HOME Awesome Things to Do In Japan: Most Popular Traditional Arts in Tokyo and Surroundings! (January 2020 Ranking)
Awesome Things to Do In Japan: Most Popular Traditional Arts in Tokyo and Surroundings! (January 2020 Ranking)

Awesome Things to Do In Japan: Most Popular Traditional Arts in Tokyo and Surroundings! (January 2020 Ranking)

Date published: 19 February 2020

Here are the most popular Traditional Arts in Tokyo and Surroundings, according to leading travel website Live Japan! Our ranking is based on the most popular pages viewed by foreign visitors in the past month. Be sure to add them to your Japan travel plan when you visit Tokyo and Surroundings!

Table of Contents
  1. 1.Ubukeya
  2. 2.Kuroeya
  3. 3.Edo Taito Traditional Crafts Center
  4. 4.Sumida Edo Kiriko Hall
  5. 5.Ibasen
  6. 6.Haibara
  7. 7.Ozu Washi
  8. 8.CREARE Atami Yugawara

1.Ubukeya

1.Ubukeya

Ubukeya is a ”Uchi Hamono” shop established in 1783 in Osaka. It was located in Edo during the Bakumatsu period, and is still around now. The store name came from the praises that their products ”can cut your ubuke (soft hair), can cut and remove”. They sell a range of products, from tweezers to Japanese knives, to scissors, western knives and other knives. If you take care of them meticulously, they can even be passed on to your grandchildren's generation. Apart from that, you may also find it interesting to see the wooden, quirky architecture of the shop.

  • Ubukeya
    • Address 3-9-2, Nihonbashiningyocho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 103-0013
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    • Nearest Station Ningyocho Station (Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line / Toei Asakusa Line)
    • Phone Number 03-3661-4851

2.Kuroeya

2.Kuroeya

Beautiful lacquerware with black and vermillion is a traditional craft which represents Japan. ”Kuroeya” which has been operating in Nihonbashi since 1689 is a shop famous for lacquerware. The shop displays lacquerware from all over Japan, as well as their own original products. Apart from the standard bowls and chopsticks, there are spoons, forks and wine glasses that will match a western table setting too. There are also hand-mirrors and accessories that would be great as a gift to yourself or someone else.

  • Kuroeya
    • Address The second floor of Kuroeya Kokubu Building, 1-2-6, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 103-0027
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    • Nearest Station Nihombashi Station (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line / Tokyo Metro Tozai Line / Toei Asakusa Line)
      2 minutes on foot
    • Phone Number 03-3272-0948

3.Edo Taito Traditional Crafts Center

3.Edo Taito Traditional Crafts Center

The Taito ward is well-known throughout Japan for being an area of traditional handicrafts. Even though people's lifestyles and values have changed since Edo became Tokyo, the Edo culture and spirit in downtown Tokyo still remains. Artisans have succeeded the spirit of the area cultivated by their predecessors, protecting their art and continuing to create traditional crafts.

At the Edo Taito Traditional Crafts Center, we have about 50 types and 250 items of traditional crafts on display, detailed explanations of the crafts through video footage, and in-house artisans present on weekends. In addition, we hope to convey the charm of these traditional crafts and allow people to be able to chat with the artisans by holding events such as practical workshops.

The traditional crafts and artisans, cultivated over time by history and culture, are the treasures of the Taito ward. We hope that you can experience this firsthand through our museum.

★Official website: Artisans of Edo, Masterpieces of Culture
http://craft.city.taito.lg.jp/

  • Edo Taito Traditional Crafts Center
    Edo Taito Traditional Crafts Center
    江戸たいとう伝統工芸館
    • Address 2-22-13 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo, 111-0032
    • Nearest Station Asakusa Station (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line / Toei Asakusa Line / Tobu Isesaki Line (Tobu Sky Tree Line) / Tsukuba Express)
      5 minutes on foot
    • Phone Number 03-3842-1990

4.Sumida Edo Kiriko Hall

4.Sumida Edo Kiriko Hall

Cut glass products created by skilled craftsmen who add various types of cuts to the surface of handmade glass. The shop sells masterpieces that give expression to the Edo spirit and showcase the craftsmen’s technique. You can also experience cutting glass yourself.

5.Ibasen

5.Ibasen

Ibasen is a folding fan and uchiwa shop established in 1590. They sell a range of fans with varying uses, such as ”Edo folding fans” made of yukata (casual summer kimono) cloth, ”mai-ogi” used in traditional Japanese dances, and ”kazari (decorative) fans” used as decoration. Also, don't forget the uchiwas with prints of kabuki (classical Japanese dance-drama) actors and famous spots in Japan, that are based on the publications of ukiyoe masters like Utagawa Hiroshige and Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

  • Ibasen
    • Address The first floor of ijosen building, 4-1, Nihonbashikobunacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 103-0024
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    • Nearest Station Shin-Nihombashi Station (JR Sobu Main Line (Rapid))
      7 minutes on foot
    • Phone Number 03-3664-9261

6.Haibara

6.Haibara

Haibara is a washi shop in Nihonbashi that has been around for over 200 years. They sell various types of washi, from letters sets to kazari fans and paper products. The shop is also for the fact that Takehisa Yumeji, an artist famous for drawing beautiful women in the Taisho period (1912 - 1926) designed many of the patterns for this shop's letter writing sets, envelopes and uchiwas. The ”Jabara (rickrack/zigzag) letter writing set” is the shop's most popular item, with dotted lines at every folding point, and you can just tear off the part you need to use.

  • Haibara
    • Address Tokyo Nihonbashi Tower, 2-7-1, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 103-0027
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    • Nearest Station Nihombashi Station (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line / Tokyo Metro Tozai Line / Toei Asakusa Line)
    • Phone Number 03-3272-3801

7.Ozu Washi

7.Ozu Washi

Ozu Washi in Nihonbashi is a washi seller that was established in 1653. In a corner of the shop with various papers on display is the Handmade Washi Experience Studio where you can experience making paper. You can learn the process of making paper in about an hour. There is no minimum number of people for the experience, but reservations take priority. You can keep the paper you make!

  • Ozu Washi
    • Address 3-6-2, Nihonbashihoncho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 103-0023
      View Map
    • Nearest Station Shin-Nihombashi Station (JR Sobu Main Line (Rapid))
      3 minutes on foot
    • Phone Number 03-3662-1184

8.CREARE Atami Yugawara

8.CREARE Atami Yugawara

In the openness of its atrium, this studio constantly produces stained-glass, ceramic relief and other beautiful creations. Various public art works (art displayed in public spaces such as train stations and airports) have been produced at this studio. Ceramic relief, in particular, is a unique art form that was developed based upon the traditional techniques of ancient Japanese pottery, and sometimes takes up to a year from planning to completion. Free tours are available through reservations*. It is approximately 10 minutes by Hakone Tozan bus or Izu Hakone bus from Yugawara Station on the JR Tokaido Line. The studio is a 5-minute walk from Ochiaibashi bus stop.

*Reservations can be made by telephone during weekday operating hours. However, please note that reservations and tours are available in only Japanese.

*This information is from the time of this article's publication.
*Prices and options mentioned are subject to change.
*Unless stated otherwise, all prices include tax.

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