Nittaku Miyabi has a lot of nice qualities. This was my main blade for a long time, and currently I am still using it for about half of my playing time. I have this blade in cpen, jpen, and handshake (FL) but mostly I use the cpen.
I started as a jpen player, and I really like the feeling of one-ply hinoki. If you're a jpen player who is interested in playing cpen, I would recommend this blade -- it's a great way to transition. I should warn you though: if you play with rubber on the backhand, the feeling of the wood will be significantly dampened. The one-ply hinoki doesn't feel as good as it does when you're playing jpen, but it still feels better than any other wood blade I've tried.
Over the time I've played with this blade, I've used:
FH: DHS Skyline 2, DHS Hurricane 3, Xuperman Powerplay-X
BH: DHS Skyline 2, DHS Hurricane 3
The combination I like best is Xuperman Powerplay-X FH, Skyline 2 BH.
Looping: Playing loops with this blade feels like spreading warm butter. The feeling on the ball is incredible, and the wood is soft enough to create a "catapult effect" while also having a long dwell time. I really enjoy looping far from the table. Recently I've tried two of Xu Xin's blades, but still the Miyabi is the one that feels best for playing the iconic "Xu Xin Style" loops and counterattacks from far behind the table.
Driving: The drives with 1-ply hinoki are a dream. Not as nice as when playing jpen, but still really nice. If the ball has any topspin on it, you can take it off the bounce and drive it fast to a hard-to-reach corner of the table.
Blocking: Miyabi is really good for drive-blocking and chop-blocking. Drive blocks must be very active; they can be extremely fast and inconvenient for the opponent. Chop blocks are really nice too: with a small motion of the wrist you can create sidespin, underspin, etc. Several players have asked if I have long pips (I don't) because I was able to block their topspin and return an underspin. It's very easy to create weird uncomfortable balls for your opponent with this blade. It works best if you take the ball directly after the bounce.
Counterspin/counterattack: If you have time to set up a full stroke and counterloop, the counterattack is wonderful. The contact time ensures that you have enough time to grab the ball and throw it in the direction that you want. However, if you are trying to counterattack with a drive stroke, this stroke becomes very unstable unless you take the ball directly off the bounce. For this reason, I tend to play far behind the table so that I have time to play counterloops with a full stroke. Playing close to the table with this blade seems very challenging to me.
Flicks: flicking is ok. It's not as good as Ma Lin Extra Offensive, or Stiga Rosewood. Instead of flat-hitting, it is best to add a bit of topspin to your flicks. This will improve stability.
Control: I would say that the Miyabi has exceptionally good control when playing loops far from the table. The blade is quite fast, and it has very good control when playing fast shots. HOWEVER, it is very difficult to touch the ball lightly and place it close to the net. A very interesting combination, indeed.
Short game: This is the part that I have the most trouble with. A better player than me could probably manage to return the ball softly, but I find it very difficult (especially with two rubbers on the bat, which dampens the feeling of the kiso hinoki). Typically my strategy with this blade is to avoid the short game -- I serve long and return long so we can get to the open rally as quickly as possible.
Fishing/lobbing: I have to add a section on this because I enjoy it so much. This blade is amazing for fishing and lobbing far away from the table. I do this quite frequently in matches, and wait for a good opportunity to counterloop -- something that the Miyabi is also very good at.
Size: Unfortunately I am a large person with big hands, so my fingers cover most of the bat when playing with a smaller blade. This blade is substantially bigger than other kiso hinoki cpen blades I have tried (including Darker Speed 90). I would have chosen Darker if they made bigger blades, but the quality of Miyabi is nearly as good as Darker so I am not too disappointed. The size is the primary reason I chose this blade, but it is not too much of a compromise on quality. If you like bigger blades, this is the one to get.
Durability: Don't bang this blade on the table and it will last a long time.
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