We are pleased to introduce you to a new way of traveling through Japanese craft online. We invite you to experience a new way of touring Japan that you won't find in any guidebook. Using Remo, an online video tool, we will take you on a Taster Tour of the craftsmaking areas, wherever you are in the world.
You can talk directly, online with traditional craftspeople from around the world, and get to know their thoughts and the unique culture of their region.
A chance to see workshops and their processes that you would not usually be able to visit or see. Experience the wonders of craftsmanship online.
Discover a part of Japan that you won't find in the guidebooks, a part of Japan that only craftspeople know.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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| Date | 19/January/2022 13:00-15:00 (*JPN TIME) |
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| Program Content |
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| Number of participants | Up to 200 people |
| Language | English |
| Participation fee | Free of charge |
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