*This article was posted on September 13, 2022. These items may be sold out.
This is the workshop and shop of the kokeshi craftsman Kunitoshi Abe, located in Tsuchiyu Onsen.
Matsuya
25 Shimonomachi, Tsuchiyu Onsen Town, Fukushima City
TEL 024-595-2156
His mother serves customers and you can buy kokeshi dolls and souvenirs and also paint kokeshi dolls at the store. You can find kokeshi dolls made by Tsuchiyu craftsmen, and vintage kokeshi dolls there.
The kokeshi dolls made by Kunitoshi Abe are very popular, so if you got to buy them at the shop, you are very lucky! According to his mother, Fumio Kishida, the current Prime Minister of Japan bought his kokeshi.
The most popular item is a "smile back". It is a new type of kokeshi created by Kunitoshi Abe based on traditional kokeshi dolls, and features a cute smile and movable head. It is so pupular that you can find it displayed in all kinds of facilities in Tsuchiyu Onsen.
One of his works, the sleeping face Ejiko, which is decorated with colorful stripes and dots, is also very cute!
Needless to say, traditional types of kokeshi dolls he makes are also wonderful.
There is a footbath in front of the shop, and anyone can use it for free.
You can enter the hot spring with Kibokko-chan, the local mascot of Tsuchiyu Onsen.
Don't forget to bring your towel!
Please stop by his workshop when you visit Tsuchiyu Onsen!