Using a brush and ink, you practice your favorite kanji or your own name on hanshi practice paper, then write a final copy on shikishi (a decorative square board). Studios in Ginza and Yushima in Tokyo and in a Kyoto machiya townhouse welcome beginners and overseas travelers, while in Nara and Kumano, Hiroshima, you can also get hands-on with making the ink and brushes that calligraphy depends on.
Shodo (calligraphy) is a traditional Japanese art of writing characters with a brush dipped in ink, appreciating the rhythm of thick and thin strokes and the beauty of the empty space around them. Nara has long been known for producing ink and brushes, and the town of Kumano in Hiroshima Prefecture carries on its own brush-making culture. Sessions start with the basics, such as posture and how to hold the brush, and at many places you can take your finished piece home.
Places introduced on official tourism sites of local governments and tourism associations. Check each official site for prices, hours and booking.
📍 Bunkyo, Tokyo
A calligraphy class in Yushima where you choose a word you like, get guidance on how to write it and make a final copy on shikishi. You finish the piece with a seal made from the first hiragana of your name.
💡 Have a few words in mind before you go so you can start practicing right away on the day.
📍 Chuo, Tokyo
A Japanese culture studio in Ginza where you learn to hold the brush and write basic strokes, then copy your practiced characters onto shikishi and add a rakkan (artist's seal). You can also combine it with experiences such as tea ceremony or kimono dressing.
💡 It is easy to drop by between shopping and sightseeing, and pairing it with kimono dressing lets you enjoy calligraphy in kimono.
📍 Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto
In a Kyoto machiya townhouse, you hear how kanji and kana came about, practice your brushwork, then write your chosen kanji and your name on shikishi to take home. Guidance is available in English.
💡 Sessions take place in a tatami room, so if kneeling in seiza worries you, ask for a chair when you book.
📍 Nara, Nara
A Nara brush workshop where you go through the steps of brush making under the guidance of a certified traditional craftsperson and make a brush of your own. In the showroom you can also try out calligraphy brushes.
💡 Brush-making sessions require a reservation, so book ahead.
📍 Nara, Nara
A maker of Nara ink where, during the ink-making season, you can tour the production floor and try making nigiri-zumi (ink sticks shaped in your hand). The on-site ink museum also covers the history of sumi ink.
💡 Nigiri-zumi making only runs during the ink-making season from autumn to spring, so plan your visit accordingly.
📍 Kumano, Aki District, Hiroshima
A brush museum in Kumano, a famous brush-making town, where you can try part of the brush-making process or write and paint on large sheets of paper to create a piece styled like a hanging scroll. Exhibitions on the history of brushes and on calligraphy are also on view.
💡 If you want your name engraved on a brush, you need to book early, so check the official website in advance.
👘 7 placesTokyo & Around ・ Chubu & Hokuriku ・ Kansai
At a kimono rental shop you pick a pattern you love, get dressed by the staff, and head straight out to stroll historic streets. Specialist shops cluster in towns with old streetscapes, temples and shrines, such as Asakusa in Tokyo, Higashiyama in Kyoto, the Higashi Chaya District in Kanazawa and Kamakura. Many shops also offer yukata in summer, so you can enjoy a different look each season.
🍵 7 placesTokyo & Around ・ Chubu & Hokuriku ・ Kansai
In a tea room you watch the host's otemae (tea preparation), enjoy wagashi (Japanese sweets) and matcha, and then try whisking matcha yourself. Beginners and overseas travelers can easily join in Uji, home of Uji tea, in Kyoto city, in Kanazawa with its deep-rooted tea culture, and in Ginza, Tokyo.
🍡 6 placesChubu & Hokuriku ・ Kansai ・ Chugoku & Shikoku
Learn from wagashi artisans and instructors as you shape jo-namagashi (fine fresh confections) such as nerikiri (sweet bean paste confections) with your own hands. You can easily join in Kyoto and Kanazawa, where tea culture runs deep, and in Matsue and Izumo, known as wagashi towns.
🍣 5 placesTokyo & Around ・ Chubu & Hokuriku ・ Kansai
Under the guidance of chefs and instructors, you make nigiri and rolled sushi or hand-made soba noodles yourself and enjoy them on the spot. Classes are easy to join everywhere, from city-center studios in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto to soba country such as Togakushi in Nagano and Nikko in Tochigi.
💐 5 placesTokyo & Around ・ Kansai
Arrange seasonal flowers and branches in a vase and discover a uniquely Japanese sense of beauty through ikebana. You can try it at places that welcome beginners and overseas travelers, including Ikenobo at Rokkakudo in Kyoto, considered the birthplace of ikebana, the Sogetsu Kaikan in Tokyo and small studios in Osaka.
🏺 6 placesTokyo & Around ・ Chubu & Hokuriku ・ Chugoku & Shikoku ・ Kyushu
In the regions where artisans have handed down their skills, you can try pottery, indigo dyeing, gold leaf application, Edo Kiriko cut glass and papermaking with your own hands. From Mashiko and Arita ceramics to Edo Kiriko in Tokyo, Kanazawa gold leaf, Mino washi and Tokushima indigo, workshops and public facilities around Japan welcome first-timers.
🥁 5 placesTokyo & Around ・ Chubu & Hokuriku ・ Kansai
Use your whole body to beat taiko drums large and small, and feel the sound and rhythm resonate deep in your chest. Besides dedicated studios in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, you can try it on Sado Island, home base of the taiko performing group Kodo, and in Hamamatsu, home to a long-established taiko maker.
🧘 6 placesTokyo & Around ・ Chubu & Hokuriku ・ Kansai
Zazen (seated meditation) in a Zen temple and shakyo, copying a sutra one character at a time, are temple experiences that let you calm your mind in the middle of your travels. Temples that welcome first-timers include Eiheiji, head temple of the Soto school; Engakuji and Kenchoji, among the Five Great Zen Temples of Kamakura; Tofukuji and Ryosokuin in Kyoto; and Yakushiji in Nara.
🛕 6 placesTohoku ・ Chubu & Hokuriku ・ Kansai
A shukubo is lodging for pilgrims visiting a temple or shrine, where you can savor shojin ryori (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine), join the morning service and experience a day in a place of prayer. You can stay in long-standing centers of faith such as Koyasan in Wakayama, Mt. Hiei in Shiga, Zenkoji and Togakushi in Nagano, and Mt. Haguro of the Dewa Sanzan in Yamagata.
Place information is based on official tourism sites of local governments and tourism associations and on each place’s official site. Experiences and availability may change.
Checked: 2026-10-16
