About CraftTrip

What this is

CraftTrip is a field guide to Japan's traditional crafts and the places that still make them. It gathers the histories, materials, and techniques of the 244 nationally designated crafts — and points, where possible, to workshops where you can meet the work with your own hands.

Who makes it

CraftTrip is an independent, one-person project. It began simply: with the belief that living crafts deserve a careful, slow reading — and that a guide is a better gift than a catalogue.

About the data

The information here is drawn from the sources below. For full detail, see our Data Policy.

• Designation list by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) for "Traditional Crafts of Japan"
• Public records of regional craft cooperatives and prefectural offices
• Google Places API (workshop and studio listings)
• Supplementary passages generated with AI (Claude by Anthropic)

Get in touch

For corrections, additions, or a kind word, please use our contact page.