The 2011 Miki Hardware Festival

Miki is really only famous for one thing: tool production. So the Miki Hardware Festival is the biggest event of the year and supposedly draws thousands from around the prefecture. Since moving here, I have been on the lookout for a Japanese hatchet. Several years ago, outdoor brand Snowpeak started carrying some, and I was intrigued by how different such a common outdoor tool could be. Recently, a very cool company, Best Made Co., got on board the Japanese Hatchet train and also started carrying a handsome Japanese hunting knife. I was hoping the tool festival would be my chance to find a blade that I could carry forever.

I was disappointed. While there were countless tents selling tools, none of them seemed premium. There was in fact only one tent selling premium hunting knives, but they didn’t really have any hatchets. The wares at every other tent were not so different from what I can get at the local hardware store.

In general, the festival had a fun, blue collar feel. We had a good time, ate some good food and bought some local vegetables. I still have my spending money, so maybe I’ll have to save a little longer for the Snow Peak or Best Made Co. hatchet. I love the idea of buying a quality tool that my kids might use some day.

Traditional blacksmithing demonstration