10 Best Tried and True Japanese Cooking Chopsticks in 2022 (KAI, Hyozaemon, Pearl Metal, and More)

Kai's Stainless Steel Cooking Chopsticks Dh-7102 are made with stainless steel and ergonomically-shaped plastic handles for controlled grip and heat protection.

Though they can be a bit heavy, they are a great standard length, and their handles allow for great control for cooking and detailed work. Since the tips are textured with non-slip grooves, it was easy to pick up slippery noodles, Japanese fried chicken morsels of different shapes and sizes, and even small beans.

When we tested how easy it was to use the chopsticks to check the doneness of simmered food, we were impressed by how well the thinner tips could poke the food without breaking it apart. Its slight heaviness also didn't impede its ability to be used successfully for detailed plating and presenting. We recommend adding this very versatile chopstick to your collection of appliances!

Hyozaemon's share with Kurihara harumi Set of Three Pairs of Cooking Chopsticks is made in collaboration with Japanese culinary researcher Harumi Kurikhara. 

The three different cooking chopsticks each serve different purposes: the navy chopsticks, which have non-slip grooves at the tips, are for simmered dishes and noodles, and the brown chopsticks, which lack non-slip grooves, are for stir-frying. Finally, the green chopsticks, which have tapered tips and are shorter in length, are intended for plating.

While these cooking chopsticks look pretty simple and appear to lack any standout features, they were incredibly easy to use. Each pair of cooking chopsticks was light and felt great to hold, and offered a stable grip when picking up food.

The navy chopsticks were able to hold even a small amount of noodles, which is less grippy than when picking up a large number of noodles, as well as was able to pick up greasy fried chicken. We were also impressed by the green cooking chopsticks, which allowed us to pick up beans, proving its handling abilities.

Kai SELECT 100 stainless steel chopsticks are slightly longer than standard cooking chopsticks, at 13 inches or 33 centimeters. They're made of sturdy stainless steel and have a unique hexagonal handle that provides an excellent grip.

Since they're longer and heavier than your average cooking chopsticks, they do take a bit of getting used to. However, they're incredibly solid. Scooping out Japanese fried chicken from hot oil was no problem as we didn't have to worry about heat transferring or food slipping.

Though they may look a bit bulkier and industrial, the tips are heavily tapered and textured for non-slip abilities to accommodate detailed work, allowing us to quickly pierce potatoes to check how done they are, as well as allowed us to pick up slippery beans.

When plating and arranging food, we noticed that it's easier to maneuver when holding the chopsticks closer to the tips. Because the handles are longer, you're given the freedom to adjust your hand placement for various situations.

Fukui Craft's Cooking Sticks Saibashi are made of durable PBT resin, the same material often used to make toothbrush bristles. They offer seven different color options which mimic the colors of everyday fruits and vegetables. 

The tips didn't have non-slip grips, so they couldn't pick up noodles very well. Another notable disadvantage was that these chopsticks bent a bit when holding heavier food. For these reasons, our testers found it tiring to use these chopsticks for heavier foods.

However, the lightness and standard length of these cooking chopsticks allowed for easy handling of lighter foods. The tapered tips allowed us to pick up beans easily, and they were also easy to use to check the doneness of simmered food.

Yamaki's Nichinichidougo Chopsticks set of two are made of carefully selected bamboo that was sourced only during the fall and winter months. Since they don't have any added coating, you can enjoy the natural texture of bamboo with these chopsticks.

These standard-length chopsticks are light and fit comfortably in the hands, but because they don't come with non-slip grooves, picking up slippery noodles was a bit strenuous. Though it became tiring to pick up heavier foods with these, their tapered tips did allow for easier handling of Japanese fried chicken.

These chopsticks were the best at presenting and plating food. With the ability to pick up smaller beans with little force, their tapered tips could hold up and maneuver food as desired without slipping out or falling apart.

Kobo-Aizawa's Serving Chopsticks are made of bamboo and have square tips to improve grip. Unfortunately, we found that this didn't provide enough traction to pick up slippery noodles.

However, we liked the length and weight of these cooking chopsticks, and our testers noted they were easy to hold and maneuver. It could pick up Japanese fried chicken with no issue, and it passed the simmered food tests with flying colors.

Its tapered tips were also great for plating. This is where the square tips came in handy, as they allowed us to pick up many different foods, including small beans, without the fear of slipping or mishandling.

Azumaya's Kiso Hinoki Cypress Cooking Chopsticks are individually hand-crafted by professional craftsmen. Made with Japanese Kiso Hinoki cypress, these chopsticks have a uniquely gentle and natural texture.

Our testers found these chopsticks to be an elevated version of the classic disposable wooden chopsticks. Unfortunately, though they felt great in our hands, they weren't able to hold heavier foods stably, and it felt a bit straining to apply force onto them.

They also didn't perform very well in the simmering test, as potatoes fell apart once being poked with these. They were also too thick to pick up individual beans one by one. However, they were able to hold lighter items without them slipping out.

Pearl Metal's Chopsticks for Deep-fried Tempura conveniently has a thermometer attached at the top of the chopsticks. With these chopsticks, you can cook deep-fried food while measuring the temperature of your frying oil at the same time.

As the product description suggests, these chopsticks are long and sturdy enough for deep-frying. However, they are heavier and thicker, so you may feel that deep-frying with these can feel tiring and straining after long periods.

They performed decently in the simmered potato test, but they couldn't pick up noodles very well. Picking up smaller items was difficult because it was hard to gain good control of these longer and heavier chopsticks. All in all, we recommend these if you frequently deep-fry.

Kawajun's KEYUCA Silicone Cooking Chopsticks are made of silicone and carbon steel which means they can be used for both gentle cooking and deep-frying. They can be used to make tempura, for example.

These cooking chopsticks have a comfortable weight to them, making them easy to hold and handle. Their ridged tips also helped prevent food from slipping. However, they bend a bit when holding up heavier items, which strained our hands a bit.

When we used them to check the firmness of a simmered potato, the ridged tips got caught in the potato and made it difficult to assess how done they were.

Chikusai Honpo's White Bamboo Cooking Chopsticks are made from bamboo, which is naturally slightly rough in texture, increasing grip.

The handle is fairly thick but tapers heavily towards the tips, making it a bit difficult to apply lots of pressure. Additionally, these chopsticks couldn't grip noodles, and it was easier just to stab fried chicken than to attempt to pick it up.

However, where these chopsticks were indispensable was with simmered dishes and plating. The heavily tapered tips slid right into our simmered potato, allowing us to check its doneness without breaking it. It also excelled at picking up beans with minimal effort. If you want a pair of chopsticks dedicated for detailed plating, these are a great option.