This is my second article in a series of Japanese guitar factory tours. The first was my visit to the Fujigen factories, but for this article I wanted to write about Tokai Gakki in Hamamatsu. I initially contacted Tokai when I was researching for a book about vintage Japanese guitars. The people at Tokai were really friendly, and the company president, Shohei Adachi, was one of the nicest guys I met in Japan. His grandfather started the business back in 1947, making reed instruments. Tokai is truly a family-owned business and Shohei is the third generation to operate Tokai Gakki.
Tokai started making electric guitars in the late 1960s, but the company is probably better known for their excellent copy-era guitars and several original designs, including the innovative Talbo above. Tokai’s late 1970 guitars are very sought after, especially the “Love Rock”, “Breezy Sound”, and “Springy Sound” guitars.
Tokai Gakki is still making excellent guitars, but unfortunately they’re not sold in America! I used to own an old Love Rock guitar, and was always impressed with the high quality. Today, Tokai Gakki guitars that are made in the Japanese factory still retain that high quality, and the company makes guitars for all tastes and budgets.
Here is the artist showroom at Tokai. You can see a good example of the current electric guitar line-up, and I was surprised by the wild variation in finish choices. Tokai makes some cool guitars! If you know my personal tastes, can you pick which guitar I liked the best?
Yeah! Here’s yours truly tuning up a vintage 1967 Tokai Hummingbird! Visiting these factories in Japan was like a dream when I think about it. It was such an amazing experience, and being surrounded by so many guitars all the time just about sent me into a guitar-induced coma! I spent almost two weeks in Japan and I could’ve easily spent two months!
Anyway, Tokai guitars have been made with pride for many years. Attention to detail is tremendous and there’s a lot of “hand” work by the employees there. It was common to see people with many years of experience still working at Tokai, and the company valued that combined guitar-building knowledge.
Fret-work is still done by hand, and I was always impressed with the labor involved in making the guitars. This guy was rounding the fret edges to get that nice “rolled” feel. The finish work was also being done in-house, and all the guitars had excellent finishes. In fact, the painting section was really cool to see since Tokai had several custom finishes there. Tokai’s creativity was always really evident.
Tokai Gakki has also invested in sound and wood research. They’ve developed a very interesting build technique called the SEB Structure. It’s an amazing construction technique that allows for better wood vibration throughout the body of their guitars. I had the chance to examine the guitar bodies built with this SEB technology, and it was refreshing to see the company investing in new ideas.
There’s the company president, Shohei Adachi, showing me how they’ve experimented and perfected the SEB process. They’ve also examined the properties of the various tone-woods and how it all relates to their SEB technique.
Tokai had a great stock of old work at the factory, and since the company is smaller, their success is not predicated on large production numbers. I always see this as a good thing, because more care is taken with the entire build process. Every finished guitar I saw was truly flawless. And the wood for these guitars was properly dried and cured. Improper drying is a big problem with the larger guitar companies in the USA, and Chinese imports. When you buy a new guitar, and you can smell the finish like it’s still fresh paint…well, it’s not the best sign of quality craftsmanship. All of you living outside of the states are lucky to still have Tokai guitars!
Tokai Gakki also has a line of acoustic guitars with the “Cat’s Eye” brand name. I was shocked to learn that one guy makes every single acoustic guitar, by hand, by himself!!
This master luthier still makes acoustic guitars in the “old way”, using some of the same tools and forms that Tokai owned since way back in the day. He also does some amazing inlay work, and there were several custom guitars there in his shop. Again, there was lots of great old wood there, and I would love to own one of these Tokai acoustic guitars one day. And I don’t even really like acoustic guitars!!! But it did pain me not to leave this acoustic shop without a guitar!
Tokai Gakki has an English website and a few pictures of the factory. There are also distributors in the UK and Germany. All of these websites have additional information and all the current guitars that are made by Tokai Gakki. Of course, I always have a special love for the vintage stuff, so I have to leave you with a few pictures of old Tokai Hummingbirds. Also, check out the video demo of a vintage Hummingbird being played by Mike Dugan! Before I left Tokai, I really tried my best to convince Shohei Adachi to reissue the old Hummingbird guitars. I was even able to meet the original designer of the Hummingbirds! If you’re interested in seeing the Hummingbirds built again, be sure to contact Tokai and let them know. And if you’re a fan of Tokai guitars, also let them know! Share the love, or share the “Love Rock!!”
Drowning in Guitars! 
great article as always man!-Nate DeMontwww.DeMontGuitars.comwww.Facebook.DeMontGuitars.comwww.GuyatoneGuitars.comwww.GuyatoneUS.comwww.Facebook.com/Guyatone
Thanks Frank !
thank s, frank.i like good news,and old goodis of the guitarworld,hope you have lots of fans .i hope you have more storrys and the beginning is now…….best regards from stig.
Stig!!! My man!
Wonderful !!! I’m loving the series. The rich history associated with these factories. You must have been like a kid in a candy store !!! How many more stories like this can we expect?
Thanks man! I’ll have two more like this. Next year I’ll be traveling to Japan again to visit a few more factories. There aren’t that many left in Japan!
did you see the 335′s being made?local sales rep told me they make the premium series 335′s totally by hand.
I don’t remember seeing 335s specifically, but I can say that all the guitars made in Japan were all made by hand. Bodies and necks are rough cut by CNC, but all the rest was hand work.
i enjoyed the story about the hummingbird guitar. I have a 67 hummingbird that my brother sent me when he was in the navy.
Nice man, thanks for sharing!
im confused about the vintage hummingbird guitars u posted. my guitar has the bridge and tremelo bar of the black one. could it be possible i have parts from a 68 model on a 67. however my brother bought it new in japan in i believe 68. rick.laboy@
There were a few different models… there were 3 basic guitars, and then the 100S came in couple different variations. Send me some pics and I’d be able to tell you for sure.
i have the vintage hummingbird that u were tuning up in your article about the tokai plant visit .i will try to send u a picture of it .played it today man its really a nice guitar my first electric i got when i was 12 years old
Frank you ARE the man! Tokai’s LOVE ROCK! Check my posts to your first tour, The Fujigen Gakki plant tour – Thanks!:)
So Frank, what’s next…Terada Gakki….Dyna… which am I missing..? That abalone shell “copy” of a Zemidas is AWESOME, and I already knew about that KILLER Hummingbird vid – What can I say – I LOVE JAPANESE GUITARS(all I own), MARTIAL ARTS, FOOD, AND CULTURE! I Must make a trip there some day soon! Thanks again!
I almost forgot – The Cats Eyes are AWESOME – I will make it a point to get a CE 500 ASAP too!
Thanks for this post! It was very informative. Could you tell me what are the differences between the Tokai’s made in China vs Japan? Are they even the same manufacturer?
Yeah that was a cool trip for sure! About the differences, I can’t really say. I only got to see and inspect the stuff at the Japanese factory.
Tokais made outside of Japan are contracted out to separate, independent factories – just like Fender do with Squiers. So the Chinese factory/ies are licensed to use the Tokai name. Japanese Tokais are made in Japan by Tokai.
Have a Hondo Fame MasterCard 003 believe it to be a 1985 model. I also believe these were made by Tokyo. The headstock and quality seem to confirm that. Not the usual rubbish Hondo turned out. Came with Kahler Flyer tremolo and Grover tuners. Beautiful ash body Maple neck and fingerboard in a natural high gloss finish.
Hi i am in Japan this days and i would like to visit tje tokai factory. Could you tell me the address in Hamamatsu?
Thanks
Yeah man, I don’t think you could just show up at the front door, you’d have to contact them and establish some rapport first.