Cooking without a sharp kitchen knife is rather dull and uninspiring. In Japan, knife sharpening service, naturally for a small fee, is sometimes provided in conjunction with local neighbourhood festivals and flee markets. Yet once I saw an entrepreneur outside a supermarket providing knife sharpening while you waited. Ran home, took my chef's knife and had it sharpened for 600 yens in about ten minutes. The knife feels like a new now; it was well worth the investment.