Fukuoka is the closest Japanese city to Korea, and every year around this time TSUTSUMU — our incense studio about ten minutes on foot from Hakata Station — welcomes guests spending the Chuseok holiday here. A souvenir from a shop is fine. But this year, what about carrying home a scent you made with your own hands, for your family?
Chuseok 2026 is a four-day break: Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 September
- Thursday 24 – Saturday 26 September — the three Chuseok holidays
- Sunday 27 September — runs straight into the weekend, making four days off
Chuseok is Korea's biggest holiday, a time to thank the ancestors and gather the family. More and more people use the long weekend to travel, and Fukuoka is one of the most popular places to go.
Why hand-made incense makes sense as a family gift
In Korea, too, incense is part of honouring the ancestors. A stick you blended yourself is a gift that needs no explanation.
- A blend that exists nowhere else. You cannot buy the same thing anywhere
- It goes home in a wooden box — compact, and it will not break in your bag
- Engraving on the box is available for +¥500. Add a family name or the date and it is ready to give
- Unlike sweets, it stays with them long after it is handed over
The fragrances guests choose around Chuseok
You choose one of two base fragrances (sandalwood or frankincense) and layer any of five mix fragrances (lemongrass, benzoin, osmanthus, honeysuckle, cinnamon).
- Sandalwood — a fragrant wood familiar to Korean guests. For parents or grandparents, start here
- Osmanthus — the autumn flower that begins blooming across Fukuoka in late September. This is how you take Fukuoka's autumn home
- Benzoin — a vanilla-like sweetness that rounds everything off
- Cinnamon — a very small amount adds warmth. Good in a stick for autumn evenings
If you come as a family, it is fun for each person to make a different blend. Start from the same sandalwood, layer different things on top, and you end up with completely different scents.
The middle of the holiday — Thursday 24 and Friday 25 — is the time to come
Weekends in Fukuoka fill up quickly with Japanese guests. The middle days of the holiday, Thursday 24 and Friday 25 September, are noticeably calmer. Take a morning slot and you still have the whole afternoon for walking around Hakata.
One thing to note: TSUTSUMU is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so we will be closed on Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 September, right after the holiday.
We can guide you in Korean
The workshop takes about 60 minutes, and we can explain everything — from the fragrances to shaping the sticks — in Korean. Booking is open online 24 hours a day, with a Korean-language page. You do not need to know anything about incense: it starts with smelling the jars one by one and pointing at the ones you like.
Reservations & Access
- Address: 本島ビル 401, 3-5-20 Hakata Ekimae, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka (about a 10-minute walk from the Hakata Exit of JR Hakata Station)Open directions in Google Maps ↗
- Hours: 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00) / Closed Mondays and Tuesdays
- Price: ¥3,500 per person (engraving option +¥500)
- Duration: about 60 minutes / Languages: Japanese, English, Korean
- Booking: online 24 hours a day, or by phone at 070-6697-5255
- Instagram / TikTok: @tsutsumu_incense
Chuseok is when families who live apart come together. If you are spending the holiday in Fukuoka, end it with 60 minutes of choosing a scent while you think of their faces. May the stick you make in Hakata carry the air of this trip to the table back home.
