Tokyo · Asakusa and Sumida
Wanariya
Wanariya is an indigo dyeing workshop in the Senzoku neighborhood, northwest of Senso-ji Temple. It works with the shibori method: you tie and fold the fabric with small tools, dip it in one of four dye vats, and only when you open it do you see what came out.
The item is included in the price, and there is nothing to bring: the workshop provides an apron, gloves and shoe covers, and you can also dye in a kimono. You take what you dyed the same day in a bag. The staff guide you in English, and the workshop accepts children from age 4, with a parent recommended to take part beside them.
Since 2025 you can also book sakiori weaving here, a cloth woven from strips of old indigo-dyed fabric.
Good to know
- Paying in advance on the website saves ¥100 to ¥500, but the booking is confirmed only after the workshop replies, and the date cannot be changed. Cancellation: 50 percent from 30 to 11 days before, 80 percent from 10 days to one day before, and the full price on the day itself, even because of a storm.
- The website contradicts itself on the time: the table says 60 minutes for a handkerchief and a tenugui, and the Japanese page says 75 or more. A T-shirt takes 90 minutes. Plan for an hour and a half.
- The Aibana design on a handkerchief adds ¥600.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Wanariya.
- HereWanariya
- ~2 min
seihitsu Cafe
A small cafe that opened in March 2024: hand-drip coffee and cakes, about ¥1,200 for coffee and cake. Not kosher.
- ~7 min
Otori Shrine (Asakusa) More to see
The shrine of the Tori no Ichi fair, where bamboo rakes are sold for luck in business. In 2026 it is on 7 and 19 November, around the clock, and the streets around it fill up.
- ~8 min
Asakusa Kagetsudo Honten Food
A giant melon-pan, crisp outside and airy inside. Opens at 09:00 and closes when it sells out. Not kosher.
- ~10 min
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.
- ~11 min
Chuka Yoshoku Yayoi Food
An old neighborhood restaurant on Senzoku-dori street. Known for its pork steak in demi-glace sauce, ¥1,000 to ¥2,000. It does not take reservations. Not kosher.
- ~14 min
Sakura Nabe Nakae Food
A horse-meat stew house from 1905, in a building registered as a cultural property, at the edge of Yoshiwara. Dinner ¥10,000 to ¥15,000 per person. Not kosher.