Wakasa Takumi Musubi: Connecting Obama's Traditional Crafts through Experience, Launching April 22

Takatori Shigyo Co., Ltd. (Obama City, Fukui; Representative: Yoshio Takatori) will launch 'CRAFTED IN COLOR OBAMA (Wakasa Takumi Musubi),' a regional craft tourism project offering experiential projects of traditional crafts in Obama City, Fukui, starting Wednesday, April 22, 2026. The first project is the 'Wakasa Lacquer Chopstick Sharpening & Wakasa Washi Box Making Experience' (5,500 yen including tax / approx. 2 hours). To commemorate the launch, 50 residents of Obama City will be invited for free on a first-come, first-served basis. After the experience, we will also guide you through a tour plan of tourist spots in Obama City, allowing you to experience the charm of the entire town through the craft experience.

[Background of the Project]
Obama City, Fukui Prefecture, is a production area for traditional crafts with hundreds of years of history, such as Wakasa lacquer chopsticks and Wakasa Washi paper. However, in recent years, these techniques are facing a crisis of extinction due to the aging of artisans and a shortage of successors. On the other hand, the demand for experiential tourism is expanding both domestically and internationally, and 'craft-making experiences' are highly popular among foreign tourists visiting Japan.

'Wakasa Takumi Musubi' is a project that aims to pass on the skills of artisans to the next generation and revitalize the local economy by not only 'seeing' but also 'experiencing,' 'taking home,' and 'touring the town' of Obama's crafts.

[Experience Program]
This is an experience where you sharpen Wakasa lacquer chopsticks, which have been coated with many layers of lacquer, to finish a one-of-a-kind pair of chopsticks. It is a 3-step structure unique to Obama, where you don't just finish with chopsticks, but also hand-make a box to store them using selected Wakasa Washi paper. You can take the finished product home with you.

STEP 1 | Chopstick Sharpening: Bring out your own pattern from the chopsticks.
STEP 2 | Washi Box Making: Hand-craft a box to store your finished chopsticks.
STEP 3 | Completion: Your chopsticks and Washi box become a single work of art.

[Free Invitation Campaign for Obama Citizens]
To commemorate the launch, we are inviting 50 residents of Obama City to the craft experience program for free. The goal is to have local residents re-experience the charm of Obama's crafts and share them as local pride.