July 17-18 Stone-Milled White Food and Handcrafts ~Making Azuma Bags and Indigo Dyeing~ (Summer Edition): Enjoy a Stay at Guest House KIITOS

This is a 5-part series (held in February, May, July, October, and December) where you can enjoy traditional handicrafts and Ishizurah’s seasonal food culture while staying at KIITOS, the guest house of Ishizurah Western Goods Shop that opened in November 2025.

This project is planned by Sayuri Yoshii, the manager of KIITOS who adores handicrafts and Ishizurah’s traditional cuisine!

Ishizurah sits at an elevation of around 700m, and its beauty shifts with each of the four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. We hope you’ll visit Ishizurah during every season, and some months (May, July, October) align with local shrine festivals, so you can enjoy those as well.

In addition to learning the art of kogin embroidery, this program also lets you fully experience autumn in Ishizurah, including making rice dumpling soup and other seasonal activities.

This is the third installment in our 5-part seasonal series: the Autumn Edition.

Autumn Session Overview

Dates: Friday, October 16, 2026 – Saturday, October 17, 2026
Times: Starts at 13:30 on 10/16, concludes at 13:00 on 10/17. *You can travel to the venue via public transportation.
Venue: KIITOS Guest House at Ishizurah Western Goods Shop
Participation Fee: 26,500 yen (includes workshop fee, dinner, lunch, and snacks). For guests staying overnight, an additional 7,000 yen plus 1,500 yen for breakfast will be applied.
Capacity: 6 participants (minimum required attendance: 4 people. *If the minimum number of attendees is not met, the session may be canceled without notice).

Schedule

Day 1
13:00: Check-in Begins
13:30  Session Opens (Greetings, Self-Introductions)
14:00: Introduction to Kogin Embroidery & Stitching Time
15:00  Snack Break
15:30   Stitching Time
17:30  Group Meal Prep & Rice Dumpling Soup Making
18:30  Dinner Social Hour

Day 2
7:30 Breakfast
9:00  Hakusan Nakarai Shrine Visit & Shop Tour
10:00 Stitching Time
12:00 Lunch (at MAGOEMON) & Sharing Session
13:00 Session Concludes (Departs from Nishidokoro Station at 13:19)

What to Bring

Sewing Supplies (Push Pins, Thread Snips, Pin Cushion)
Fabric, thread, kogin needles, and round cord for kogin embroidery will be provided by the workshop organizers.

Cancellation Policy

Cancellation between submission of application and 1 week prior to the session: 5% fee
Cancellation 6 to 3 days prior to the session: 50% fee
Cancellation fewer than 2 days prior to the session: Full session fee charged

Upcoming Workshop Dates

Friday, December 18 – Saturday, December 19: Ishizurah Food & Handicrafts (Winter Edition)
~Make New Year’s Decorations from Hemp + Try Making Homemade Pickles (The pickles you make can be taken home as souvenirs)~
You’ll have even more fun if you join both the autumn and winter sessions back-to-back!

~To Help You Make the Most of Your Stay in Ishizurah~

• In the evening, take a dip at the nearby hot springs. And don’t forget to admire the stunning night sky.
• On Sunday, October 18, a shrine festival will be held at Hakusan Nakarai Shrine in Ishizurah.
  At the annual autumn festival, there will be a 'gedo nage' rice cake toss, where mochi made from glutinous rice offered in gratitude for the harvest is thrown to the crowd. Don’t miss this rare opportunity—extend your stay in Ishizurah and join us!

About the Venue & KIITOS

This is a casual guest house that opened in November 2025. Please note that depending on the number of participants, you may be accommodated in a shared room during this workshop.For more detailed information, please visit here.

*For travel access information, please visit here. (The schedule is designed so you can arrive via public transportation. There will be roughly two and a half hours of buffer time before the departure of the return bus.)