Washi Paper Workshop — Attraction in Nanto

An incredible experience! For about 800 yen you can spend 10 minutes being guided through making washi paper with a kanji and paper petals of your choice on it. This process is so quick because hes invested in a setup to suck the moisture out quickly and then lays the paper on a hotplate to dry, so once the experience is over it will be ready very quickly. The items in this shop are stunning, with an array of hand made paper and hand made paper figures that are beautifully painted and well priced. I went there twice while I was there, once for the first time, and a second because they had a stunning print I couldnt stop thinking about as I looked around the village. Truly a must visit if you plan to come to Ainokura village. It gives you a very unique momento from your trip and also just a wonderful experience. The two who run this shop are...

Washi paper is traditional Japanese handmade paper crafted from the long, strong fibers of plants like the kozo (paper mulberry), gampi, and mitsumata. The intricate, manual process involves steeping, stripping, boiling the fibers in an alkali solution, beating them into a pulp with the help of a mucilaginous aid called neri, and then skillfully forming individual sheets on a bamboo screen. The resulting paper is known for its strength, beauty, and sustainable nature, using renewable plant resources instead of cutting down trees. At the interesting workshop we had a go making our own paper and printing on it. Have a look at some of the results in photos. You can buy professionally done washi paper and products at the store at the end of...

The Japanese paper-making experience is interesting. Owner can speak English. He explained well about the material, how to make and also talked about the history of the village.

Their art pieces are beautiful. I bought a pair of paper owls. It’s very pretty. I love to buy souvenir from small shop like this.

Their workshop area is very cool and gets a lot of collection, e.g. paper umbrella,...