Inami, the Japanese Woodcarvers’ Town

Inami is a town of 8,000 inhabitants located in Toyama Prefecture. With more than a hundred sculptors’ workshops, it is said to be the number one city for sculptors in Japan.

After moving there in 2016, architect Tomotsugu Yamakawa decided to turn part of his recently refurbished house into an accommodation for visitors to use as a base point to explore the town. That was the birth of “Bed and Craft,” which now has six houses that can be rented for accommodation in town and organizes workshops with the local craftspeople.

Among them is Komei Tanaka, who moved to Inami to become a wood sculptor after finishing high school. Now friends with Yamakawa, he organizes spoon sculpting workshops for Bed and Craft, and his beautiful female wood sculptures decorate one of the accommodation houses.

Read on to discover what is so special about the little town of Inami, the motivation behind the “Bed and Craft” project, how it managed to attract foreigners for the first time, and how it changed the way of thinking of its townsfolks.

How Inami Became a Woodcarver’s Town