About this tour
When Alex from our team tried the Sōsen Aogi workshop at Shimizu Shoten in Kyoto, we got a rare look at how this pocket-sized origami fan gets made — from paper layering through to the fold. The 78-year-old shop is one of only two in Japan making this particular fan design, and it's a hands-on experience: you tour the workshop, watch the craftspeople at work, then decorate and assemble your own to take home. Ninety minutes total, and you walk out with something you've actually made.
Highlights
- Watch the full fan-making process — layering, cutting, folding — rarely shown to visitors
- Decorate your fan with foil stamping and personal touches before assembly
- Take home a pocket-sized fan with your name printed on it
- Small-batch producer — only two companies in Japan make this exact design
- Wheelchair accessible workshop in a long-standing family business
- Interpreter included; suitable from age 6 onwards
- Photo download service captures your finished creation
What to expect
The workshop starts with a tour through Shimizu Shoten's workspace, where you'll see how each fan gets built from flat paper to finished product. The craftspeople work methodically — it's a calm, focused space, not a chaotic studio. You'll observe the stages that make this fan unique: how they layer and cut without using the traditional fan ribs that older designs rely on. After the tour, you move to your own bench with guidance from the staff and an interpreter on hand.
Then the hands-on part begins. You get to add your own decorative flourishes — foil stamping is the main option — before folding and assembling the fan yourself. It's not complicated, but it requires attention; the staff walk you through each step. By the end, you've got a functioning, pocket-sized fan with your name on it. The whole thing feels genuine — you're not just decorating a pre-made object, you're part of the actual construction.
What travellers say
- Rare access to the entire fan-making process from start to finish
- One of only two workshops in Japan making this specific fan design
- Hands-on assembly — you actually make your fan, not just decorate it
- Wheelchair accessible; interpreter included; family-friendly from age 6
- Walk away with a named, functional fan as a tangible memory
- No guaranteed parking; first-come, first-served basis only
- Transport to and from the workshop not included; plan ahead
- Ninety minutes — tight for deep craft history or extended technique practice
- Decoration options limited mainly to foil stamping; no painting or major customisation
Themes summarised by our team from public information about this tour. Verify specifics on the operator's page before booking.
Good to know
This is genuinely unusual. Most fan workshops let you paint or sticker-bomb a blank; here you're in on the actual making. The exclusivity matters too — owning one of these fans means you've got something from one of two workshops in the entire country doing this work. It's kid-friendly from age 6 up, and the space is wheelchair accessible, which isn't always a given in older Kyoto workshops. The interpreter means language isn't a barrier.
Parking is first-come, first-served, so no guarantee of a spot. You'll need to sort your own transport to the shop — it's not included, and you'll want to check public transport options beforehand. The workshop is only 90 minutes, so if you're hoping for a deeper dive into fan-making history or technique, you might find it a bit compressed. Kids under 5 aren't allowed, which narrows it for families with younger children. The foil stamping decoration is the main creative option; if you were hoping for painting or more elaborate customisation, it's limited.
Tour sold and operated by Viator via Viator. Descriptions on this page are original Global Hobo summaries written by our team — not copied from the operator. Prices and availability are confirmed at checkout.