Rave about it, recommend the place of purchase and tell the story. 

    Unfortunately in 2024 my car was broken into by some lowlives and this knife was stolen. I’ll return to Hamonoten soon to purchase again. Lifetime customer. 

    Hamonoten is 5 star rated – read the reviews and you can see the long term advocacy and volume of repeat business they have gathered over time. Trip Avisor – 5 star rating Facebook – 5 star rating

  • Kotouen (小陶苑) a beautiful pottery gallery and tea ceremony classroom Arashiyama, Japan

    Kotouen (小陶苑) a beautiful pottery gallery and tea ceremony classroom Arashiyama, Japan


    Kotouen (小陶苑)     is a beautiful pottery gallery and tea ceremony classroom in the heart of Arashiyama, Japan. I visited the couple who’ve run it for over 50 years, a business passed down from the owner’s father. The atmosphere was still and I didn’t want to leave. Sitting in the garden with beautiful hand-built pottery everywhere, I ended up chatting, drinking ocha mixed by the master and discussing the reasons why their business had continued for so long.

    With a nondescript entrance and a small sign, it didn’t appear to attract big numbers of customers the day I visited. Just a trickle of the right kind. The entrance opens up to a small garden with low table seating under the dappled maples. A slight breeze and dancing sunlight highlight the large ceramic pieces spotted around the garden. A hotel, small animals and interesting creatures, it was like sitting in a children’s storybook.

    The owner was kind enough to share his studio story and how he teaches ceramic classes while his partner teaches tea making (sado) lessons.

    For the lifespan of the business they’ve cultivated a loyal base of customers that advocate for them, and they’re service is extraordinary. In the two hours I spent there, I learnt of the business history, about their connections in Perth!, how the business has passed through the family generations and many of the stories behind some of the amazing hand-built pottery pieces. The centrepiece in the workshop is a small boy riding a large fish, made for the birth of their son.

    One of the reasons they explained for their continued success, is they value every customer and every moment they had to interact with them. This was a learning moment for me. Our time with each other is so precious.

    At Koutouen they put a very high value on each and every interaction they have with not just current customers – but also any new people who wander through and don’t purchase.

    Kotouen’s garden environment lends itself to a pace slow down and an interesting conversation. In a fear-based work environment, we’re in survival mode. Each and every interaction with work colleagues or clients is an opportunity to learn something and it may be something small, but may last a lifetime.

    In Japan there’s a saying used often in business, sa-bisu gokoro (サービス心) – service mind. It’s the real desire to understand what a customer desires and leave them satisfied, happy and wanting to advocate as they walk out the door or finish using your service. It requires a focused effort on the customer, their needs and how we can meet, exceed and ultimately delight them. At Kotouen, their personal service comes from a real desire to make each person happy with their purchase and experience.

    It’s up to us all to make a safe workplace and culture where we all have the capacity to focus and genuinely want to provide an amazing service or product.

    The rabbit, well that was a final present from Kotouen as I left and serves as my reminder of this lesson at home each day.

  • The salt pans near Newdegate-Ravensthorpe

    The salt pans near Newdegate-Ravensthorpe

    I was fortunate to have some time to get the drone airborne over the salt pans near Newdegate in WA, search up Lake Grace to find them. It’s the end of January and a 40c degree day, super hot and dry. 

    I made the poor choice (yes, I’ve made this mistake before) of stepping out onto the set pan. Beware, the crust is thin and underneath is super heated salt water. And yes, if you’re wearing thongs, it will burn you. Do not drive into them, I mean who would right. 

    Anyway the pans are stunning and the birds eye view is amazing, even with the red stripes of the roads cut right through the middle. 

    art are available in the gift store.