From Tokyo: 3-Day Kaga Lacquer & Kutani Customizable Tour

The Kaga area of Ishikawa is home to two fine crafts: Yamanaka lacquerware, with its thin turned wood, and Kutani ware, colourful painted porcelain. This private 3-day trip from Tokyo lets you see the makers and paint a piece yourself.

Yamanaka Onsen is a hot spring town in a green river valley. Its wood turners shape bowls on the lathe with great skill before they are lacquered. At a lacquerware hall and studio you see the tools and watch the work.

A short walk follows the Kakusenkei Gorge along the river, with the old wooden Korogi Bridge.

Kutani ware is known for strong colours of green, yellow, purple, blue and red. At a Kutani studio you paint your own plate or cup. It is fired later and shipped to you.

Natadera Temple in Komatsu has a garden of strange rock cliffs, caves and small halls in the trees. The poet Basho wrote a poem here.

Your driver-guide meets you in the lobby of your hotel in central Tokyo. The van has room for your luggage, and we stop at expressway rest areas for toilets, snacks and coffee. Times in the plan below are a guide and can shift a little with traffic.

This is a private tour. Only your group. Your driver-guide speaks English, and also Hindi and Urdu.

If a workshop is closed on your date, you can take a full refund of your booking, guaranteed.

Day 1 Morning pickup in Tokyo and drive to Yamanaka Onsen (about 6 hours). Evening walk on the Kakusenkei Gorge path. Evening free in Yamanaka.

Day 2 Yamanaka lacquerware studio, Kutani ware painting session, and Natadera Temple.

Day 3 Morning drive back to your Tokyo hotel, with rest stops on the way.