Flow of Glass Blowing Experience

【When you arrive at the workshop, go to the reception desk.】

The blue triangular roof is the landmark of the workshop. Upon arrival at the workshop, you will be asked to register for the experience in the attached store.
The reception desk is open 15 minutes before your appointment time. If you are running late, please call 098-958-2000 to let us know. (If you are more than 30 minutes late, your appointment will be cancelled.)
At the reception desk, we will confirm how you will receive your artwork and the order in which you will experience it.

※If you have not made a reservation, you can experience the artwork if there is space available, but if the store is fully booked, we will have to decline your visit. Please be sure to make a reservation before coming.

【Decide the design】

After the reception, all participants will receive a design order sheet. After that, our staff will explain about the design while looking at glass samples at the entrance of the workshop.
After the explanation, please fill in the order sheet with your desired design.
If you have any questions about the design, please ask our staff and we will show you pictures of our past works and give you some advice.
Once everyone's design is decided, the staff will check it once, and if there is no problem with the content, we will go to the workshop!

【Into the workshop (glass blowing operation)】

We all enter the workshop and put on military gloves and arm covers. The molten glass is 1,300 degrees Celsius and is very dangerous. Please make sure to wear gloves and arm covers.
Once the glass has been prepped by the artisan, the melted glass is brought before you and you blow the glass to inflate it. The height of the glass is determined here. (The longer you blow, the higher it will be.)
Inflating is done only once. The glass at this point is very soft and will drip down, so it is a race against time!

【Glass forming operations】

After blowing the glass, we sit down on the bench to widen the mouth of the glass.
Holding a special tool in his right hand, he gradually widens the mouth of the glass. In doing so, the left hand incessantly continues to turn the rod with the glass attached. (Never stop the left hand!)

At this time, you may feel that the color of the glass is different from your image... This is because the glass emits red light due to high temperature. Light blue is green, green is brown, red is black...etc. They look completely different. (Don't worry, the color will be the same as the sample when it cools down.)

Once the glass has reached a certain size, the craftsman returns it to the "furnace" to raise the temperature of the glass. (The molten glass must be returned to the furnace periodically to raise the temperature, as it will break if the temperature drops too low.)
During the furnace, the artisan asks whether the glass should be "straight" or "wide-mouthed". Please answer which you prefer. The glassmaker will then explain how to make the glass the way you want it (for glasses only).

The craftsman will bring the glass to you again, and you will be asked to widen the mouth of the glass to the desired shape. When the glass has been successfully expanded, the process is complete! (The process from "blowing to completion" takes about 5 to 7 minutes per person.)

【The finished glass is...】

The glass made during the experience is immediately placed in a slow-cooling kiln to cool slowly overnight after completion. This is because hot glass will break if the temperature is not lowered slowly. (For this reason, we cannot respond to requests to show the completed work again after the experience.)

You can choose whether to come back to the store the next day or later (9:00-17:00) to pick up the finished glass, or have it sent home by mail (shipping fee not included).

In the case of pickup at a return visit, we will store your order from the next day to about one month.

In the case of mailing, we will deliver it within 3 days to 1 week for domestic customers, and within 10 days for overseas customers. (We do not mail to accommodations.)

We look forward to your reservations.