Hakuba Japanese Cultural Workshops: Calligraphy, Tea Ceremony, Incense Crafting and More

Hakuba Japanese Cultural Workshops: Calligraphy, Tea Ceremony, Incense Crafting and More

Hakuba Japanese Cultural Workshops: Calligraphy, Tea Ceremony, Incense Crafting and More

Hakuba Japanese Cultural Workshops: Calligraphy, Tea Ceremony, Incense Crafting and More

In collaboration with local artisans and cultural experts, The Bears Japan offers hands-on Japanese cultural workshops at Kumaza on Echoland’s main street in Hakuba, allowing visitors to experience traditional Japanese arts in the heart of Hakuba

※ Reservations are not required—simply visit us at Kumaza, open daily from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM, for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Japanese Calligraphy

Experience the beauty of traditional Japanese calligraphy (Shodō) through a hands-on cultural workshop in Hakuba. Learn the basics of calligraphy using a traditional brush and ink, including correct posture, brush handling, and stroke techniques, while practicing kanji on authentic calligraphy paper.

Teacher: Naomi

Japanese Tea Ceremony

You can choose your favorite kanji to create a finished piece to take home. Instructors can also help write your name in kanji and explain the meaning behind each character. You can write your final artwork on traditional items such as a fan, shikishi board, black paper with gold or red ink, hanging scroll, kite, or hagoita paddle. This beginner-friendly Japanese calligraphy experience is suitable for all ages and makes a memorable cultural activity in Hakuba.

Japanese Tea Ceremony

Experience traditional Japanese culture through an authentic Japanese Tea Ceremony. Watch and enjoy freshly prepared matcha green tea, carefully made and served by an experienced host, and paired with traditional Japanese sweets. Guests can also choose a hands-on tea ceremony, where you learn to prepare matcha yourself using traditional tools and techniques.

Teacher: Megumi

Japanese Tea Ceremony

Each experience includes a small souvenir set with traditional Japanese paper and bamboo toothpicks, and additional Japanese sweets are available for purchase on the day.

Japanese Textile Making

This hands-on Japanese workshop in Hakuba is perfect for guests who enjoy crafting and want a relaxing activity off the slopes. Guided by a professional designer, you can create your own handmade item by choosing from a variety of creative options.

Teacher: Maki

Japanese Tea Ceremony

Select from designing a furoshiki, a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth printed with your own block-style patterns, making a custom doll with original clothing and accessories, enjoying a calm embroidery session using your choice of fabric and thread, or creating a handmade necklace decorated with cloth and charms. This workshop offers a creative, beginner-friendly experience and a unique handmade souvenir to take home.

Japanese Sweets Deco & Origami

Enjoy a fun hands-on workshop where you can create either Sweets Deco or Origami, two popular Japanese craft experiences. Sweets Deco is a clay art originating in Japan that uses resin clay to make realistic-looking sweets such as cakes, macarons, ice cream, and fruit. Origami is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, transforming a flat sheet of paper into a three-dimensional form without cutting or glue.

Teacher: Shio

Japanese Tea Ceremony

In this workshop, you will create your own original Sweets Deco or Origami piece to take home, making it a relaxing and creative cultural activity suitable for all ages.

Japanese Incense Crafting

Experience the fragrance of traditional Japanese natural incense using materials sourced entirely from Japan. The incense ingredients in this workshop are carefully selected by a Kōji, an incense specialist from a long-established natural incense shop near Zenkoji Temple in Nagano.

In this hands-on experience, you will create your own original fragrance by selecting and blending natural incense materials.

Teacher: Norika

Japanese Tea Ceremony

Choose how to finish your incense: place it in a small fabric pouch made from Japanese patterned cloth, or store it in a ball- or gourd-shaped wooden case. If you select the wooden case, you will decorate it using your choice of traditional Japanese fabrics. Traditional Japanese incense dolls will also be available for purchase on the day.

Our Japanese workshops in Hakuba are perfect for travelers looking to take a break from skiing, enjoy an indoor activity, or fill a rest day when weather conditions aren’t ideal. Any season in Hakuba, our Japanese workshops offers an enriching cultural alternative to the slopes.

HOW TO EXPERIENCE & PAY

  • Reservation is not necessary. You can just walk-in!

  • Please come to Kumaza on the day/time of the workshop you want to experience.

  • Payments to be made on the day at the workshop (payment method: cash or credit card).

  • The café will be open during the workshop for some coffee, drinks and food. (9-11am Breakfast / 11am-2pm Lunch / 3-5pm Happy Hour / 5-9pm Dinner).

SCHEDULE

MON   10:00-12:00 Japanese Calligraphy (from Feb 9th)
TUES
WED  10:30-14:00 Sweets Deco & Origami (from Jan 14th)
THURS
 FRI  11:00-15:00 Japanese Incense Crafting (from Jan 9th)
SAT  10:00-15:00 Making Your Textiles (from Feb 7th)
SUN  15:00-17:00 Japanese Tea Ceremony (from Jan 25th)

※ Please note that there may be days when the workshops will not be held due to the teacher’s schedule.

 

LOCATION

 

Kumaza

3020-626 Hokujo, Hakuba-mura,

Kitaazumi-gun, Nagano-ken, 399-9301, JAPAN

Workshop Contact #: +81-80-3384-3442