From Tokyo: Tsubame-Sanjo Copper & Knife Workshop Day

Private long day from Tokyo to Tsubame-Sanjo: hammer your own copper cup at 200-year-old Gyokusendo and forge a blade at a working blacksmith dojo. Both pieces are yours to keep.
Tsubame-Sanjo has hammered copper and forged steel for two hundred years, and this day puts the tools in your hands at both the copperware workshop and the blacksmith dojo instead of watching from behind glass.

Pickup is at 06:00 from your Tokyo hotel or address for the drive to Tsubame-Sanjo. At Gyokusendo, a copperware workshop open since the Edo period, you watch the open factory floor and then hammer your own copper cup under a craftsman's instruction. At Sanjo Kajidojo, a working blacksmith dojo, an instructor guides you through heating and sharpening a small blade at the forge. Between the two workshops, the Tsubame metalware museum fills in the history of the region's tool making, and the group stops for Sanjo's local curry ramen for lunch (own cost) before the drive back to Tokyo.

Gyokusendo's open factory floor lets you watch craftsmen at full-size hammering stations before you sit at a smaller bench yourself, tapping a copper blank into a cup shape under close guidance so the metal does not crack. At Sanjo Kajidojo the forge is genuinely hot and the hammering genuinely loud, and the instructor keeps a close eye on grip and angle so your blade comes out sharp and straight rather than bent.

Both workshop sessions, the copper cup you hammer and the blade you forge, are included in the price, along with the private van and driver-guide. Lunch is own cost.

Built for anyone who likes making something with their hands and taking it home, and for travellers interested in Japanese craft traditions beyond a museum display case.

If the copperware and knife workshops, or any other included stop, ticket or activity, cannot run on your date because of weather, closure or availability, you can take a full refund of your booking, guaranteed; an equivalent alternative is offered only if you prefer it.

To guarantee availability book as soon as possible. Early booking is worth consideration especially if you planning the trip during high season like public holidays or weekends.

This excursion you can cancel with no cost up to 24 hours before the start of the trip. If you cancel it after 24 hours or not show up on the excursion you will still be charged the full price of the activity. Being late on pick-up or departure will be considered as not showing up.