[Tokyo] Our Asakusa Studio Featured on a Japanese National TV Walking Show

Taro’s Origami Studio, Asakusa — December 27, 2025

On December 27, 2025, Taro’s Origami Studio, located in Asakusa, Tokyo, was featured on the Japanese national television program Ariyoshi-kun no Shōjiki Sanpo.

This program is one of Japan’s best-known “walking shows,” in which the host and guests explore neighborhoods on foot, discovering everyday places that reflect the culture and character of the area. Unlike typical travel or promotional programs, the show is known for its unscripted, honest approach and for highlighting places that feel genuinely embedded in local life.

About the Program and the Host

The show is hosted by Hiroiki Ariyoshi, one of Japan’s most recognizable television personalities. Ariyoshi is widely respected for his sharp observations and understated humor, and the program’s popularity stems from its ability to present towns and people as they truly are, without exaggeration or staging.

During this episode, Ariyoshi and the program’s cast were walking through the Asakusa area and visited Taro’s Origami Studio as part of their exploration of the neighborhood.

Asakusa: A Historic Area Where Daily Life Continues

Asakusa is one of Tokyo’s most historic districts, known internationally for Sensō-ji Temple and its long-standing connection to traditional culture. While it is a major tourist destination, it is also a living neighborhood where residents, craftspeople, and small studios coexist with visitors from around the world.

Taro’s Origami Studio is located slightly away from the main tourist streets, in an area where everyday life and cultural practice intersect. This setting aligned naturally with the program’s concept of discovering places that are part of the city’s living fabric rather than staged attractions.

Origami as a Quiet, Hands-On Cultural Experience

During the broadcast, the cast did not simply observe the studio; they sat down together and participated in an origami workshop. The program showed how, even when everyone folds the same model, each finished piece becomes different depending on color choice and subtle variations in hand movement.

By comparing the completed works side by side, the episode conveyed origami as a creative process without a single “correct” outcome. Comments during the program also touched on the physical and mental aspects of folding—how concentrating on the fingertips creates a sense of focus similar to other embodied practices such as dance or meditation.

Rather than presenting origami as a craft for children, the segment framed it as a quiet, immersive activity that allows adults and children alike to engage deeply with making something by hand.

A Cultural Space Integrated into the Neighborhood

The broadcast also highlighted the studio itself: shelves of paper, displayed works, and larger origami installations that give the space the feeling of both a workshop and a small gallery. The studio was presented not as a retail shop, but as a place where people gather to experience and share a traditional art form in a contemporary setting.

Viewers were shown a space where local residents, families, and international visitors naturally sit at the same table, folding paper together. This everyday, inclusive atmosphere is central to the philosophy of Taro’s Origami Studio.

Our Thanks to Viewers and Visitors

We are grateful to everyone who watched the program and to those who have since visited the studio after seeing the broadcast. At Taro’s Origami Studio, we remain committed to offering moments of quiet focus and creativity through origami—simple materials, careful hands, and time spent making something together.

If you find yourself walking through Asakusa, we warmly invite you to stop by and experience origami as a living cultural practice.

Program Information

Program: Ariyoshi-kun no Shōjiki Sanpo
Broadcast date: December 27, 2025
Host: Hiroiki Ariyoshi
Cast: Yoko Ikuno (Fuji TV announcer)
Guests: Arco & Peace, Sayuri Matsumura

Program details and cast information reflect the broadcast at the time of airing.