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Stories, updates, and news from TSUTSUMU
A trip to Fukuoka and Hakata. The food and the shopping make wonderful memories — but in time, they slip into the past. There is, however, one souvenir you can carry home as a scent. At TSUTSUMU, a hands-on incense-making studio about a 10-minute walk from Hakata Station, you craft a fragrance that is yours alone. Back home, each time you light it, your trip to Fukuoka quietly returns — here is a new kind of Fukuoka souvenir, loved by visitors from Korea and beyond.
At TSUTSUMU's incense-making in Fukuoka and Hakata, benzoin (ansokukō) is one of the five mix fragrances — a sweet, vanilla-like scent that gently ties a whole blend together. Its Japanese name means "breath at rest." Here's its history, burned as a sacred incense since ancient Egypt, and how to pair it with sandalwood and frankincense — from our incense workshop in Hakata.
It's the season for ochugen — Japan's mid-summer gift-giving. For someone who has looked after you in Fukuoka or Hakata, why not give something that lasts as both form and fragrance, rather than a "gone once it's eaten" gift like beer or somen noodles? At TSUTSUMU, about ten minutes from Hakata Station, you blend sandalwood or frankincense by hand into a one-of-a-kind summer gift. Here's how, along with box engraving and scented sachets for those who live far away.
At TSUTSUMU's incense-making in Fukuoka and Hakata, you choose one of two base scents. Standing alongside sandalwood is the other — frankincense. Burned around the world as a "scent of prayer" for 5,000 years, it is a deeply mysterious fragrance. Here's what it is, its history, how it differs from sandalwood, and how to pair it at TSUTSUMU — from our incense workshop in Hakata.
Father's Day 2026 falls on Sunday, June 21. If you're looking for a gift for your dad in Fukuoka or Hakata, give time together rather than a thing. At TSUTSUMU, ten minutes from Hakata Station, you make a one-of-a-kind scent with your father by hand — here's how, along with scent pairings and engraved wooden boxes.
Caught in the rain in Fukuoka or Hakata? A rainy day is actually perfect for making incense. Ten minutes from Hakata Station, and once you arrive the whole 60 minutes is indoors — in the humid rainy season when fragrance shines most, blend your own scent to the sound of the rain.
Byakudan — sandalwood — is the base scent many guests reach for first at TSUTSUMU. A deep dive into what it actually is: where it grows, the rare compound behind its scent, its 1,300 years in Japanese culture, and why it calms us. From TSUTSUMU, the incense-making workshop in Hakata, Fukuoka.
Three model courses that weave Hakata's classic sights — Hakata Station, Canal City, Kushida Shrine — together with an incense-making experience at TSUTSUMU. A local maker's guide to building a Fukuoka day you'll actually remember.
For anyone in Fukuoka looking for an experience that actually stays with you. A complete guide to the 60 minutes at TSUTSUMU — Hakata's incense-making workshop, ten minutes from Hakata Station: the two courses, two base scents plus five mix fragrances, and what you take home.
TSUTSUMU, a hands-on incense-making workshop a 10-minute walk from Hakata Station, opened on May 16, 2026. A memorable date for couples, a unique Fukuoka travel memory, and a quiet "taste of Japan" for international guests — blend a base scent with five mix fragrances into one of a kind in just 60 minutes.
A hands-on guide from TSUTSUMU — the Fukuoka/Hakata incense-making workshop — comparing the two courses, the two base scents plus five mix fragrances, and how to choose.
A guide to incense-making spots in Fukuoka, featuring TSUTSUMU — just 10 minutes from Hakata Station.
TSUTSUMU, a hands-on incense-making workshop, opens a 10-minute walk from Hakata Station.
