Kintsugi Workshops in Tokyo
We offer following types of kintsugi lessons to meet the needs of our customers.
- One-hour Traditional Kintsugi Workshop (restoring plates using traditional kintsugi with urushi lacquer)
- One-hour Kintsugi-style Workshop (creating kintsugi style accessories and chopstick rests without using urushi lacquer)
- Regular Kintsugi Classes (repair your own broken vessels using urushi lacquer)
- Kintsugi Online Workshops (English)【Closed due to full reservation】
1) One-hour Traditional Kintsugi Workshop (about 60 mins):
In this workshop, you will have the opportunity to experience the most impressive step of traditional kintsugi repair: the dusting of gold powder over the restored parts.
Traditional kintsugi repair is based on the use of urushi (the sap of the lacquer tree). Urushi requires a lot of time to cure and it is not possible to complete a whole kintsugi repair with urushi within an hour. However, for the discovery workshop, we restore the objects in advance so that you can directly apply the finishing layer.
You can choose to dust gold on a restored Japanese plate (subject to availability, please contact us in advance).
The kintsugi vessel can be taken home with a special drying box* on the same day, picked up at our studio after at least a day of drying (longer drying is better like a week), or shipped to your hotel/country a week later with shipping fee.
＊You need to keep the box closed in a warm place (20-30℃) for at least a day (longer is better) to allow the lacquer to dry. An instruction manual attached with the box.
During all of our workshops, we exclusively use traditional kintsugi techniques, which are based on the use of natural urushi lacquer. It is the only fully food safe option for kintsugi.
Price : 12100 yen per person with 23kt gold finish (If you don't wish to have your kintsugi vessel, discounted to 6600 yen)
We can rent out the room for the price of 6 persons.
Important Notice：From 1st Jan 2025, the price increases to 16500 yen and the duration becomes longer to 90 mins . The contents of the workshop will be enhanced; you can experience the first step of kintsugi "sticking broken pieces together" as well !
Date/Time: Please check in the reservation page below. Reservations begin two months in advance.
【Note】If other dates and times requested, we will arrange for an additional 5,500 yen per group.
Ages : 10 yeas and older
Venue : Ebisu studio (up to 6 people) or Asakusa (up to 15 people)
If you wish on-site group workshops (ex. at your office), we have the other price list. Please check this page.
Reservation : Reserve directly from the following website (change the language at the bottom of the page)
- Traditional Kintsugi Workshops at Ebisu studio：https://coubic.com/tsugutsugu/736314
- Traditional Kintsugi Workshops at Asakusa studio：https://coubic.com/tsugutsugu/933486
▼ You can also click/tap on the colored boxes in the calendar below to proceed to the reservation process.
Note: The vessels vary in design and size from the photo at the time, and we cannot keep vessels in advance. Although many people request heavily broken vessels, we limit the degree of damage to that shown in the photos because it takes too much time and effort for the kintsugi artist to prepare the vessels up to the last step, and participants may not actually be able to complete the work within the time. However, if you really wish, you may be able to choose a vessel with a higher degree of breakage with an additional fee. (depending on the inventory at the time)
▼ Examples of vessels available for Kintsugi experience at the workshop
(In the workshop, you will sprinkle gold powder on the red arrows part where black lacquer has been applied.)
↓ After sprinkling gold powder
Cancellation Policy
-In case of cancellation from 3 days prior to the event to the day of the event: 100% of the workshop fee will be charged.
-Cancellation without notice: 100% of the reservation fee will be charged.
Late arrivals
If you do not show up within 15 minutes of your scheduled time, we will consider the workshop is cancelled. If you are going to be late for your appointment due to unavoidable circumstances, please contact us as soon as you know. However, we will not be able to extend the workshop time.
2) One-hour Kintsugi-style Workshop (about 1 hr):
For those who easily get rashes from lacquer or who want to take their creations home immediately, we recommend the "Kintsugi-style" workshop, which does not use urushi lacquer. Instead of using the traditional method, you can easily create kintsugi-like pieces using synthetic resin. Therefore, instead of tableware to serve food, chopstick rests, accessories, and key chains are made.
Above photo: Chopstick rests with pottery pieces found in the Japanese sea
Above photo: Earrings with with glass pieces found in the Japanese sea
Sea potteries and sea glasses can also be mixed to create fashionable items that blend Japanese and Western styles. Those pieces have been washed out in the sea over a long period of time, rounded at the corners, and become smaller and smaller when arrived at the shore. Once discarded as trash, they are not only picked up and reused, but also fashionably revitalized.
This kintsugi-style joint without using urushi lacquer is recently called “Modern-kintsugi." It is finished with brass instead of genuine gold.
Price : 6600 yen per person, all you can make within the time
We can rent out the room for the price of 6 persons.
Date/Time: Please check in the reservation page below. Reservations begin two months in advance.
【Note】If other dates and times requested, we will arrange for an additional 5,500 yen per group.
Ages : 6 yeas and older
Gold powder : Brass only
Venue : Ebisu studio (up to 6 people) or Asakusa (up to 13 people)
If you wish on-site group workshops (ex. at your office), we have the other price list.
Please check this page.
Reservation : Reserve directly from the following website (change the language at the bottom of the page)
- Kintsugi-style Workshops at Ebisu studio：https://coubic.com/tsugutsugu/2239882
- Kintsugi-style Workshops at Asakusa studio：https://coubic.com/tsugutsugu/4452380
▼ You can also click/tap on the colored boxes in the calendar below to proceed to the reservation process.
Cancellation Policy
-In case of cancellation from 3 days prior to the event to the day of the event: 100% of the workshop fee will be charged.
-Cancellation without notice: 100% of the reservation fee will be charged.
Late arrivals
If you do not show up within 15 minutes of your scheduled time, we will consider the workshop is cancelled. If you are going to be late for your appointment due to unavoidable circumstances, please contact us as soon as you know. However, we will not be able to extend the workshop time.
3) Regular Kintsugi Classes (90 minutes per class)
In the one-day kintsugi workshops, we prepare the vessels and objects, but in the regular kintsugi classes, you can repair your own broken vessels.
With our regular classes, you can learn to restore damaged objects using traditional kintsugi techniques, using the sap of the lacquer tree as a glue. Our classes are customized according to your experience with kintsugi and the kintsugi projects you wish to work on.
Students will learn kintsugi at our studio using the TSUGUKIT. The goal is that you can do kintsugi at home by yourself. You can also attend kintsugi lessons only when you stumble while doing kintsugi alone.
Urushi lacquer is the main ingredient used in traditional kintsugi. It is known for being very strong and durable once it has hardened. However, the hardening process of urushi takes time and requires specific conditions. A full kintsugi repair usually takes at least a few month because many layers of urushi are required. It usually takes at least 8-10 lessons to complete a full repair.
Course Fees:
Initial cost total: ①+②+③+④（tax incl.）
① Registration fee: 11000 yen
② Course fee:
- 1 time ticket 6,600 yen
- 5 times ticket 27,500 yen（5,500yen / class)
Expiration date: 6 months from purchase
- 10 times ticket 49,500 yen（4,950 yen / class）
Expiration date: 1 year from purchase
③ Material fee: You have to purchase your own TSUGUKIT at our studio. (9800yen ~15000)
④ Storage of items at Tsugu Tsugu's studio (including the use of the drying cabinet for optimal drying): 3300 yen/year
Venue: Ebisu studio (up to 6 people) or Asakusa (up to 7 people)
Date＆Time（English class）
-Tuesday mornings (10:00-11:30) in Ebisu, and night (19:00-20:30) in Asakusa
-Thursday mornings (10:00-11:30) & afternoon (14:00-15:30) in Ebisu
-Friday mornings (10:00-11:30) in Ebisu
-Sunday mornings (10:00-11:30) & afternoon (14:00-15:30) in Ebisu
【Note】Please continue to come to the same location.
Reservation : Contact us at least one week in advance at "contact" ,or please select the day of the week for English lessons from the reservation site below. (Payment on the day. Credit card is accepted)
Ebisu studio:
https://coubic.com/tsugutsugu/455113
【Note】
- Our traditional kintsugi, using Urushi lacquer and genuine gold or silver powder is completely natural and food safe.
- Short-term visitors are required to continue working on kintsugi at home if it is not completed in the class only.
- Lacquer may cause rashes. In our classrooms, we always ask students to work with gloves, but please be careful if you have sensitive skin.
- Lacquer hardens through oxidation and requires specific humidity and temperatures. After each layer, lacquered objects are placed in a controlled environment to harden, typically overnight.
Because of the many layers of lacquer required, kintsugi repairs usually take at least several months.
Therefore, it usually takes at least 8-19 lessons to complete a full repair. - Online lessons using Zoom will be available starting in September, 2023.
https://tsugu-tsugu.shop-kintsugi.com/products/online-kintsugi-class-english-ticket - If you want to plan your classes in advance, please send us pictures of the item you wish to repair. If you do not have a broken item to repair, you can get free for donated items or purchase a damaged piece at our studio before your first class.
- Frequently asked questions are listed here.Some pages are still being written, but will be updated as they become available.
https://tsugu-tsugu.shop-kintsugi.com/pages/faq
Measures taken to prevent the spread of infectious diseases: Hands should be sanitized when entering our studios. If you have fever or any other worrying symptoms, please refrain from coming to class and ask to reschedule. We thank you for your cooperation.
Our studios in Tokyo
Tsugu Tsugu - Ebisu Studio
Tsugu Tsugu - Asakusa Studio
4) Kintsugi Online Workshops (English)
【Closed now due to full reservation】