Thanks Pete!
Great info. I will look into the links.
Who knew knife shopping in Japan would require so much homework 
I’m told Kama asa is the place chefs go when they visit japan.
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Indeed - it’s like anything that is crafted and if you’re spending big $, it’s good to be informed about the materials so you can be confident in your purchase and love it for years. It can be overwhelming and best to not be first introduced while in a shop staring wide-eyed at the beautiful knives.
IMO, it all comes down to what feels good in your hand and knowing what it’ll be used for and what care you’re willing to put into it.
I was told while shopping there that the Japanese style handles can eventually become detached, thus why I purchased western style handles. But if the Japanese style handle feels best to you, get that.
Lastly - you should understand the difference between ‘stamped’ vs ‘forged’ blades. I prefer forged blades b/c I like the weight in-hand (exception was the Victorinox stamped bread knife). As a former pro-chef in the 1980s/1990s, I always purchased Wustoff and Victorinox knives - I still have several of them still in use and they still work very well.
I agree w/ MChang that Kama Asa is popular with pro-chefs and they had some beautiful products that were pricey. Great staff and they are all very well informed - same with all the shops we visited.
You are doing it wrong if you go to Japan and buy a stamped blade. (I mean, you didn’t, but you did mention them.)
Few more comments re. carbon v. stainless v. so called “super” steels (ZDP189, HAP40 etc).
Carbon is generally much easier to sharpen, some of the super steels (especially ZDP189) really needs diamond stones. This is not for someone unless you are 100% dedicated on learning good sharpening on stones, or you have a good sharpener you use.
NEVER use these dumb mail-in services that will happily destroy your blade by grinding them. Never.
Carbon steel often feels heavier affecting the balance, a long carbon Gyuto might not be comfortable for some. So it’s always worth trying it out.
And the Japanese handles, they don’t really become detached unless you let them sit wet, and if they do, they are cheap to reattach. Not an issue, buy what fits your hand better.
Japanese knives are generally lighter and thinner than German knives. You do want a good German gyuto in your drawer too. Generally Japanese gyutos aren’t meant for heavy duty chopping (things like frozen stuff, cutting through bones, chocolate from fridge and so on), whereas German ones are more robust. Obviously there are Japanese knives that are suitable for that purpose too, but if you’re looking for a single purpose hero, you should remember the scope of Japanese knives.
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I went on the three sites, and all have some beautiful knives, although a good number are out of stock.
Question: Other than getting a feel for the handle, weight, balance, etc., I assume another advantage is more selections in store vs. what is available to purchase online?
Youll always see large number of knives out of stock. Production is small. Usually you can put your name on a waitlist.
That sounds normal and I believe you’ll see more in-stock in the physical store because I don’t think they stay on top of managing inventory on their website.
That’s why it’s good to shop on Kappabashi Street as there are multiple knife shops there. One thing I would recommend is to verify that the knife was completely “made in Japan” , not just “finished” in Japan. I recall some shop telling me that some knives sold in Japan are physically made in other countries, but because they are “finished” in Japan, they can call them Japanese knives.
Again, if it were me spending $500+ on a single knife, I’d want to know provenance.
Mikko made some great points in that Japanese knives are not complete all-rounders, meaning you should not use a Guyto for hacking through chicken bones or frozen spinach. Definitely tell the shop sales person how you will use the knife so they can guide you. If you’re not going to do your own sharpening, find someone local who you trust to do it - agree to not use the mail-in offers for this.
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Have knife prices jumped recently? I have plenty of knives so no longer look but got an email today from a shop that I purchased one knife from and was shocked at the prices. Did about 5 minutes of searching and from what I remember seems prices have increased for most of what I checked but honestly I no longer trust my memory.
I highly recommend Tsubaya in Kappabashi. They have a lot of unique knives (many of which do not make it to their website). I think I have 4 or 5 different knives from there.
Last trip I visited a store called Kappabashi knife gallery (https://maps.app.goo.gl/cwtC3Z1Jn9yw3CbGA) and bought two knives and they’ve been exceptional. It’s a bit of a weird store (they make you pay a 500 yen entry fee to discourage tourists) but the knives are incredibly unique. Their specialty is a hammered cherry blossom look. They also allow you to choose different handles for your knife.
I prefer the santoku blade for most of my general kitchen use, but many also prefer the western chefs knife. There’s a lot of other blades for specific uses (sushi knives etc). Also I’ve never shipped a knife, I always check them on my flight home. Usually along with some whiskey finds and lots of Japanese snacks.
Also some knife stores participate in tax free and some do not, so worth asking and bringing your passport.
Pics of some cherry blossom knives from Kappabashi Knife gallery below. I went with the large santoku and upgraded the handle for an extra $100, I think it was like $600 all in.
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LMAO. This is EXACTLY what I did. Checked bag with a knife, whiskey and Japanese snacks. 
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Gorgeous knives. It’s on the list. At some point, I will need to narrow locations, as my wife likely will not want to spend hours knife shopping, although my three boys will. I am heavily leaning towards a santuko blade because the use will mainly be slicing steaks. Just need to figure out ideal length of blade.
While the rest of my family may feel differently, knife shopping (and buying), along with food, will be my highlights.
wow this knife is amazing!
I’m not sure I like those cherry blossom knives but I get the appeal and they are unique.
I lol’d for “my wife likely will not want to spend hours knife shopping”! That’s why doing research ahead is so worth it because on Kappabashi Street there are many knife shops and it’s like being a kid in a candy store 
This thread is over a year old, but is a helpful reference to see even more knife shops to help narrow it down - https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueChefKnives/comments/167m872/tokyo_knife_shops_a_guide/
When I worked as a chef years ago, my preferred chef knife blade length was 10" - as a home chef, I like 8" or 6" (have both) and it depends on what I’m doing. It all comes down to what feels best in your hand and your comfort with blade length.
Kappabashi Street is a pretty amazing place to visit and very easy to get distracted. I believe it’s where many restaurant owners shop and they will have everything from dishes, brushes, chopsticks, chopstick holders, tabletop accessories, groceries, etc.
Be aware that the hours of most shops in Kappabashi area are roughly 10AM - 5PM.
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We had a wonderful experience at Kama Asa…highly recommended! Wonderful selection and they really work with you to determine the exact knife (knives) you need.
Cheers!
Marshall
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Ended up getting a 210 mm Gyuto from Tsubaya. Picture does not do it justice. A beautiful knife that just feels right in terms of fit in hand and weight. The blade is ZDP-189 and made by Osamu Yoshida. I also visited Kama Asa and Seisuke Knife. It sure was fun shopping for knives, but hard choices.
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That’s pretty!
Gorgeous knife! I have an sg2 blade (Shibata Kotetsu) and absolutely love it - keeps an edge probably twice as long as my previous vg10 blades. I’ve read zdp is trickier to sharpen but have no personal use with it. There’s a lot of talk out there how super steels are harder to sharpen but I haven’t had much issue and I’m definitely an amateur on the stones
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Thanks Adam and Zach.
There is a really good knife sharpener, who works out of his garage, right near me, so no need for me to try and sharpen this myself. From what I read and heard about the ZDP-189, there should be long intervals between sharpening.
The store had two knives to choose from and the person cut paper with both knives as part of the decision process. Boys thought that was pretty cool. My wife not so much ;-).
Beautiful knife!