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Making Paper at the Mino Washi Museum

Shibuya246 · · 9 photos

The exhibition hall, with paper pieces hanging from the ceiling.Photo dataCameraApple iPhone 16 PlusLensiPhone 16 Plus back dual wide camera 5.96mm f/1.6Focal length6mmAperturef/1.6Shutter1/40sISO320Taken20 Sep 2026, 10:56
The exhibition hall, with paper pieces hanging from the ceiling.

From the Akari Art Gallery in town, it is a short trip up the valley to the Mino Washi Museum (Mino Washi no Sato Kaikan), the main museum for Mino's handmade paper. It has exhibitions of washi art and crafts, a shop, and the best part, a workshop where you can try making paper yourself.

A plush mascot with a blue and yellow head and a 清流の国ぎふ headbandPhoto dataCameraApple iPhone 16 PlusLensiPhone 16 Plus back dual wide camera 5.96mm f/1.6Focal length6mmAperturef/1.6Shutter1/120sISO64Taken20 Sep 2026, 10:27
Minamo, the Gifu Prefecture mascot.
A mascot with a white face and a grey roof on its headPhoto dataCameraApple iPhone 16 PlusLensiPhone 16 Plus back dual wide camera 5.96mm f/1.6Focal length6mmAperturef/1.6Shutter1/120sISO64Taken20 Sep 2026, 10:51
Udatsu-kun, the Mino City mascot, with an udatsu roof on his head.
Two mascots side by side on a counterPhoto dataCameraApple iPhone 16 PlusLensiPhone 16 Plus back dual wide camera 5.96mm f/1.6Focal length6mmAperturef/1.6Shutter1/146sISO50Taken20 Sep 2026, 10:51
The two of them together.
A wall of colourful yokai figuresPhoto dataCameraApple iPhone 16 PlusLensiPhone 16 Plus back dual wide camera 5.96mm f/1.6Focal length6mmAperturef/1.6Shutter1/60sISO320Taken20 Sep 2026, 10:55
A whole wall of yokai.
A paper figure in a straw hat and robes holding a staffPhoto dataCameraApple iPhone 16 PlusLensiPhone 16 Plus back dual wide camera 5.96mm f/1.6Focal length6mmAperturef/1.6Shutter1/60sISO320Taken20 Sep 2026, 10:55
A figure in a straw hat and robes, made from paper.
Paper flowers and hanging paper squaresPhoto dataCameraApple iPhone 16 PlusLensiPhone 16 Plus back dual wide camera 5.96mm f/1.6Focal length6mmAperturef/1.6Shutter1/40sISO640Taken20 Sep 2026, 10:56
Paper flowers and hanging squares.
Folded paper shapes hanging in a tall window looking out to green hillsPhoto dataCameraApple iPhone 16 PlusLensiPhone 16 Plus back dual wide camera 5.96mm f/1.6Focal length6mmAperturef/1.6Shutter1/2075sISO50Taken20 Sep 2026, 11:32
Paper shapes flying across the window, with the hills behind.
A young man tilting a wooden frame of wet paper pulp over a vat, with a staff member helpingPhoto dataCameraApple iPhone 16 PlusLensiPhone 16 Plus back dual wide camera 5.96mm f/1.6Focal length6mmAperturef/1.6Shutter1/60sISO200Taken20 Sep 2026, 12:06
Making paper ourselves, with help from the staff.

The paper making (kamisuki taiken) is a small extra charge on top of the museum entry, and the staff show you exactly what to do. You scoop the paper fibres up out of the water in a wooden frame and work them into an even sheet. It is harder than it looks, and it gives you a real feel for how much work goes into every sheet.

The museum is a bit north of the old town, about 20 minutes by bus from Mino-shi Station, so it is easy to visit both in one day.

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