SAKAKI Gear – Our Story
A small factory.A big obsession.
Precision camp gear from Kasugai, Japan, made by people who refused to stop after failure.
Our Story
Proven by hundreds of backers in Japan. Before it reached this English store, SAKAKI Gear was funded and validated on Japan’s leading crowdfunding platforms. Our first lantern, Akatsuki, raised ¥11,549,515 from 657 backers on CAMPFIRE — 11,549% of its goal. Mahoroba, our patent-pending LED-and-oil brass lantern, was then backed by 484 supporters on Makuake. These were not just concepts — real backers funded them before they became products.
See the original campaigns: CAMPFIRE — Akatsuki · Makuake — Mahoroba
It started with a putter.
In 2018, we invested 40 million yen in a new 5-axis machining center. For a 12-person factory in Kasugai City, it was an enormous bet.
To show the world what this machine could do, we made a golf putter. Solid brass. Precision-cut. Beautiful. A professional golfer looked at it and said: “You can’t use this in a tournament.”
So we made it better. We spent another 10 million yen and two years perfecting it.
Then we sold two putters — for 800,000 yen each — to a golf course owner in Russia. He told us: “Putin is coming next year. I’ll introduce you.”
The following year, the invasion began. Everything was frozen overnight.
We tried again.
We turned to China. Filed patents. Prepared for export.
The shipment arrived. The client said: “We cannot accept this.”
Two attempts. Two failures.
The putters that started it all
Then something shifted.
We asked ourselves a simple question: why are we only making what other people ask for?
That question became SAKAKI GEAR.
Not a factory brand. Not a subcontractor with a logo. A craftsman’s answer to the things that matter — objects made with precision, built to last, designed to be loved.
Our lanterns glowing at dusk, with Mt. Fuji beyond — shot at VISION GLAMPING, Japan.
Every piece tells the story of where we came from.
In 2024, we launched our first lantern, “Akatsuki,” on crowdfunding. 657 backers. 11.5 million yen raised.
The following year, we released “Mahoroba.” 484 backers. 7.2 million yen raised.
We are a small factory. We always will be.
But the things we make carry everything we’ve learned, everything we’ve lost, and everything we still believe in.
“Every piece tells the story of where we came from.”
– Takashi Sakakibara, Founder, SAKAKI GEAR
Follow SAKAKI Gear on Instagram: @sakaki_gear