Tokushima Ai-zome Street Workshop

This drop-in studio on Aizumi's indigo-dyeing street offers short shibori sessions for anyone passing through Tokushima. You tie, fold, or bind a handkerchief, scarf, or tote bag before submerging it in a natural indigo vat, then wait a few minutes while the dye oxidizes from yellow-green to deep blue. The process is quick enough to complete between transportation connections and the results are genuinely variable and personal. Tokushima is Japan's historical center for indigo production, and the blue you get here comes from the same plant that dyed samurai kimono.