AusBonsai

Hi, I am a beginner and have absolutely no tools or products (only a watering can, some Seasol & Powerfeed, and some very basic pots). I have two fledgling bonsai and around half a dozen potensai in nursery pots.

Fortunately, my wife is Japanese and she has kindly agreed to purchase me some tools whilst home over the holidays.

I would much rather have a high quality basic set to start with than a "bunch of crap" set of everything, including tools that I don't even know how to use.

Does anyone have any suggestions of the best place and/or set to purchase in Japan (she is in the Kumamoto region in case that matters)? She will be there for a month so plenty of time to order to her family's home.

Also, any other products that are best to buy from Japan (eg due to price, limited availability here, etc)?

I only need basic stuff to help do beginner work on my trees (style, re-pot, etc) and keep them alive. I do not plan to do any jin/shari at this stage and there will be plenty of further opportunities for additional purchases in the future (once to twice a year). I might try some propagation, but that's about as adventurous as I can see me getting for a while.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi Sumo,

Do a search for Kaneshin in the search function (top right corner). I have bought directly from Japan via their website and I have no complaints with the products (excellent quality) or the service (equally as good).
Maybe buying direct in Japan might save you a few bucks, not sure, but either way I recommend these tools to you. Website below:

http://kaneshin.shop.multilingualcart.com/

Enjoy!

Thanks!

Is there anything else other than tools that's best to get from Japan/use Japanese brand?

I've never used Cut Paste but all the ones I've seen so far appear to be Japanese and I will need some.

Pots Sumo, pots. Any good quality Japanese pots are worth bringing back.

On a recent trip I found price in most bonsai nurseries in Tokyo and Osaka quite high. Not sure whether these were marked up for tourists...worth having someone with local knowledge may help with your bargaining. Good luck with your shopping spree..

Ended up getting a basic Kaneshin set and she also found another pair of bonsai scissors at a thrift shop for ¥1000. Unfortunately no pots but I'll suss that out when I'm over in November.

Out of interest, for those that ordered Kaneshin from Australia, were the instruction booklets and whatnot in English? I think my wife might have ordered from the Japanese site so everything is in Japanese.

Hi Sumo Savage,

Glad to hear you achieved a basic set of Kaneshin tools(lovely I believe) and Watto is right in saying pots,pots,pots - notwithstanding I started with a basic tool set off ebay and still have them and still use them and still look after them - I also purchased a set of Masakuni bud shears(small) and a set of Kikuwa 180mm shears - I love the Masakuni shears but I also love the Kikuwa shears and you know what neither of them work any better than the ebay set.

It reminds me of hearing someone say that they "recently purchased a new set of balanced and "fitted for me only" golf clubs but found out that they don't know any more about the game than the old ones did" - must be a lesson in here somewhere.

John(JP)
CBS

Sumo Savage wrote:Out of interest, for those that ordered Kaneshin from Australia, were the instruction booklets and whatnot in English? I think my wife might have ordered from the Japanese site so everything is in Japanese.

Everything I ever ordered from Kaneshin arrived with Japanese paperwork, except for the thankyou letter.