Dust off impurities from the surface of dried kelp.
Make cuts in the dried kelp with scissors to bring out the umami.
Pour the water into a pot with the dried kelp, let soak for 30 minutes to an hour.
Heat water and dried kelp on the stove.
Remove the kelp just before the pot boils.
Once water starts to boil, add all the dried bonito shavings at once and turn off heat.
Let sit until the shavings sink to the bottom of the pot.
Strain contents of the pot through a tightly wrung clean cloth, paper towel or large, fine sieve and discard used shavings. Do not squeeze to drain the filtered shavings.