Edo Kiriko is still cut in Tokyo, and you can see it in three ways: watch it in a studio shop, buy it from the people who make it, or sit at a wheel and cut a glass of your own. Most of the workshops sit on the east side of the city, around Kinshicho, Kameido, and Nishi-Ojima, with one easy option in Asakusa. A beginner session runs about 75 to 90 minutes, needs a booking, and ends with a glass you take home the same day.
This guide names four places, each with the session times, prices, and rules that the venue lists on its own page as of October 2026. Prices and days change, so treat the numbers as a starting point and check the venue before you go. We have not run these sessions for this piece, and we do not describe rooms we have not seen. Everything below comes from the venues and from the Edo Kiriko Cooperative Association.
What you are going to see
Edo Kiriko is cut glass from Tokyo. The Edo Kiriko Cooperative Association dates its start to 1834, in Edo, the city now called Tokyo. The usual account names Kagaya Kyubei, a glassware merchant in Odenmacho near Nihonbashi, as the person who first cut patterns into glass there. Tokyo designated Edo Kiriko a traditional craft in 1985, and the national government followed in 2002. The longer story is in What Is Edo Kiriko: A Short History and Kagaya Kyubei and the Cuts of 1834.
The cooperative describes the material as clear glass, or clear glass with a thin coloured layer on the outside, called iro-kise. Every cut through that layer opens a clear line, which is why a cobalt or ruby piece shows a bright pattern on a dark field. The cooperative says the colour is added when the glass is formed, not painted on afterward, and that the colours come from metals in the melt: cobalt for ruri blue, copper for deep red, and gold for a lighter red.
The people doing the work are few. In its 2025 count the cooperative put the number of Edo Kiriko cutters at just under 100. About 20 percent are women, and among cutters in their twenties the split is even. When you watch someone at a wheel in one of these shops, you are watching a small trade.
Four places to see, buy, or cut Edo Kiriko
Sumida Edo Kiriko-kan, near Kinshicho
Sumida Edo Kiriko-kan is a studio shop in Taihei, Sumida City, about eight minutes on foot from Kinshicho Station, walking toward the Skytree. A profile on MADE in JAPAN.JP says it opened in 2004 as a Sumida Ward certified studio shop, run by Hirota Glass Craft, and that visitors can watch the cutters at work through windows from the shop floor.
- Session: 90 minutes, with slots at 10:30, 13:00, and 15:00, Tuesday to Saturday. Up to four seats per slot. Booking is required, through the venue's reservation site.
- What you cut: adults and junior high students choose a colour overlay glass and cut it after a machine briefing and a practice cut. The glass on offer changes day to day.
- Price: the venue lists ¥5,000 before tax for adults, materials included.
- Children: from the fourth grade of primary school. Younger pupils cut a small lidded container in a 60-minute session booked by phone. Apart from an adult with a younger pupil, companions who are not cutting are not accepted.
- Shop hours: 10:00 to 17:00. Closed Mondays, Sundays, and over the New Year.
The official Tokyo travel guide, GO TOKYO, lists the workshop with Japanese and English support. Its listed price differs slightly from the venue's own page, which is one more reason to confirm before you book.
Hanashyo, Kameido and Nihonbashi
Hanashyo is an Edo Kiriko maker and shop with a main store in Kameido, Koto City, where the workshop sits on the ground floor and the shop on the third. It also keeps a store in Nihonbashi Odenmacho, the same quarter the craft record names for 1834. If you want to stand on that map, our note on Edo and Nihonbashi walks the streets.
- Session: 75 minutes, every Tuesday and Thursday from 13:00, up to six people.
- Flow: choose one of about eight glasses, draw your pattern on the surface with a marker, cut for 50 to 60 minutes, then a finished photo.
- Price: ¥5,500 including tax, with ¥500 to ¥1,500 added for some glass types and colours. Cash only.
- Booking: by phone or the school's contact form. Changes and cancellations by 10:00 the day before.
- Age: 10 and over, with younger guests possible if a companion supports them.
Hanashyo asks guests to bring a hair tie and, if they use them, their own reading glasses for the close work. It also notes that guests who have been drinking may be turned away. Plan the whisky for after.
Sokichi, Asakusa
Sokichi runs a kiriko workshop about 30 seconds on foot from Asakusa Station, on Kaminarimon. It is the easiest option if you are already in Asakusa, and it takes larger groups: three rooms of up to twelve people each. Sokichi describes the session as engraving your own kiriko style glass using traditional techniques.
- Session: 90 minutes, with a 120-minute option for more cutting time. Weekday slots at 10:15, 13:00, and 15:00. Weekends and holidays add 8:30 and 17:00, with a small surcharge for the 17:00 slot.
- Price: ¥3,630 for adults and ¥2,860 for under-18s, including tax, with a clear glass included. Coloured or shaped glasses add ¥1,100 to ¥4,510.
- Age and payment: 9 to 85. Cash only.
The lower base price uses a clear glass. If you want the overlay look, where the cut opens a clear line through colour, budget for a coloured glass.
Edo Kiriko Cooperative Association showroom, Nishi-Ojima
The cooperative's official showroom is a three-minute walk from exit A2 of Nishi-Ojima Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line, in Koto City. It is a place to look and buy rather than cut. The cooperative says it shows about 400 pieces: its own products, work consigned by member cutters, and pieces by cutters certified as traditional craftspeople, plus four contest pieces on permanent display.
- Hours: 10:00 to 18:00. Closed Mondays, or Tuesday when Monday is a public holiday.
- Payment: cash, credit card, and PayPay. There is no parking.
The cooperative does not run a standing workshop. It holds hands-on sessions at events, the largest being its New Works Exhibition each April, and some members teach or run workshops of their own. The cooperative suggests contacting members directly for those.
How to book a session that goes well
- Book ahead. All three workshops above take reservations, and the small ones cap each slot at four to six people.
- Bring cash. Hanashyo and Sokichi list cash only.
- Tie your hair back. All three ask for it near a spinning wheel.
- Bring your glasses if you use them for close work. You will be looking at a line a few millimetres wide.
- Arrive a few minutes early. Sumida Edo Kiriko-kan asks for about five.
- Check the age rules for children and companions before you book a family slot.
- Keep it simple. A first pattern of straight lines and a few crossings reads well on a coloured glass. You can see why a dense field takes years when you try to keep two lines parallel.
Booking pages are in Japanese first at some venues. If that is a barrier, your hotel desk can usually make the call, and GO TOKYO notes English support at Sumida Edo Kiriko-kan.
What to look at in a shop
An hour at a wheel changes how you look at a finished glass. Walk the shelves afterward with three things in mind.
The line. Turn the glass and follow one cut from end to end. On good work the depth stays even and the line meets its neighbours where the grid says it should. Our note on How to Tell Hand-Cut Glass from Machine-Made covers what else to check.
The overlay. On Edo Kiriko the cooperative describes the coloured layer as thin, so the cut edge between colour and clear is sharp. Satsuma Kiriko, by contrast, uses a thicker layer that shades from colour to clear, known as bokashi. Edo Kiriko and Satsuma Kiriko sets the two side by side.
The pattern. Names such as nanako, kiku, asa-no-ha, and yarai describe the field. Asa-no-ha is the hemp-leaf star. Traditional Cut Patterns and the Line and How to Choose a Cut Pattern teach the vocabulary.
Ask the shop who cut the piece if it is not on the label. If a price looks very low for a deep, dense cut, Why Is Edo Kiriko Expensive explains where the hours go.
Bringing a glass home
A glass you cut yourself is still a glass. Ask the venue to wrap it well, keep it in your hand luggage if you can, and do not stack heavy things on it. At home, the cooperative's own care advice is short: wash by hand with something softer than glass, such as a soft brush, avoid sudden changes in temperature and hard knocks, and keep it out of the microwave, dishwasher, dish dryer, oven, and away from open flame. We keep a fuller routine in How to Care for Cut Glass.
Then use it. A short pour of whisky over one cube, a glass of cold water, or sake in a smaller cup shows the cut better than a shelf does. Light moving through a coloured wall is the reason the craft exists.
A few common questions
Where can I try Edo Kiriko glass cutting in Tokyo?
Sumida Edo Kiriko-kan near Kinshicho, Hanashyo in Kameido, and Sokichi in Asakusa all list beginner sessions with a booking. The Edo Kiriko Cooperative Association runs hands-on sessions at events such as its April New Works Exhibition.
How much does an Edo Kiriko workshop cost?
As listed on each venue's page in October 2026: ¥5,000 before tax at Sumida Edo Kiriko-kan, ¥5,500 including tax at Hanashyo, and ¥3,630 including tax at Sokichi with a clear glass. Coloured glasses can cost more. Check before booking.
How long does a session take?
About 75 to 90 minutes for a standard session. Sokichi also offers 120 minutes.
Can children join?
Yes, with limits. Sumida Edo Kiriko-kan takes children from the fourth grade of primary school, Hanashyo from age 10, and Sokichi from age 9.
Where can I buy Edo Kiriko in Tokyo?
The cooperative's showroom in Nishi-Ojima shows about 400 pieces from many cutters. Studio shops such as Sumida Edo Kiriko-kan and Hanashyo sell their own work.
Is every kiriko glass Edo Kiriko?
No. Edo Kiriko is a named Tokyo craft, and the cooperative holds the name as a registered trademark. Read the label or ask the shop.
If Tokyo is not on this year's map
- Cobalt Chrysanthemum Whisky Glass: cobalt overlay with a dense asa-no-ha field and clear windows through the mid-body.
- Cobalt Overlay Whisky Glass: asa-no-ha panels under the rim, wave and cloud cuts across the body, and a warmer tone at the foot.
- Ruby Chrysanthemum Sake Glass: 100 ml in ruby, with an asa-no-ha lattice cut in panels.
Each of these listings is Edo Kiriko: handmade crystal, hand-cut in Tokyo, as its product page states. View all glassware in Whisky Glasses.
Related reading: Edo and Nihonbashi: Where Cut Glass Began · How Tokyo Bars Serve Whisky in Glass · Overlay Glass and the Color Line