Special Grand Opening Sale: Enjoy 50% OFF all workshops through December 31, 2026!
Hosted inside the newly opened HIS Travel Agency branch within SAKURA MACHI Kumamoto—the exact same complex as the Kumamoto Airport Limousine Bus terminal—this indoor cultural workshop offers effortless access and trusted hospitality, rain or shine. With our on-site luggage storage service, you can store your suitcases before or after hotel check-in, making it easy to enjoy sightseeing hands-free. Choose from four hands-on experiences: Chopstick crafting, Daruma painting, Calligraphy, or Matcha making.
Handcrafted Wooden Chopsticks Making Craft a pair of custom wooden chopsticks tailored to your own hands. Choose your favorite natural Japanese wood, shave and shape it using traditional woodworking tools, polish it smooth with sandpaper, and personalize it with your name in Japanese characters before finishing with natural oil. Practical, lightweight, and deeply rooted in Japanese daily culture, your handmade chopsticks make an unforgettable keepsake to take home the same day.
Traditional Daruma Doll Painting Design and paint your very own Daruma—Japan’s iconic lucky charm symbolizing perseverance, good fortune, and the fulfillment of wishes. Starting with a blank white Daruma as your canvas, you can paint and decorate it freely with no strict rules. Learn the cultural meaning behind painting one eye when making a wish and the other when it comes true, then take your finished Daruma home as a meaningful keepsake from your trip to Kumamoto.
Japanese Calligraphy (Shodo) Experience Experience the expressive beauty of Shodo, the traditional Japanese art of brush calligraphy. Learn how to hold a calligraphy brush, prepare black ink, and master basic brushstrokes before writing your favorite Kanji character—such as "Love," "Harmony," or your own name translated into Japanese characters—on traditional Japanese washi paper. You can take your finished calligraphy artwork home with you the same day as a special souvenir of your journey in Kumamoto.
Matcha Making Experience Discover the serene art of Japanese tea culture in Kumamoto. In this hands-on session, you will learn how to properly whisk rich, aromatic matcha green tea using a traditional bamboo whisk (chasen) and enjoy it alongside a seasonal Japanese sweet (wagashi). At the end of the session, feel free to take commemorative photos in our traditional setting. It is a relaxing, authentic experience that lets you savor the flavors and hospitality of Japan.