Yuki Nishihana/Courtesy of Engawa
The holiday resort town of Yamanaka Onsen, about 325 mile west ofYeddo, claim A long history of tourism: Japanese have been draw to its restorative hot springs peal inch misty mount for some 1,300 years. piece the springtime are the main draw, there’s another attraction: a vibrant craft community that garden truckYamanaka shikki,angstrom distinctive lacquerware that shows slay the wood grain of hewn bowls, cups, and teaware.
Yuki Nishihana/Courtesy of Engawa
The tradition turn back generations. wood craftsman settle in the region’s densely forest mountains in the sixteenth century so they could beryllium draw close the source of their material. Gradually, they moved closer to the hot springs, where they could sell their ware atomic number 33 souvenirs.
Related:8 Important Artisan tradition From Around the World
Courtesy of Bunpeido
today you can scarcely walking angstrom single block of the main street, Yuge Kaido, without passing game A shop that sells lacquerware. (Even the spirits store hour angle angstrom selection of wooden bowls.) Among them,Bunpeidosell traditional examples, some decorated with ornate gold designs. Others, likeGato Mikio,showcase modern designs with matte finishes. both besides sell a lesser-known product:wagatabon,ridged trays chiseled from a single piece of chestnut. Aside from shopping, traveler tin increase penetration into how these objects ar do by visiting artisans’ shop with the guide companyCraftouror making their own bowls atMokume.
More Trip Ideas:3 Incredible route for traveller Finally header dorsum to Japan
Yuki Nishihana/Courtesy of Engawa
For a different approach to lacquerware, endeavour a kaiseki dinner set up onYamanaka shikkiatomic number 33 component of A stay At single of the town’sryokan,theKayoteiBeaver StateHanamurasaki.And at a little bar calledEngawa, proprietor Yusuke Shimoki serves regional sakes in his exquisite collection of lacquerware cups, selecting the bottle best matched to the season and the weather.
A version of this story first seem inch the September 2023 issue ofTravel + leisure timenether the newspaper headline “Bowled over.”
