Workshops

Tokyo · Craft

Ginzabashi (Kinokurashi Ginza)

You pick a wood from more than 20 kinds, set it in a jig and shape it with a Japanese hand plane, sand it and oil it, and take the chopsticks home the same day. It takes about an hour and costs from ¥3,980, and some woods cost more. Name engraving is an extra ¥1,100 per side. The workshop is on the ground floor of the Kinokurashi wood shop, a minute's walk from exit 11 of Ginza-itchome Station, and is open 9:00 to 19:00 with last entry at 18:00. Staff guide you in English, and an online booking takes up to four people.

¥3,980 · ≈ $25MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked October 2026

About this place and what is nearby

Tokyo · Food

TSUKIJI COOKING

You make sushi with an instructor, along with teriyaki fish and miso soup, and eat what you made. The class lasts two hours and costs ¥15,400, and with a guided tour of the Tsukiji outer market it lasts three hours and costs ¥17,600. The instruction is in English, and you pick a date from the class calendar on the website and pay in advance. The class without the tour is not offered on every date, and a cancellation in the last week is not refunded. The food is not kosher and is based on raw fish.

¥15,400 · ≈ $98MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked October 2026

About this place and what is nearby

Tokyo · Craft

Tsugu Tsugu (Asakusa Studio)

In the traditional workshop you finish the repair of a broken vessel with natural lacquer (urushi) and 23K gold powder, on a vessel prepared in advance, because real lacquer needs days and weeks to dry. It lasts 90 minutes and costs ¥22,000, from age 13, and you take the vessel the same day in a drying box, collect it from the studio later, or have it shipped abroad for a fee. The kintsugi-style workshop, one hour at ¥6,600 from age 6, is a different thing: you make small items such as earrings or chopstick rests with epoxy and a brass finish, and do not repair a vessel. The studio has English-speaking staff, and there are also studios in Ebisu and Kyoto.

¥22,000 · ≈ $139MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked November 2026

About this place and what is nearby

Tokyo · Craft

Wanariya

You dye a cotton item in indigo using the shibori method, in which the fabric is tied and folded so that every pattern comes out different, and the staff speak English. A handkerchief costs ¥2,500 and a tenugui towel ¥3,800, an hour to an hour and a quarter, and a T-shirt ¥8,000, about an hour and a half. Booking is required and only for two people or more, so a solo traveller cannot join. Paying in advance on the website saves ¥100 to ¥500. Children from age 4 can take part, and the studio is a 10-minute walk from Iriya Station.

¥3,800 · ≈ $24MapsSource

✓ Price checked November 2026

About this place and what is nearby

Tokyo · Craft

Sokichi Kiriko Workshop

You cut a traditional Edo kiriko pattern with a grinding machine on a glass that you choose on the day of the workshop. A 90-minute workshop costs ¥3,630 with a clear glass, and a colored glass or one in a special shape adds ¥1,100 to ¥4,510. The instruction is in English, from age 9, and payment is in cash only. On weekends there is a session as early as 8:30, and the 17:00 session costs ¥550 more.

¥3,630 · ≈ $23MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked November 2026

About this place and what is nearby

Tokyo · Culture

Chazen

You hear a short explanation of the tea ceremony, watch matcha being prepared, drink it with a Japanese sweet and serve a bowl yourself. The shared session lasts 45 minutes and costs ¥3,500, and a private session for two or more is ¥5,000 per person. The instruction is in Japanese and English, there is a session every hour between 10:00 and 17:00, and you pay in advance through a link sent after booking. You do not enter the tea room barefoot, and cancelling a shared session from a week before costs half the price (for a private session, from two weeks before).

¥3,500 · ≈ $22MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked September 2026

About this place and what is nearby

Tokyo · Craft

Kumihimo Experience by DOMYO

You braid silk threads on the tools that Domyo's craftspeople work with, and leave with a cord or a bracelet that you braided. The workshop lasts two hours and costs ¥7,700, with instruction in English and up to 8 people per booking. You can cancel until the day before, and on the day itself you pay the full price. The studio is a 5-minute walk from Ushigome-Kagurazaka and Kagurazaka stations.

¥7,700 · ≈ $49MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked November 2026

About this place and what is nearby

Kyoto · Culture

Camellia Flower Teahouse

In a tea room near Kiyomizu-dera you watch the ceremony, eat a seasonal sweet and learn to whisk matcha yourself. The shared session lasts 45 minutes and costs ¥4,000, and in March, April, October, November and the New Year period ¥5,000. The instruction is in English, up to 8 participants, from age 6, and there is a session every hour between 10:00 and 17:00. You can add a full-day kimono rental for ¥6,000.

¥4,000 · ≈ $25MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked September 2026

Kyoto · Food

Kanshundo Higashi Shop

With an instructor you make three fresh Japanese sweets in seasonal shapes and one dry sweet, eat one with matcha and take the rest home in a box. The class lasts about an hour and a quarter and costs ¥3,700, at four times a day. Book two to three days ahead, at least two participants are needed, and children from age 5. The explanation is in Japanese with an English handout that you ask for when booking, and the sweets are not kosher.

¥3,700 · ≈ $23MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked September 2026

Kyoto · Culture

Kyoto Samurai Kenbu Theater

You learn basic moves with a Japanese sword from masters of kenbu, the sword dance of the samurai, and see a short demonstration. The short version lasts an hour and a half and costs ¥10,000 for an adult and ¥9,000 for a child aged 5 to 11, and a two-hour version with a full show costs ¥13,000. The instruction is in English, and the shared classes are held on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Cancelling a day before costs 30 percent of the price, and on the day itself all of it.

¥10,000 · ≈ $63MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked September 2026

Kyoto · Food

Haru Cooking Class

You cook a seasonal Japanese home-style meal in a family home in Shimogamo, north-east of the Imperial Palace, and eat together at the end. The class starts at 13:00, lasts 3 to 3.5 hours and costs ¥9,800 with a wagyu dish, or ¥7,700 in the vegetarian version, in which the stock (dashi) is made from fish. Payment is in cash only, up to 8 participants, and registration opens 4 months ahead. The food is not kosher, and children up to age 6 can only watch.

¥9,800 · ≈ $62MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked September 2026

Kyoto · Culture

Shunkoin Temple (Kissako Zen and Tea Experience)

At Shunkoin Temple in the Myoshin-ji complex you sit in guided zazen, drink tea, try calligraphy and tour the garden and the prayer hall. The session lasts about two hours, with instruction in English by the temple's monk and up to 12 participants, and a ticket costs ¥25,300 including tax (October 2026 price). You book through Peatix according to the dates the temple publishes, and cancelling less than a week before costs the full price. You must come with socks, and coming in a short skirt is not recommended.

¥25,300 · ≈ $160MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked September 2026

Kyoto · Craft

Marumasu Nishimuraya

You choose a stencil from thousands of patterns and dye fabric in layers of color using the Kyo-yuzen technique, and most items leave with you the same day. A small handkerchief costs ¥1,600 and a small furoshiki ¥2,700, and the workshop lasts an hour to an hour and a half. Open every day between 9:00 and 17:30, last entry at 16:00, except 1 to 3 January. You need to book, and same-day booking is by phone only.

¥1,600 · ≈ $10MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked September 2026

Osaka · Food

Chicken Ramen Factory, CUPNOODLES MUSEUM OSAKA IKEDA

You make dough, roll it out, steam it and dry the instant noodles in oil the way Chicken Ramen was created, design the package and take it home. The workshop lasts 70 minutes and costs ¥1,200 from junior high school age and ¥600 for elementary school pupils, and entry to the museum is free. Booking opens 3 months ahead, you work in pairs so you cannot sign up alone, and children not yet in school do not take part. The museum is closed on Tuesdays, a 5-minute walk from Ikeda Station on the Hankyu line, and the noodles contain chicken and are not kosher.

¥1,200 · ≈ $8MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked October 2026

Osaka · Craft

Wada Shoten (Sakai knife sharpening experience)

In Sakai, about 15 minutes on the Nankai train from Namba, you hear an explanation at the knife museum of Sakai Denshokan, learn to sharpen on a stone from veteran craftsmen and fit a handle to a Japanese knife that leaves with you. With instruction in English the price is ¥32,000 per person, including an interpreter and the knife (santoku, petty, deba or sashimi), and it lasts an hour and a half to two hours. From age 11, under age 18 only with a parent, and the shop is closed on Sundays and on the third Tuesday of the month. Engraving a name on the blade is free, and a knife can be packed only in checked luggage.

¥32,000 · ≈ $203MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked September 2026

Osaka · Craft

Dotonbori Kukuru Konamon Museum

On the third floor of the Konamon Museum in Dotonbori you make a wax model of takoyaki like the ones in restaurant windows, and take it home with a headband. The basic course costs ¥3,520 and lasts about 45 minutes, and in the ¥4,400 course you also get six real takoyaki. There is also a real takoyaki course with the professionals for ¥7,480, and the food includes octopus and is not kosher. Booking is through the Jalan website in Japanese, and the website does not mention instruction in English.

¥3,520 · ≈ $22MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked September 2026

Nara · Craft

Kinkoen

At the Kinkoen workshop, a 5-minute walk from JR Nara Station, you hear about Nara's sumi ink, watch a craftsman fill a mold with ink and press your own ink stick by hand. It costs ¥3,300 for an adult and ¥1,650 up to high school age, including a paulownia wood box, and lasts about 40 minutes. The instruction is in Japanese and English, and you book by 21:00 on the day before. You need to keep the stick closed in a cool, dark place for three months.

¥3,300 · ≈ $21MapsSource

✓ Price checked September 2026

Nara · Craft

Akashiya (Nara brush showroom)

In the showroom of Akashiya, a maker of Nara brushes, you watch a video, hear a craftsman speak and stiffen with glue the heads of two brushes, thick and thin, which you take home the same day. It lasts 60 to 90 minutes and costs ¥2,420. On weekdays you can sign up alone as well, on Saturdays and holidays only groups of 15 or more, and on Sundays it is closed. You book by the day before, and according to the Nara tourism office there is help with translation into English.

¥2,420 · ≈ $15MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked September 2026

Hiroshima · Food

OKOSTA (Otafuku Okonomiyaki Experience)

At the studio of Otafuku, the maker of okonomiyaki sauce, you make Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki on a professional griddle with an instructor and eat it. It lasts an hour and a half and costs ¥2,500, including an apron, a paper hat and one topping of your choice. The regular version includes pork, and at the same price there is a vegetarian version with corn and vegetarian sauce, and a version with squid and shrimp instead of pork. There are classes in English, you book at least 3 days ahead, and the food is not kosher.

¥2,500 · ≈ $16MapsSource

✓ Price checked September 2026

Hiroshima · Food

Yamadaya Miyajima Main Store

At the main store of Yamadaya on Miyajima island you bake by hand two momiji manju cakes in the shape of a maple leaf, one with red bean paste and one with chocolate. It takes about half an hour and costs ¥1,000 including a gift, and payment is in cash at reception. There are four sessions on a weekday and five on a weekend, and you book on the website by the day before or ask about a free place on the second floor of the store. The pastry is not kosher.

¥1,000 · ≈ $6MapsSource

✓ Price checked September 2026

Kanazawa · Craft

Gold Leaf Sakuda

At the Sakuda gold leaf shop in the Higashiyama district you design a pattern with masking tape, apply thin gold leaf to chopsticks, a plate or a mirror, and take the item with you right away. It lasts about an hour and the price depends on the item, including materials: chopsticks ¥1,760 and a round plate ¥2,310. From 1 January 2027 the prices go up, the chopsticks to ¥1,980 and the plate to ¥2,750. There are four sessions a day, at 9:00, 10:30, 13:00 and 15:00, and the website has an English version.

¥1,760 · ≈ $11MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked September 2026

Kanazawa · Craft

Kaga Yuzen Kimono Center

At the Kaga-yuzen center you hand-paint a handkerchief in the colors of the Kaga-yuzen technique and leave with it the same day. The freehand painting lasts about an hour and costs ¥2,750, with last admission at 15:00, and stencil dyeing, shorter and simpler, costs ¥1,650. A group of up to 4 people can come without booking, from 5 people you book a week ahead, and the place accepts visitors from abroad. The center is closed on Wednesdays, and entry to the exhibition costs ¥500.

¥2,750 · ≈ $17MapsSource

✓ Price checked September 2026

Kanazawa · Food

Morihachi Main Store

On the second floor of the main store of Morihachi, a confectioner that served as sweets supplier to the ruling dynasty of Kaga, you press dry rakugan sweets in wooden molds, eat some with matcha and take the rest home in a box. It lasts 40 minutes and costs ¥1,870, including entry to the sweet mold museum in the same building. You book at least two days ahead, minimum two people, at the 10:00 and 15:00 sessions. The museum has an audio guide in English, and the sweets are not kosher.

¥1,870 · ≈ $12MapsSource

✓ Price checked September 2026

Uji · Culture

Taihoan (Uji City Tea House)

At the municipal tea house Taihoan, named after the Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in across from it, you watch a teacher prepare tea, drink it with a seasonal sweet and then whisk matcha yourself. It lasts about 40 minutes and costs ¥3,600, and you sit at a table and not on your knees. You must book at least 3 days ahead using the form on the Uji tourism association website, and you get the ticket at the tourist center across from the tea house. Closed between 21 December and 9 January, and also on the last day of every month, or on the last weekday when that day falls on a weekend or a holiday.

¥3,600 · ≈ $23MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked September 2026

Uji · Culture

Fukujuen Uji Kobo (Uji Tea Workshop)

At the Fukujuen workshop by the Uji River you grind tencha leaves on a hand-turned millstone, and then whisk and drink the matcha that comes out, with a sweet. It lasts about 40 minutes and costs ¥2,750 from elementary school age, and you pay at reception on the day itself. It is better to book, but when there is room they also accept people on the same day, from 10:00 until last admission at 15:00. The tea powder scatters, so it is worth coming in comfortable clothes, and the website is in Japanese only.

¥2,750 · ≈ $17MapsSourceBook on Klook

✓ Price checked September 2026