Ginza Chopstick Making Workshop with 26 Rare Woods Tokyo

The woodcraft workshop in Ginza

The workshop sits at 2-9-13 Ginza in Chuo-ku, on a quiet side street one minute from exit 11 of Ginza-itchome Station, three minutes from Ginza Station and five minutes from Yurakucho Station. It is run by a woodcraft company that has worked with timber for around ninety years and has welcomed travellers in Ginza for more than a decade. The room is warm and calm, with long worktables, neat rows of wood samples and the scent of freshly planed timber.

Ginza may be famous for its flagship stores, but this workshop shows a quieter side of Japanese culture: patient handwork and respect for natural materials. If you are looking for things to do in Ginza beyond shopping, or a chopstick making workshop in Tokyo with a wider choice of woods than most, this is a strong pick.

26 woods to choose from, including Yakusugi cedar

What sets this workshop apart is the selection of woods. There are 26 types and two lengths, and you can compare colour, grain, weight and texture side by side before deciding. Five woods are included at no extra charge, while premium and rare species cost extra. Among the rare woods are Yakusugi, cedar from the forests of Yakushima Island in southern Japan, prized for its dense rings and resinous fragrance, and pink ivory, a striking pink hardwood from southern Africa.

The staff explain how each wood behaves: some are light and soft enough for beginners, others hard and heavy, giving a more solid feel in the hand. Choosing the right piece is part of the fun, and couples often pick contrasting woods so their pairs match in shape but differ in colour.

Planing, sanding and oil finishing your chopsticks

Once your wood is chosen, you fix it in a guide and shape it with a hand plane, drawing it along the stick to shave off fine ribbons until the square blank becomes a tapered chopstick. The staff show you how to hold the plane, how much pressure to use and how to turn the stick for an even shape. Each table has a smartphone stand, so you can film the whole process hands-free.

Next you sand the chopsticks through finer and finer papers until they feel smooth as glass, then rub in oil to bring out the grain. The change in colour at this moment is the highlight for most guests. Personal engraving is available for an extra charge. Your finished pair is ready to carry away the same day.

Exploring Ginza after the workshop

Ginza takes its name from the silver mint that the shogunate set up here in the early 1600s, and it grew into Tokyo's most refined shopping street in the late 1800s, when brick buildings and gas lamps were introduced. Today the main avenue, Chuo-dori, is closed to cars on weekend afternoons, turning it into a wide pedestrian promenade lined with department stores and galleries.

From the workshop you can walk to the clock tower at the Ginza 4-chome crossing in a few minutes, visit the Kabuki-za theatre in Higashi-Ginza or stroll to Yurakucho and the Imperial Palace moats. Department store food halls in the basement floors are a good stop for Japanese sweets. A one-hour session fits neatly into a Ginza afternoon.