Top Tokyo Lantern Festival in 2026

A cultural experience tour that leaves memories through scent. The tour begins with creating a lantern full of Edo-era charm, followed by a luxurious yakitori lunch with the savory aroma of charcoal. Afterward, enjoy a photo session at the historic Hie Shrine. Finally, create your own incense, capturing a fragrance unique to you. The moments of the journey become a scent that will unexpectedly return to you even after you’ve returned home—a truly special day awaits. 9:50~10:00：Meeting at the south exit of Minami-Senju Station 10:00~11:00：Lantern-making experience 11:00~12:00：Travel by metro 12:00~13:30：Lunch at Torikou 13:30~13:45：Travel on foot 13:45~14:30：Sightseeing at Hie Shrine 14:30~15:00：Travel by metro 15:00~16:00：Incense and fragrance ball-making experience 16:00：Dissolution ※If the minimum number of participants is not reached, there is a possibility of cancellation.

Create your own handmade souvenir while learning a new skill and gaining greater insight into Japanese culture during a private calligraphy session. Choose whether you want to paint your Japanese kanji character onto a t-shirt, a lantern, or a traditional folding umbrella. Your private instructor tells you all you need to know to create beautiful calligraphy, plus enjoy Japanese sweets and green tea while you work.

Unlike generic cultural classes hosted in standard rental rooms, Honey J Travel grants you exclusive entry into a hidden, authentic Tokyo workshop boasting a 120-year legacy of crafting sacred lanterns for legendary local temples. Under the direct, personal guidance of a Tokyo-certified master artisan, you won't just observe history—you will actively shape it. Whether you are an absolute beginner utilizing your custom-drawn master outlines or an intermediate crafter designing entirely from scratch, this hands-on masterclass ensures a flawless, premium result. Best of all, your traditional lantern is engineered to be completely collapsible, fitting perfectly flat into any suitcase for the ultimate portable Japanese heirloom, beautifully packaged with a complimentary LED light to illuminate your creations at home.

Craft a unique traditional Japanese lantern using authentic washi paper in this engaging workshop located in the heart of Asakusa, Tokyo. Guided by a friendly English-speaking host, you'll delve into the art of lantern-making, starting with the construction of the frame and then applying delicate washi paper. Enjoy fascinating stories about Japanese craftsmanship and the cultural significance of your creation. The finished lantern not only showcases your artistic flair but also folds flat for easy travel, making it a practical souvenir to remind you of your Japanese adventure.

Tokyo has many craft classes. Very few take place inside a studio that is still in commercial production. Here you work beside a craftsman who supplies chochin to shrines, festivals and restaurants across Tokyo, using the same washi, bamboo and brushes he uses to fill those orders. The studio itself is more than a century old. The lettering is what sets a chochin apart. Edo-moji is the brush style that grew up with Edo popular culture — the same hand seen on kabuki billboards, rakugo stages and old shop signs, each character shaped to carry strength and meaning. It is applied to your lantern by hand, in your name or a word you choose. What you carry out is not a souvenir version of the craft. It is made by the same process, carries lettering written for you alone, and there is only one of it.