Frequently Asked Questions

The WAZA founders, Botha and Hilda, first visited Japan in 2004 and fell in love with the country, its people and the quality craftsmanship. Following more visits to Japan as tourists, WAZA was formally registered as a business in 2014. You can read more about the business history and philosophy in the About section.

Japan is a country with a long and complex history. For a very good overview of its last 400 years and more, read Andrew Gordon's A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present.

For us at WAZA, we love Japanese products because of their design and build quality, which make them both a beauty to behold and a pleasure to work with. The products we sell are often based on centuries-old production techniques, yet they remain contemporary enough to be everyday household items. We place a strong emphasis on durability: we want the products we sell to last a lifetime or longer. Our products often come with a story about who made them and how they are made, and we encourage people to develop new stories in using these products in their everyday lives.

WAZA Japan Store is our multi-purpose space in the heart of Cape Town. It is open Mondays to Thursdays 09:00 to 17:00, Fridays 09:00 to 16:00 and Saturdays 09:00 to 15:00. The address is:

WAZA Japan Store
201 Bree Street
Cape Town
8001

Click here for a map to WAZA Japan Store.

To purchase items on WAZA you can add products to your cart and pay on checkout using either the Yoco or PayFast payment portals, both of which offer various payment options. If you opt for PayFast you also have access to PayFlex, where you can split payments over six weeks.

Once your order is placed, you will receive an email confirming the order and its billing details, once payment is confirmed. Order acceptance occurs when the funds have been received. Please read the terms and conditions before placing any orders on WAZA.

Our online store's shopping cart is hosted by Shopify, which includes an SSL certificate that uses industry-standard 128-bit encryption technology. Shopify is certified PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant, and this extends to all online stores powered by Shopify.

We use PayFast for credit card transactions and Instant EFT transactions. PayFast is also PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant.

Prices shown on WAZA are in South African Rands (ZAR) for the product and include VAT. Shipping or delivery charges (for orders under R950) are calculated based on your address.

We make every effort to ensure that the prices and availability shown on WAZA are current, however due to market variations, prices and availability of products will occasionally change. The price listed on WAZA is the price that you will be charged at the time of ordering.

The shopping portal monitors stock availability on WAZA. Some stock is picked from our Cape Town store. If, for some reason, a last item is purchased simultaneously in our Cape Town store and online, or if there was a mistake, we will contact you and give you the opportunity to choose a replacement, to place a pre-order, or to cancel it altogether.

We select products known for their quality and durability, often produced by family-run businesses or individual artisans who produce small quantities. We also specifically select products that can last decades or more, and negotiate the best possible prices and most economic shipping options with our suppliers. If a product is listed as in stock, it is already in South Africa, therefore import duties and import VAT have been paid and you only need to pay for domestic shipping. Our products are not the cheapest, but given the volatility of the South African Rand, we feel we offer very good value for money compared to international online shops. We do not sell mass-produced items of questionable quality, so you pay a little more, but we can vouch for the quality and provenance of items.

If your order has not yet been collected by the courier, we will do our best to amend or cancel it. Just email us at info@wazashop.co.za as soon as possible with your order number. Once an order has been dispatched, it will need to be handled as a return.

Yes, we do. WAZA Rewards is our online loyalty programme, where you can earn store credit to use towards a future purchase:

• Spend between R1,000 and R2,000: receive 5% store credit of the order value
• Spend between R2,000 and R3,500: receive 7.5% store credit of the order value
• Spend between R3,500 and R5,000: receive 10% store credit of the order value
• Spend more than R5,000: receive 12.5% store credit of the order value

Once an order is placed that qualifies for store credit, you will receive an email confirming your available credit balance in South African Rands, with a discount code to apply to your next purchase. Store credit is valid for one year after purchase.

On some ranges we offer products on a pre-order basis, which means they are still being manufactured, or they have been shipped and are en route to South Africa. These products are usually discounted, and an ETA is provided of when they will be in stock. They can be purchased once they arrive at the regular price, but pre-orders allow customers to secure stock of small-batch items. We do our best to provide an accurate ETA, but these are estimates based on all available information. Pre-order deliveries can arrive slightly earlier or later than stated.

If an order is placed on a weekday before 12PM, we aim to have it packed and collected on the same day. If an order is placed in the afternoon, or on a weekend, it is collected the next working day.

Most products are shipped via overnight courier, with large and bulky items shipped by road. Deliveries to the Western Cape and Gauteng typically take one day, while deliveries to major cities in other provinces take on average two days.

In 2024 and 2025 our average shipping time (from shipping booked to delivered) was 1.06 days.

To deliver your items to you as quickly and safely as possible, we make use of a local Cape Town delivery service and The Courier Guy. We choose the best door-to-door delivery option depending on your location.

For orders over R950 in South Africa, shipping is free. For orders under R950, we have two broad shipping zones:

• Zone 1 (includes Cape Town unless another arrangement is agreed) – Western Cape: R100
• Zone 2 – Rest of South Africa: R150

Currently we ship to South African addresses only.

If you are based in another country and simply have to have something, the best thing is to email us at info@wazashop.co.za and we will make a plan. Please just be aware that it will involve additional shipping costs and customs duties.

All online orders over R950 qualify for free shipping within South Africa.

If you would prefer to collect, you can, at WAZA Japan Store, 201 Bree Street, Cape Town (click here for a map). You will be given the option to choose collection at checkout. The responsibility to collect is yours, and in the event that you change your mind and require delivery, payment will be required upfront.

Once your order has been collected by our courier, you will receive an email with a tracking number and a link to follow its progress. If you have not received tracking details with your dispatch confirmation, email us at info@wazashop.co.za and we will send them through.

• Online orders: If you simply change your mind, you may cancel within 7 days of receiving your order and return the item for a refund of the purchase price. The cost of original and return shipping is not refundable, and the item must be returned unused and in its original, untampered packaging. We are also happy to offer an exchange or store credit instead, if you would prefer. Please note that certain items are excluded from this cooling-off right by law, including custom or bespoke orders and food ingredients.
• In-store purchases: If you change your mind about something bought at WAZA Japan Store, you may return it within 7 days, unused and in its original packaging, for an exchange or store credit.
• Damaged or defective goods: If a product arrives damaged, you are entitled to a repair, replacement or refund. Please see "What happens when I receive damaged goods?" below.
• Knives: Knives may be exchanged if unused. As we have no control over how a knife is used, we cannot accept exchanges on used knives.
• Sale items: Sale items cannot be exchanged or credited for a change of mind, but your rights regarding damaged or defective goods still apply.

We pack our packages very carefully, but in the case of damaged products on arrival, please claim within 7 days of the package arriving.

Please inspect your purchases immediately upon receipt, as no refund or insurance claims can be made after 7 days. Please take a photo of the original damaged products so that we can contact our shipping carrier if needed. Once the damage, or an error on our part, is confirmed, we will make an exchange, or a full refund plus all shipping costs.

Please note that a large percentage of WAZA items are handcrafted from natural materials such as steel, wood, clay and glass, and these may have natural inconsistencies in grain or pattern, which are very much appreciated in the Japanese sense of aesthetics. Please read the care instructions for Japanese steel very carefully, as the high carbon content that gives a great cutting edge means it needs more care as well. Any such "imperfections" that are part of the Japanese aesthetic are not the basis of a legitimate damaged-items return.

We handle your personal information in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Your contact details are used only to communicate with you about your order and, if you have opted in, our mailing list, and are never sold or shared. You can unsubscribe, or request that we update or remove your details, at any time.