Hakuba Japanese Workshop

Welcome to our “Hakuba Japanese Workshop” nestled inside Bears Café Kumaza, right on Echoland’s main street.
In collaboration with local experts, we offer unforgettable cultural experiences.
It’s a perfect option for visitors seeking a break from the slopes or for days when the weather isn’t ideal.

Please come and immerse yourself in traditional Japanese culture through a variety of hands-on activities!

※Please scroll down to the bottom of this page for the daily schedule.
※Reservation is not necessary, please come and visit us at the cafe (Bears Cafe Kumaza is open for breakfast/lunch/dinner from 7am-21pm).

Please come and experience the beauty of Japanese calligraphy.

In this workshop, you will first learn the basic skills to write a “Kanji”(Chinese character) with a traditional brush and ink… the correct posture, how to hold the brush, how to make a stroke, and etc. After that, you will pick your favorite “Kanji”(if you want to write your name in “Kanji”, we can help you), practice as much as you like on special calligraphy paper until you are ready create your masterpiece to take home.
For your masterpiece, you can select items from the different courses below:

• Fan (You can select from black or white/for black, you will use a gold or red ink)
• Shikishi (It is a special kind of Japanese card paper that is often used for painting, drawing and autographs)
• Black Paper (2 papers/You will use a gold or red ink)
  • Hanging scroll
  • Kite
  • Hagoita (It is a traditional Japanese badminton racket)

Please come and experience the traditional Japanese culture of the “Tea Ceremony”.

You can experience watching and participating in the actual tea ceremony. You will be learning the etiquette of the ceremony, and you will enjoy the Maccha green tea with traditional Japanese sweets. You will also experience making the tea by yourself.

You will receive a traditional paper, bamboo toothpicks and dried sweets as a souvenir.

※Other traditional Japanese sweets will be sold on the day.

This workshop is for guests who loves hand-making, and who wants some time off the slopes. Let’s make “Your Favorite” from the following options with a professional desginer.

● Let’s make a “Furoshiki”: It is a square shaped cloth used in Japan to wrap items and carry them. Since it is a simple cloth, “Furoshiki” can be easily stored, is very light and can wrap many kinds of items in different shapes. You will design your own textile pattern on this “Furoshiki” using various stamps in block printing style.
● Let’s make a doll: You will make your own doll by designing the doll’s dress and accessories.
● Let’s enjoy you embroidery time: You will choose your favorite cloth and thread to enjoy embroidery.
● Let’s make a necklace: You will knit your necklace and decorate is with cloth and charms. 

Please come and enjoy making a cute “Sweets Deco” or a “Origami”.
“Sweets Deco” is a clay craft originating from Japan that uses resin clay to create and decorate sweets (cakes, macarons, ice cream, fruits, etc.) to look like the real sweets.
“Origami” is the Japanese art of paper folding, which involves transforming a flat sheet of paper into a three-dimensional sculpture by folding it without cutting or gluing.

In this workshop, you will create your original “Sweets Deco” or “Origami”.

Please come and experience the fragrance of the Japanese natural incense materials.

The incense materials used in this workshop are all from Japan and they have been selected by a “Kohji”(an incense specialist) of the natural incense specialty store near the Zenkoji temple in Nagano.

In this workshop, you can experience creating your original fragrance by selecting and combining the materials.
And then there are two options. You can either put the incense into a small bag (you can choose your favorite Japanese patterned cloth), or you can put the incense into a ball or gourd shaped wooden case.
If you choose the wooden case, you will decorate the case by pasting the Japanese patterned cloths of your preference on to the surface of the case.

※Traditional Japanese Incense Dolls will also be sold on the day.