Ryukyu Glass Village

The furnace runs at one thousand three hundred degrees, and the master handles the dangerous steps.

You walk in and feel the heat before you see the furnace. The artisans work in front of the public, with no barrier between stage and audience. If you want to blow your own glass, it takes five to fifteen minutes, but the steps that burn are left to the master: the visitor gets the simple part. Overhead, the ceiling is made of two thousand two hundred and thirty-three pieces of coloured glass.

It is the largest glass workshop in the Ryūkyū Islands, in Itoman. Ryukyuan glass was born of reuse: after the war, artisans melted down the bottles thrown away by the American bases, and the air bubbles that resulted (a flaw) became the mark of that style.

ℹ️ Free entry; you pay only for the experiences. ⚠️ Wheelchair accessible, with adapted toilets, ramps and wheelchairs on loan, which is rare among workshops. Free car park.

🚉 Ryukyu Glass Village · in front of the station

Sources: 4travel.jp · ryukyu-glass.co.jp

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