This is part two in my series about Hakone Gora Park. Check out my post about the park overall. I’ll also be releasing one more post about the park.
This time, let’s talk about glass blowing! One of the best parts of Hakone Gora Park is the Hakone Crafthouse. I can (and did) spend the whole day here. Crafthouse offers several different types of craft options including glass blowing, glass bead/jewelry making, pottery, glass etching, and glass engraving. For today’s post, we’ll focus on the glass blowing.
First, you sign in at the front desk and choose what type of item you’d like to craft. They have different shapes and sizes of cups, mugs, vases, etc that you can choose from. Then, you pick your glass accent colors and what type of design you’d like to make. I chose turquoise and light green accent colors. I also selected an option for glow in the dark speckles.
Then, you’ll enter the crafting area. One wall of the crafting area is all open patio doors, so it really lets in the mountain vibes. You’ll sit down at a workbench as the worker preps the ball of molten glass on a long metal pole. He’ll also lay out the pieces for the accent color option you selected. You start by shaping the glass blob, and beginning to blow the blob up with a little bit of air. The staff then roll your glass through the accent color pieces and heat it again for you.
Then, you’ll alternate back and forth between shaping the piece, heating the piece, and adding more glass. The staff helps you and instructs you how to create the perfect shape the entire time (English is also available). You’ll use many different tools, such as a wet wooden paddle, newspaper, and small wood piece. Eventually, you start to see the piece take shape. At the end, they’ll make sure to even out any mistakes so that your piece looks nice.
I absolutely loved the whole process. It was peaceful but also creative, working with hot glass in the cool mountain scenery. It was also exciting to try something new. In the end, when your piece is all finished, they’ll even mail your craft back to your home, halfway around the world. When I returned home from Japan, my creation actually beat me home and was waiting for me in the locked mailbox. And I love how the cup turned out!
I definitely recommend doing this activity. It is a great way to spend the day. If you like this post, stay tuned for my last post in this Hakone Gora Park series, coming soon. We’ll be talking about bead/jewelry making with lampwork.