ATT.JAPAN × JapanUp! magazine
Since the Edo period (1603–1868), Tokyo has flourished as Japan’s preeminent metropolis. The city has many places where you can experience the traditional culture and craftsmanship unique to Japan, which have been nurtured over its long history.
Here we introduce a few of these hidden gems that offer chances for a more hands-on relationship with Japanese culture, and will leave you with handmade souvenirs to keep long after your trip as a treasured memory!
@Ganso Shokuhin Sample-ya Kappabashi Store | 元祖食品サンプル屋 合羽橋店
This store in Asakusa specializes in the art of food samples, also selling key chains and magnets made from these samples.
As a unique aspect of Japanese culture, these culinary replicas look just like the real thing, often used to show the highlights of restaurants at a glance.
Here, you can enjoy a hands-on experience making food samples of tempura and lettuce. Based on the traditional method crafted with wax, this original lineup has been developed by incorporating ideas and techniques of modern food sample artisans.
◉ Access: Asakusa Sta. (TX) → 5 min walk / Tawaramachi Sta.(Subway) → 10 min walk
◉ Budget: 3,000 yen ◉ Hours: 10:00–17:30 ◉ No fixed holidays (closed during New Year holidays)
Watching the wax instantly turn into a perfect life-like copy of tempura is a thrill!
@Cafe Neko-e-mon | 招き猫（カフェ猫衛門)
The retro shitamachi traditional district of Yanaka is known for its many neighborhood cats.
Here, you’ll also find a more than 90-year-old traditional folk-house now renovated into a café where you can take an all-white maneki-neko (lucky cat) and paint it to create your own one-of-a-kind version.
Maneki-neko are believed to bring good fortune, with the right paw raised to invite wealth and the left paw raised to welcome people.
While creating your artwork, enjoy a coffee and some cat-shaped sweets.
◉ Access: JR Nippori Sta. → 10 min walk ◉ Budget: Large figure 3,300 yen, Small figure 2,750 yen
◉ Hours: 11:00–18:00 ◉ Closed on Mondays (or the following day when it falls on a national holiday)
While relaxing in the serenity of the cafe, feel free to doodle with colorful pens!
@Sumida Edo Kiriko Museum | すみだ江戸切子館
Located in Sumida City, this workshop and store specializes in Edo Kiriko, a form of glasswork involving delicate surface etching processes invented in Edo (old Tokyo).
At this site, experience making your own original glass using these traditional techniques. Choose from various shapes of blue and red glass, then carve a pattern to create your very own, one-of-a-kind Edo Kiriko!
◉ Access: JR Kinshicho Sta. → 6 min walk
◉ Budget: Adult 4,500 yen (tax excluded), Elementary school student (from 4th grade) 2,300 yen (tax excluded)
◉ Hours: 10:00–17:00 ◉ Closed on Sundays, Mondays, and New Year holidays
At first, participants learn how to carve on a practice glass before making their own with the kind guidance of staff, so even beginners can feel completely at ease!
@Asakusa Amezaiku Ameshin Hanakawado Studio | 浅草 飴細工 アメシン 花川戸店
A specialty shop boasting some of the best techniques in Japan for amezaiku, the traditional craft of using scissors to sculpt softened candy heated to about 90 degrees Celsius.
At the Hanakawado Studio in Asakusa, classes provide the experience of making amezaiku rabbits. A video with English subtitles helps illustrate the process so you can practice before the real thing.
◉ Access: Asakusa Sta. (Subway) → 7 min walk ◉ Budget: Adult 3,100 yen, High school age or younger 2,500 yen
◉ Hours: 10:30–18:00 ◉ Closed on Thursdays, temporary closures
The key is to shape the candy while still hot and soft. The sculpted candy can be boxed to make great home decorations!
@komorebi | 水引（komorebi）
This store in Harajuku exhibits and sells modern-style traditional crafts, mainly made with tombodama (glass beads).
Here you can experience making mizuhiki, a string decoration made from washi paper used for gift-wrapping. Beginners use basic mizuhiki techniques to make chopstick rests and rabbit-shaped brooches. Lessons can also be conducted in English.
*Continuation of the course after 2025 still undecided.
◉ Access: Meiji-jingumae <Harajuku> Sta. (Subway) → 2 min walk ◉ Budget: Chopstick rest 1,650 yen, Rabbit brooch 2,500 yen
◉ Hours: 12:30–17:30 ◉ Closed on Mondays, Sundays, national holidays
The rabbit brooch is made with a special kind of string to make fluffy, cute bunnies!
About att.JAPAN
The magazine att.JAPAN is for non-Japanese visiting from overseas and those residing in Japan. This quarterly magazine written in English, Mandarin, and Korean offers a wide range of information about Japan—from travel and sightseeing to various aspects of traditional culture and the latest trends. The magazine is distributed at major airports, hotels, and tourist information centers throughout Japan.
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