Hey! Niche question here.
I’m moving to Japan in a few months.
I love woodworking. I’ll have access to a woodshop (I’m aware, I won’t have space for a whole personal woodshop of my own…)
In the US, I have a fair idea of what woods I can get, and at what prices.
I’m not hung up on “I NEED rock maple from Maryland, and nothing but western red cedar will ever satisfy!” Hahaha. Funny how black walnut is ‘exotic’ where I live now, and literally firewood where I grew up.
Not super picky, but i do love my tropical hard woods, my rosewoods and mahoganies in those families.
How is the availability of exotic lumbers in Japan, specifically near Tokyo? My impression is Japan has a woodworking culture, so I am optimistic lumber imports will be very available.
I might be really surprised and impressed with the selection
But, if exotic lumber sellers just arent a thing, I’m seriously tempted to include a few dozen board feet of my favorite timbers to ship with my furniture before I leave!
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You can definitely ***get*** the more exotic lumbers in Japan. I’m also a hobbyist woodworker, and I work out of the corner of the local furniture-maker’s shop. He’s got giant piles of mahogany. Not as much rosewood, but that may just be his preference.
I’ve managed to source a fair amount of different tropical varieties myself. So they’re definitely available. *How* available depends on a lot of factors. If you’re buying from “consumer” sources, it can be a bit tricky, and hella expensive. The large hardwood stores you find in the States definitely aren’t a thing here. You’ll need to source from the “professional” distributors if you want decent selection and/or pricing.
It’s not like you need a secret club membership though. There’s no “Find Taro-san at the ramen shop by Miyagi station between 8PM and 8:37PM”. But at the same time, if you don’t speak Japanese it can be a bit tricky. Most of the lumber distributors I know of don’t really advertise, and they’re not really findable with an English google search.