Looking for handcrafted Japanese handcrafts? Whether you are in the US or visiting Japan to buy souvenirs of Japanese handcraft, here are the top stores and exhibit halls where you can find Japanese handcrafters work:
1. Kyoto Handicraft Center – This duty-free shop in Kyoto, Japan offers innumerable Japanese handicrafts from traditional crafts and specialty goods. The store accepts major currencies around the world and also major credit cards and traveler’s check. You also do not need to worry about language barrier because there are English-speaking staffs trained to assist you. The most exciting offering of KHC is it allows you to watch handcrafters at work. The floor dedicated to exploration of Kyoto’s traditional crafts workshops, demonstration and product display is called En-ya at the 7th floor.
This is the place where you can have an actual experience of making traditional craft at Sou or hands-on activities studio. The exciting hands-on experience takes less than an hour or 40 – 60 minutes. An English speaking staff will be provided for you. There are 10 Japanese traditional crafts you can do like clay doll bell, cloisonne accesory, spinning top, incense bad, woodblock print, gold powder drawing, ans Shichimi or the 7 kind Japanese spices.
2. Japan Traditional Craft Center – If you want to learn more about the Traditional Crafts of Japan, you may want to check out Japan Traditional Craft Center at Ikebukuro Station in central Tokyo. The exhibit hall has permanent exhibitions of 130 craft items representing different regions of Japan.
3. Japanese Hibiki – “Hibiki” is Japanese for “touching someone’s heart.” The Japanese Green Tea Hibiki-an website was formed to promote the Japanese tea culture. Of course, Japanese tea ceremonies wouldn’t be genuine without the accessories. If you are looking for matcha bowls to complete your Japanese Tea Ceremony, hibiki-an.com is the best resource for that. They ship handmade Raku Yaki or ceramic matcha bowls. Raku Yaki is the highest grade matcha bowl used for the Japanese tea ceremony. Aside from matcha bowls, there are also handrafted teacups that you may add to your collection. Among of the limited handcrafted teacup pair featured in the site is the Blue Crystal created by Wazan Azuma. Other interesting handcrafted pieces are the teacups made at Toan Kiln, a place in Japan known for its careful craftsmanship. The teacups are named Camellia Tama Yunomi priced US$90 – 110 per set.
4. More Japanese Handcrafts – Can’t just get enough of Japanese handcrafters works? Yutaka Miyauchi, a North Carolinian resident, created an online store where collectors of Japanese crafts can easily access products with ensured quality. The online store features amazing products like handmade chopsticks, sake ware set, sake bottle, tea pots, and, beer pair cups. The store accepts Mastercard, Visa, and Paypal payments. Yutaka also manages a blog site where he writes about Japanese cultures. To view Yutaka’s online store, you may click this link japanesehandcraft.com
