Tokyo · Asakusa and Sumida
Tsugu Tsugu (Asakusa Studio)
Tsugu Tsugu is a kintsugi workshop: the repair of broken vessels with natural lacquer (urushi). It started with kits for repairing at home, opened a first studio in Ebisu in February 2021 and the Asakusa studio in May 2022. Since 1 November 2026 it has had a third studio in Kyoto.
A full repair takes two to three months, because lacquer needs time to dry, so the 90-minute traditional workshop works on a vessel prepared in advance. In the first part you do one intermediate stage on a vessel that passes on to the next participants, like a relay race, and the stage is chosen according to the condition of the vessel. In the second part you sprinkle 23K gold powder on the repair line of another vessel, and that is the vessel you take. You do not choose the vessel in advance, and it depends on what is available that day.
The short workshop is a different thing: no urushi and no repair of a vessel. You use epoxy to glue pottery shards or sea glass onto a chopstick rest, earrings or a keychain, with a finish of gold-colored brass powder, and you take as many as you finished. These items are not meant for contact with food, and the workshop also suits anyone sensitive to urushi.
Good to know
- There are three ways to take the vessel: the same day in a drying box (closed, in a place at 20 to 30 degrees, for at least a day), pickup from the studio after at least a day, or shipping to your hotel or abroad about a week later, for a fee.
- The studio has staff who speak English and French, but availability varies from day to day. If this matters to you, write to the studio before booking.
- You do not need to bring anything. Come in clothes you do not mind getting dirty, and if your hair is long, bring a hair clip.
- A special time outside the schedule may add ¥5,500 per group. The website's discount coupon does not apply to workshops.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Tsugu Tsugu (Asakusa Studio).
- HereTsugu Tsugu (Asakusa Studio)
- ~3 min
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A dojo house from 1801 with an Edo-style facade. Dojo is a small river fish. Closed several days each month, and the list is on the website. Not kosher.
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Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center More to see
A free terrace on floor 8 across from Kaminarimon Gate, with a view of the temple and of Skytree.
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Kamawanu Asakusa Shopping
Tenugui, the Japanese cloth towel, and household goods from Japan and abroad. On floor 2, a gallery with irregular events.
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An okonomiyaki house from 1937 in a wooden house with tatami, where you cook it yourself on the griddle in the table. ¥2,000 to ¥3,000 per person. Cash only. Not kosher.
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A tempura restaurant from 1887, known for its dark, sweetish sauce. Ten-don, a bowl of rice with tempura, about ¥2,000. Cash only. Not kosher.
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Coffee Tengoku Cafe
A cafe from the Showa era, only 15 seats. Order the hotcake with the character 天 branded on it, with coffee, ¥1,100 to ¥1,400. Cash only. Not kosher.
- ~8 min
Fujiya tenugui Shopping
Tenugui that is dyed by hand and not printed, in the designs of a family that has worked here for three generations.