Authentic Kintsugi Workshop in Aoyama
Last updated: August 26, 2026
Kintsugi holds that a broken bowl, mended in gold, is more beautiful for having lived — and in this Aoyama atelier you practise the philosophy with your own hands. Guided by the artisans of Master Taku Nakano's studio, you rejoin broken ceramic with resin, dress the seams in ornamental gold powder, and finish your piece in a single session — surrounded by the master's own intricate works while you learn. You walk out the same day carrying a one-of-a-kind vessel and Japan's gentlest lesson in aesthetics: repair as art, the crack as part of the story.
Itinerary
- Stop at: Taku Nakano CeramicArts Atelier (O.G. Building)
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Frequently Asked Questions
You mend a genuinely broken ceramic piece: rejoining the fragments with resin, then finishing the seams with ornamental gold powder so the repair gleams like the traditional lacquer art. The introductory method completes in one session, and the finished piece goes home with you the same day — classical urushi kintsugi, by contrast, takes months of curing.
None — the atelier's artisans guide each step, and the technique rewards patience rather than skill. First-timers, couples and travellers with zero craft background leave with pieces they're proud of.
It is the working atelier of Master Taku Nakano, known for ceramics that fold precious metals and cosmic motifs into the craft — and his larger, more intricate pieces surround you as you work. You practise a living art in the room where it's actually made.
In the O.G. Building at 3-8-40 Minami-Aoyama, on Aoyama-dori between Omote-Sando and Gaiemmae stations — about five minutes on foot from Omote-Sando's exits on the Ginza, Chiyoda and Hanzomon lines.