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Mochi (rice cake) Making and Visiting Crafts Making Villages With The History of 1500 Years
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Joined 2019
Mochi is a rice cake that is chewy, soft and delicious. This tour provides you a highly amusing experience where you can make the mochi on your own from steamed rice to round-shaped mochi filled with sweet red beans and one with toppings by a pestle and mortar in the old Echizen classic farmer's house. Echizen is a major crafts town so you can learn how artisans produce crafts very closely including washi paper using the bark of trees and knives derived from a Japanese sword. It will be so fun!
Itinerary
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
JR Echizen-Takefu Station
- meet at JR Echizen-Takefu station * meeting time, the tour duration and attractions can be changed at your request.
Echizen Knife Village (50 min)
14 knife makers are manufacturing knives in this village (factory) and you can view how artisans/craftsmen producing knives from the 2nd floor of its factory including a small knife museum. Individual knife makers sell their knives at a shop.
Mochi Making at Yamafutokoro Farm Inn (150 min)
Making mochi (Japanese rice cake) from steamed rice by pounding with a pestle and a mortar. Then create round-shaped mochi by hands. It will be a great fun and memorable experience.
Lunch
Enjoy eating your handmade mochi after making it! Explore the backyard mountain to see wild vegetables.
Washi Paper Making Factory Tour (60 min)
Learn how washi paper is made from fibers taken out of bark of trees through viewing craftsmen producing washi through a whole process. OR experience in making washi using their tools if you wish. Workshop/factory we visit is basically making various sizes of paper.
Visit Museums of Udatsu Paper & Craft / Paper & Culture & Washi Shop (60 min)
Visit museums to see various types of washi paper with many different patterns. View a craftsman making washi paper using the bark of trees and organic adhesive made from a plant. Explore a washi paper shop selling many kinds of washi products.
Echizen-Takefu JR Station
Ending Point
JR Echizen-Takefu Station
Want to personalize this tour?
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
Inclusions & Exclusions
tour fee
-Mochi making fee including lunch: 2,500 yen/person for a group of 3 and above, 3,000 yen/person for a group of 2.
-taxis are required for this tour due to no trains and very few buses which will cost approximately 13,000 yen.
-Washi paper museum: 300 yen pp
-Washi factory tour: it depends on a private workshop.
Tour Important Information
*This tour requires taxis due to very few buses in Echizen which will cost approximately 13,000 yen on top of the tour fee.
*Please let me know in advance if you have any food allergies or other dietary restrictions.
Cancellation Policy
- Free cancellation - 8 days prior to meeting time
- 50% Refund - 3 to 7 days prior to meeting time
- No Refund - Within 2 day(s) prior to meeting time
Joined 2019
About Tour Guide Yoshie K.
Hi, I am Yoshie. I am a national government licensed English speaking Guide. I used to work for multinational companies and served as an interpreter for several years and travelled around Japan with coworkers. I love plants, nature, travelling as well as finding good places to eat! I am also a communicative person.
After having lived in Tokyo for some decades, now I live in my hometown, Fukui where you can have a great experience of Zen buddhism in the head temple of the Zen sect, Eiheiji which was founded in 1244. Fukui Dinosaur Museum is very popular regardless of age. It is one of the world's three largest dinosaurs. Echizen is also well known for Japan's handmade crafts including kitchen knives, washi paper, lacquer wares, Tansu chests and pottery. Seeing craftsmen's work right in front of you makes you excited and impressed.
I have been travelling Kanazawa since my high school age so I know well about the town to show you around as well as Shirakawago, a day trip from Kanazawa.
I am excited to meet you and coordinate what you are really interested in to make you the happiest memories in Japan.
I look forward to guiding you soon!
Reviews
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Andrea A.
“My favorite day of my whole trip!”
If you're looking for something different other than sightseeing and want to experience more Japanese culture, you need to book this tour with Yoshie. She was an outstanding guide even before I booked it. I had questions in regards to luggage storage at the station and she offered to store my bag in her car. She also provided an estimation of how much things would cost, as well as an itinerary. We did a lot in 7 hours and never did I feel rushed. From the knife village, washi paper and Tansu chest artisans, everyone was so nice to share what they did, answered all my questions and even allowed me to do some of the process. I even got to make my own washi paper to take home. Also, the place we went to for lunch was delicious. It was like your grandmother cooking for you. I will definitely recommend this to everyone I know that is going to Japan, as well as come back myself.
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Yoshie K.
Hi Andrea, thank you so much for your thoughtful and pleasant review. I am very pleased to hear that you really enjoyed the whole crafts tour in Echizen. Although It was your first time making a washi paper, you looked so skillful and in fact you made a beautiful large paper. Thank you for coming to Echizen and I look forward to seeing you again! Yoshie
Elizabeth P.
“Major Yoshie fans”
We couldn’t have been more impressed with Yoshie. From the moment we contacted her she was extremely generous with her time and her local expertise, communicating clearly and precisely as we planned a customised tour of the Fukui region together. She was adaptable when our circumstances changed and bent over backwards to make our tour enjoyable and interesting. We recommend Yoshie without reservation to anyone looking for a professional guide in the Fukui region.
Yoshie K.
Hi Elizabeth, thank you so much for your tremendously kind words. We had a very challenging time together. I was happy to see all of you enjoying (I believe) making mochi and crafts such as washi paper and Chinkin decorative lacquerware and in particular, all of us experienced Zazen meditation at the Eiheiji, Zen head temple. It was all memorable to me too. Thank you for coming to Fukui and take care! Yoshie
Kim I.
“The Heart of Echizen Art and Crafts”
Thanks to Yoshie and her exceptional planning skills I was able to meet a broad range of local artisans, take part in workshops and learn so much about the local history and culture. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute with Yoshie, from my attempt at laquerware carving, to the memorable tour of a washi factory, soba noodle making and the incredible craft of tansu chest making. Yoshie was well organised, good humoured and a joy to be with. I wish I could have her as my guide for longer! She certainly made me want to return to such a beautiful and fascinating area. Thank you Yoshie !
Yoshie K.
Hi Kim, thank you so much for all those thoughtful words. I am grateful to hear that you enjoyed the time in Echizen, the town of craftsmanship. The soba (buckwheat noodle) you made was incredibly delicious! I enjoyed it a lot. There are many more great artisans' studios that you can view and experience with so I am hoping you come back to Echizen. See you again in Echizen! Yoshie
$265/ per group
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In the ancient period from the year of 710 to 794, Echizen was the capital of gigantic province spreading across the four prefectures in Japan. Due to that, Echizen prospered and has been the major producing area of five national traditional crafts today which are all handmade including Washi paper, kitchen knives, lacquer wares, potteries, and tansu chests. It is only in Echizen that you can enter their factories and closely view how craftsmen produce and also experience in making crafts.
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Gorgeous cherry blossom sceneries can be seen along with a long quiet river bank with much less crowds. You feel like the entire cherry blossom is only yours. It is amazingly beautiful! Enjoy walking under a full of cherry blossom. A picnic under the cherry blossom can be provided in the park. After lunch, you have a choice to enjoy 1) the tour of traditional Washi Paper Village and see the artisan creates washi or 2) visiting the Knife Village to view how Echizen Knives are handmade.
Magnificent Cherry Blossom Scenery & Picnic, Fukui - Day Trip
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Half Day Meditation Tour - Eiheiji Zen Head Temple, Fukui
Zazen is silent meditation of Zen Buddhism and it is performed in sitting. This tour is to have an experience of Zazen at Eiheiji Zen Head Temple where it was founded by Zen Master Dogen who first taught Zen in Japan. The Temple has been filled with the bracing and serene atmosphere of Zen practitioners. Let’s try Zazen to see inside yourself and/or relax in the deep mountains during busy travelling.
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Traditional Mochi (rice cake) Making by Pestle & Mortar - Half Day Tour
Mochi is a Japanese rice cake that is chewy, very soft and delicious. This tour provides you a highly amusing experience where you can make the mochi on your own from steamed rice to round-shaped mochi filled with sweet red beans by a pestle and mortar in the Echizen classic farmer's house. You can also see artisan's producing handmade knives or washi paper. Or even you can experience making those if you wish. It will be quite a unique experience and such fun!
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