Best Traditional Arts Spot List

Weave, watch, and wear traditional textiles from elegant Kyoto

Embraced by nature, this studio has produced numerous public art works.

Displays and sells cut glass. Workshops are also offered.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.