Learn More than Origami in Japan

I’m sure you’ve heard of origami – the beautiful, intricate art of paper folding. If you don’t know already, you should definitely learn how to fold a (peace) crane while you’re in Japan.

You should also give these three types of Japanese art forms a try:

Sumi-e: We stopped by this booth at the Saku International Festival. Our instructor could probably teach anyone how to paint. I was pretty happy with how my maple leaf turned out. I should dig it out of the box and frame it.

Woodblock Printing: When in Kyoto, drop by the Kyoto Handicraft Center and have as much fun as we did. There are only a few different woodblocks prints to choose from but the process is neat. Afterwards, you can go to the shop and buy a print by someone who knew what they were doing.

Ikebana: A friend’s co-worker was an Ikebana instructor and arranged for us to come to her beautiful home. Now, if only I could create arrangements like these every day for my home.