Make It Yourself, Across Two Regions: Silver and Ink in Tokyo, Clay in Kanazawa
One Way It Could UnfoldThis is a sample, not a fixed product: a sketch of how one hands-on journey might take shape. It is shown as an illustration and is not offered for booking as it stands. Change the masters, the regions, the pace or the length. Your version starts with a conversation.
One Passion, Two Masters, Two Regions
This journey follows one pull: to sit beside someone who still works the old way, and to try it with your own hands. This sample carries that one desire across two regions rather than collecting sights. In Tokyo, two masters who teach by hand: a morning at a silver workshop now in its twelfth and thirteenth generations, and a morning of sumi-e in Shukou Tsuchiya's keikoba. Then the Shinkansen north to Kanazawa, a former castle town where craft is still made rather than displayed, for a morning at a potter's wheel.
The work happens in the mornings, when hands and attention are freshest. Afternoons are lighter, and a whole day in Kanazawa is held open, so what you made has time to sink in.
- Two Tokyo masters of one desire — silver with Gindendo, ink with Shukou Tsuchiya
- Then clay in Kanazawa, with a potter introduced by our local partner
- One English-speaking guide from the first evening to the last
- Mornings at the bench, lighter afternoons, and a day held open in Kanazawa
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Day by Day
A sample pace — every Bespoke Tour is rebuilt around your dates, interests and energy level before departure.
Arrival, and a First Evening in Tokyo
A private transfer from the airport to a hotel chosen for quiet (category, not a named property). The evening is left open: a short walk and an unhurried dinner nearby.
A Morning Inside Gindendo
A private introduction from the thirteenth generation, then chased silverwork at the bench: watch first, then try, with time to ask both generations what separates good work from ordinary. After lunch, an easy walk through the old neighbourhood around the workshop with your guide, or back to the hotel to rest.
Ink in the Morning, the Afternoon Your Own
Shukou Tsuchiya's keikoba: grinding the ink, learning the single stroke that cannot be taken back, and painting sumi-e with a shihan of the Nanboku Bokugakai lineage. The afternoon is left unbooked, for a long lunch, a gallery, or simply the hotel.
North by Shinkansen, Then the Old Town
About two and a half hours on the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa. An afternoon on foot through the samurai quarter and the teahouse districts, then dinner built around Kanazawa's own cuisine.
Clay, Then Stillness
About two hours in a working ceramic studio with a potter and an English-speaking facilitator: time at the wheel and time to talk, preparation included. No experience needed. In the afternoon, a quiet hour at the D.T. Suzuki Museum and its Water Mirror Garden.
A Day Held Open
Nothing is booked, but everything is ready: a car on standby, a lunch table held until the evening before, and three ideas waiting. Kenroku-en at opening, before the day-trippers. The teahouse lanes before the shops open. Or a hot-spring town in the hills, about an hour away. Travelling with someone whose passion lies elsewhere? This is their day.
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Onward
A slow morning, then the Shinkansen back to Tokyo, or on to your next destination.
Your Two Masters in Tokyo
Both are Bespoke Discovery masters you can read about in full on Our Masters. In Kanazawa, the potter is introduced through our local partner and confirmed for your dates.
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Let's Build Your Own Version of This Journey
Every Bespoke Tour starts as a conversation, not a fixed package. Tell us what you are drawn to and we will shape an itinerary around it.
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