Crafting Your Own Unique Edo Kiriko Glass in Asakusa at Sokichi

We enjoyed the experience of doing Edo Kiriko Glass in Asakusa at Sokichi. The instructor was very pleasant, instructions were clear and they assisted us, when required, during the activity. The room comfortably housed preparation areas and work stations for 6 people. We highly recommend this experience.

The class was intimate with a teacher between only 5 pupils, so he was able to really focus on everyone. You choose the type of glass cup you want to engrave, which ranges from large water glasses to little sake glasses, all of different colours. Then you are given time to practice on clear glasses before you then choose your design for your glass. You have an array of examples on the tables, which the teacher will then give you templates for, or you can ask how to do techniques for your own original designs. There is ample time to make your designs and you can go back and forth designing and engraving freely. Once you’re done engraving, they have a little photography section to take photos of your glasses and the teacher takes a photo of you with your glasses. The teacher also spoke perfect English. Highly recommend!! ☺️

So, this place is called Sokichi, the area is Edo Kiriko. We originally went to the wrong place (about a 15 minute walk from Asakusa Station) because there is a different glass making studio called “Edo Kiriko Asakusa Ojima”. The lovely staff there advised us that the correct place to be (Sokichi) is actually back near the train station we came from and that this is very common. Because of this, we did end up being a bit late to the glass cutting class, however that wasn’t an issue and the staff were very understanding. The teacher was highly skilled and patient and helped us learn and understand the whole process, providing guidance the whole time. We absolutely loved the experience and it was 100% worth the money. If we’re ever back in Asakusa we will definitely be paying them another visit. And if making it isn’t your thing, they do have a shop with ones made by the teacher there that you can buy.

So much fun! The staff were incredibly friendly and explained everything in great detail! I highly recommend this experience!

such a fun experience. really unique the instructor was so helpful, kind really patient. we had a lovely time

This was such a satisfying experience. It was so nice to walk away with your own creation at the end. They do give you time to practice before you cut your glass which was a relief. They give you a large amount of styles to create. I definitely recommend paying the extra for the colored glass because the design really pops on color. It was a little tricky to execute some bits but the instructor is very attentive, checking everyone’s work and helping clean up areas you may have messed up. Definitely recommend.

Lovely experience working on glass. Teacher was taking the time with everyone to show us how to do things, let us practice before engraving our glass. He helped correct mistakes, if it was possible, which was not always the case. Overall, it was lot of fun, requires some concentration, and certainly humility. it gave me lot of admiration for all these artists and what they can produce. I was happy with what I came up with despise a slight flaw, which makes it definitely mine! There are lots of choices of glass shapes and designs. All glasses have different prices but it’s worth it. Thank you for the discovery!

Great experience! Very fun and informative, staff let you pick out your own style of cup, color, and carving design. Tutorial on how to carve glass was helpful and being able to practice before doing the real thing made it less nerve wrecking. Definitely would do again!

The glass making course was such a unique experience. We got told and shown the basics and could train the craft with a test glass. After selecting our glass (which is not included in the price) and the decoration pattern, we could get started. It's an experience where you need to be fully concentrated and will probably still not even come close to the perfectly cut examples - but it doesn't matter as it's your own cut glass and it still looks great. A perfect souvenir.

Wow! I'm not an artistic person, but this experience was so much fun! The instructor was clear and informative, and perfectly balanced helping me vs letting me do it on my own. I felt that cutting the glass required a lot of concentration, so I'd recommend this to those who want to focus on making a great souvenir over a group wanting a casual class. That being said, it's not too hard and I think anyone can enjoy the craft.