Try painting lacquerware after hiking from Yabuhara to Narai!

On a Really Rural Japan guided hike from Yabuhara to Narai, this experience can be added on to the end of the hike. Your guide will come with you to translate. The only extra costs will be a 3,000-5,000 JPY experience fee to the shop plus transport and optional delivery.

Here, in the Kiso Valley, a small unsuspecting village called Hirasawa was once the capital of Japanese lacquerware. To this day the village is filled with quiet shops run by lacquerware craftsmen, some of which go back several generation.

What is Lacquerware?

Lacquerware refers to the sap of the lacquer tree, a tree indigenous to Japan and East Asia. The sap is extremely toxic and craftsmen have to be very careful while practicing their craft, not to poison themselves. Processed lacquer tree sap is slowly, over several months layered onto ornate items, often adding colour to them. The craft is recognised as an officially designated traditional handicraft, one of only seven in Nagano Prefecture.

What do they do at Chikiriya?

During this experience we will visit Chikiriya, a lacquerware shop run by a lacquerware craftsman of several generations and his apprentice, his daughter. Together they create simply sublime items of Japanese lacquerware.

What will you do during this experience?

• Meet and greet the master craftsman: During this experience you will start by meeting the master craftsmen who run the shop. They will explain to you the history of the craft, give you a quick tour of the shop.

• Lacquerware painting experience: After learning about the craft, it is time to get hands on. You can choose an item for yourself to decorate with lacquer. The price of the experience will depend on the item that you choose. You can choose between chopsticks, plates, bowls, etc. But you can expect the experience to cost from around 3,000-5,000 JPY.

• Shopping and farewells: Finally you can peruse the shop freely and say your farewells.

How do you get there?

Hirasawa is about a 30 minute walk from Narai Juku. There is also a train station in the village.

Prices:

• If you are doing this as a bonus experience after hiking from Yabuhara to Narai, you only have to pay the shop’s experience fee of around 3,000-5,000 JPY plus delivery costs if you are not staying around long enough for it to dry (about 2 days). Transportation fees are not included.

• If you are doing this as a stand alone experience the price will be 30,000 JPY + experience fee. Delivery and transportation costs are not included.