We introduce new virtual travel plans for you to experience Japanese crafts. Recommend a new way of touring to your clients, not featured in a guidebook.
Using online video tools such as Zoom and Remo, a local workshop representative or a regional producer will give you a taster tour. If you are interested in hearing more, you can book an in-person meeting.
Direct presentations will be made by craftspeople or regional producers in the craftsmaking areas to be visited during the tours.
Exhibitions are held in three different time zones for three different regions: America, Europe and Asia.
After the presentations from the regions, appointments can be made for individual consultations for those who wish to find out more.
Click the button to link to an external site dedicated to application.
Please find below a list of travel plans introduced by LOCAL CRAFT JAPAN that will allow you to experience authentic Japanese craftsmanship.
For 400 years, people from all over Asia have flocked to the gold mines of Sado Island bringing with them a multitude of cultures. Visiting the paddy fields of Sado, which are part of a UN recognized global agricultural heritage system (GIAHS), and the Kunizou kiln, in operation for over 130 years, you will experience the rich diversity of nature, food, and culture that is a microcosm of Japan.
Read more
Faith and crafts. Visitors can feel a sense of the spirituality of the region through conversations with priests at the shrines and visiting festivals. Visitors can also experience the unique atmosphere and traditional techniques of Chichibu through “sericulture” (silk farming) and silk weaving, with a visit to Kagemori Sericulture Farm, the only remaining sericulture farm in the area.
Read more
Kiso-Hirasawa is a town producing lacquerware for 400 years in a valley surrounded by the deep mountains of Japan. This tour is a chance to meet the craftspeople who continue to preserve traditional methods and those who seek to develop innovative new lacquer works in a situation where the number of workshops is decreasing due to declining demand. This tour is also a great way to enjoy the scenery and food of Narai-juku.
Read more
Journey from Chita, the origin of the world-leading tie-dyeing culture of Arimatsu Narumi Shibori, to Arimatsu, a town of tradition and innovation, discovering the food culture that has nurtured the people of this region along the way. This is a tour where you can feel, with all five senses, the power and techniques of tradition connecting the past to the present.
Read more
Echizen washi has been handmade here for over 1,500 years, and the craftspeople tailor-make highly specialized products for all kinds of uses. In Echizen, where crystal clear streams flow (essential for producing excellent quality washi), you can enjoy gourmet food, sake and hot-spring bathing rooted in the culture of this region, alongside its washi heritage that combines tradition and innovation.
Read moreWith their 1,500-year history, the craftspeople of Sabae City in Fukui Prefecture, Japan's oldest lacquerware-producing region, have continually embraced new challenges—preserving tradition while introducing new techniques and establishing a specialized division of labor. On this tour you will visit a series of workshops that specialize in the different steps of lacquerware making, from「woodwork」「lacquering」 to 「decorating」with an opportunity to make your own frame with chinkin techniques, guided by skilled makers.
Read more
Awaji Island, the place where fragrant wood was first introduced. Enjoy a retreat tour where you can see incense-making nurtured in the rich climate surrounded by the sea. The tour includes a visit to a traditional tile-making workshop where they also make incense stands, as well as a Zen wellness experience to heal both body and mind.
Read moreSet in the backdrop of the Satoyama landscape, this tour will take you to the Tamba potteries, where you can feel this ancient way of life. Here, you can see a diverse range of ceramics, from old Tamba masterpieces to more modern pieces by contemporary potters. The experience includes visiting a traditional climbing kiln, pottery-making demonstrations, participating in a pottery workshop, and enjoying meals served on Tamba ware, fully immersing yourself in the beauty of Tamaba traditions.
Read moreIn Miki, Japan’s oldest blacksmith town, you will find forges producing kitchen knives cherished by chefs and planes loved by carpenters while learning about the mythology and history behind “Yamato-kaji (Yamato forging)”. Visitors can experience the craftsmanship and skills of the artisans in the workshop, where blades are forged from iron.
Read more
On this tour you will be guided by architects Mr. Sato and Ms. Okamoto of “Mokuzou-architect Kochi”. They design houses with a life-span of more than 300 years using the same traditional Japanese construction method as the world's oldest wooden structure, Horyuji-Temple. The tour will take you to the sites of the mountain foresters, carpenters, and woodworkers who live with the mountains of Yoshino.
Read more
The Orin is a Buddhist instrument used to express gratitude to ancestors in accordance with the teachings of Buddhism, widely followed in Japan. The tour will offer you an in-depth experience of Zen culture and the Uji area of Kyoto by taking you to see the Orin manufacturing process and experience monastic life in a Japanese Zen temple.
Read more
In Fukuyama, Japan's largest textile production area, you will find people who weave denim from yarn, people who wear and age jeans, and people who create new products from old discarded denim. We invite you to meet these people, who are creating new possibilities for the denim textile industry and also to experience the beautiful natural landscape and food of Setouchi.
Read moreClick the button to link to an external site dedicated to application.
| Dates |
[For North America]
*After each online exhibition, smaller online ‘in-person’ meetings will be held. These will take place in January and February 2022. If you wish to apply for one of these in-person meetings, please fill in the application form below. |
|---|---|
| Program Content |
|
| Number of participants | Up to 30 people |
| Language | English |
Click the button to link to an external site dedicated to application.
