Home/Kochi/Ino/Ino Paper Museum

Ino Paper Museum

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

Tosa washiInopapermakingconservation paperworkshop

Kochi · Ino

33.5472°N, 133.4237°E

Ino Paper Museum sits at the center of a craft tradition that Kochi has kept going for generations, not just preserved.

Tosa washi is among the thinnest handmade paper in the world — the finest grades are measured in hundredths of a millimetre and are used by conservators in museums across Europe and North America to repair manuscripts, because they are strong enough to hold and thin enough to disappear. Ino, on the Niyodo river west of Kochi city, is where it is made, and the water quality is the reason.

The shop sells papers that are otherwise sold only to conservation labs and printmakers.

Plan your visit

Best time to visit

Year-round | Indoor site

Cost

Admission and papermaking sessions charged — confirm current prices before travelling

Hours

Daytime hours — confirm before travelling | Papermaking sessions run during opening hours

Closed: Confirm before travelling

Time to allow

60–90 minutes including a papermaking session

Getting there

Access notes

Ino, Agawa District. Walking distance from Ino Station on the JR Dosan Line or the Ino tram terminus. Papermaking sessions run daily during opening hours, take about an hour including drying and are open to children of around five or six with adult help; a paid nagashi-zuki demonstration session runs on the first Sunday of each month. Confirm admission and opening hours before travelling.

Beyond the guidebook

**Do the papermaking.** It takes about an hour with only five to twenty minutes of actual scooping and forty minutes of drying, and it is available on any open day without booking for individuals. **First Sunday for nagashi-zuki.** The traditional flowing-scoop technique is demonstrated by a craftsman and can be tried on a paid basis on the first Sunday of the month only. **Buy conservation-grade paper.** The shop carries the very thin grades used by museum conservators and by printmakers, which are otherwise hard to buy in small quantities. **It is reachable by tram.** The Tosaden tram from Kochi city runs to Ino, which makes this one of the few craft workshops in the prefecture accessible without a car. **Combine with Niyodo Blue.** Ino is the gateway to the Niyodo valley, and Nikobuchi is up the same river.

View on Google Maps