Where to go and what to do when celebrating a special anniversary in Japan
Each anniversary is special, but there are some that call for extra celebrations, a special trip you’ve been wanting to take for a long time. This year, or soon, that trip is Japan, a destination perfect for couples or families celebrating a perfect union. Sometimes knowing how to celebrate and mark the occasion, or even what to get your partner or loved one is quite difficult, that’s exactly why we’ve created this guide to help inspire your thinking on what activities and destinations you might want to consider when you make your journey to Japan.
TokudAw is a premium travel agency, that believes in creating memories that last a lifetime through building connections with locals and providing authentic experiences. We believe interacting with real people makes a difference that can be felt through thoughtfulness and quality.
A Japanese town known for porcelin.
1 year anniversary: How to celebrate your first anniversary in Japan?
First, congratulations! This is a big milestone for any relationship!
Traditional gift for the first anniversary: Paper
What to activity to consider: A washi-making workshop
Places to visit known for paper: Echizen (Fukui prefecture) or Mino (Gifu prefecture)
Souvenir: Japanese stationary or cards (the store known as Loft has a great selection)
By learning about Japanese paper, or washi paper, on your trip, you’ll experience how plant fibers are intertwined to strong bonds and interconnections, just like your relationship. Our washi paper making partners will also help transform your washi-paper into art either a lamp or a wall-hanging, so together you’ve created a work of art that symbolizes your relationship.
2nd year anniversary: How to celebrate your second anniversary in Japan
Traditional gift for the 2nd anniversary: Cotton
What to activity to consider: An indigo dying or textile painting workshop
Places to visit known for paper: Ome (outside of Tokyo), Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture
Souvenir: Japanese towels (Imabari towels can be purchased at a Family Mart)
Cotton is a material takes many shapes and is flexible enough to take on a new form when combined with dye. For this reason, it represents the change each of you have experienced in your relationship. Explore the chemical reaction of indigo dying and how various manipulation techniques can create lasting impressions on a fabric. Create something together in conjunction with an artisan that can decorate your home for years to come.
3rd anniversary: How to celebrate your 3rd year anniversary together in Japan
Traditional gift for the 3rd anniversary: Leather
What to activity to consider: An leather-smithing workshop
Places to visit known for leather: Tokyo's Taito area or Sumida or the Himeji area in Hyogo prefecture
Souvenir: Leather box, wallet
Leather becomes softer over time, just ask your relationship has softened over time, becoming more accepting and adaptable over time. Explore the meticulous nature of leather craftspeople by making a wallet, coin purse or bag impressed with symbols representing your relationship.
5th anniversary: How to celebrate your 5th year anniversary together in Japan
Traditional gift for the 5th anniversary: Wood
What to activity to consider: An coaster making workshop or a chopstick making workshop
Places to visit known for wood: Shima City in Mie Prefecture, Inami in Toyama, Okawa in Fukuoka
Souvenir: Kumiko Art (coasters or kitchen ware), kokeshi dolls (wooden dolls), chopsticks
Wood represents strength and stability. This strength is evident in traditional Japanese architecture, such as some of the oldest wooden shrines and temples. These buildings were often built without using nails. Take a lesson in the Japanese woodcraft known as Kumiko, and practice building a wooden sculpture without the assistance of nails or glue. It fits together like a puzzle! Alternatively, in Japan, chopsticks are known to symbolize a strong relationship because they must be used as a pair. Those celebrating their 5th anniversary may chose to create a set of wooden chopsticks under the guidance of an artisan, a symbolic, yet practical gift of a union.
8th anniversary: How to celebrate your 8th year anniversary together in Japan
Traditional gift for the 8th anniversary: Pottery
What to activity to consider: A pottery workshop
Places to visit known for pottery (each known for a different style): Seto or Tokoname in Aichi prefecture, Shigaraki in Shiga prefecture, Echizen in Fukui Prefecture, Bizen in Okayama prefecture, or Tamba in Hyogo Prefecture
Souvenir: A matcha bowl
Pottery becomes beautiful after being tested and tried in the fire, emerging more solid than before. Experience the alchemy of different clay, materials, and painting techniques throughout each of Japan’s pottery towns. In each town, a hands on workshops can be experienced.
10th anniversary: How to celebrate your 10th year anniversary together in Japan
A huge milestone worth of a big celebration, congratulations!
Traditional gift for the 10th anniversary: Tin
What to activity to consider: A metal casting workshop or jewelry making workshop
Places to visit known for tin: Takaoka City in Toyama, Osaka, Kyoto
Souvenir: A sake cup (or a pair of them!)
Discover the flexibility and adaptability of the tin metal with a hands-on workshop, representing a strong relationship forged over time. It is said that sake drank from a tin cup will have a more mellow taste.
12th anniversary: How to celebrate your 12th year anniversary together in Japan
Traditional gift for the 12th anniversary: Silk
What to activity to consider: A silk museum, textile workshop, or traditional kimono experience or photoshoot
Places to visit known for silk: Kyotango in Kyoto prefecture, Nishijin Textile district in Kyoto, Okaya in Nagano prefecture, Tsuruoka in Yamagata prefecture, Yuki in Ibaraki prefecture
Souvenir: A kimono or coin purse
Your years together have been intertwined, stitched together moment by moment. This, too, is what makes the kimono and silk industry of Japan so special. Partake in a weaving class to make a silk coaster with a master artisan, or simply learn about process of production from silk worm through different weaving styles at the Silk Museum, or visit a traditional silk-worm raising home nestled in the mountains such as Tateyama or at a museum of traditional homes such as the Nihon Minka-en in Kawasaki.
A traditional Japanese home for raising silkworms.
15th anniversary: How to celebrate your 15th year anniversary together in Japan
Traditional gift for the 15th anniversary: Crystal
What to activity to consider: Edo-kiriko (etched glass workshop)
Places to visit known for glass: Sumida ward area of Kyoto for Edo kiriko, Koto Ward in Ojima, Toyama
Souvenir: An etched glass cup
Just as a crystal is an ordinary rock that shines when hit with light from just the right angle, so to is your relationship. Things are ordinary and day to day, then there are moments that remind you of the beauty and magic of your partnership. Explore how crystal transforms with the traditional art of etched glass. Japanese artisans teach you how to make gentle marks into the glass to transform the ordinary crystal into something spectacular and practical. You leave with a cup you can use and a work of art. Pair this experience with a visit to Toyama, known for it’s glass museum, where you can visit one of the only permanent exhibits of glass artist Dale Chihuly’s work outside the USA.
20th anniversary: How to celebrate your 20th year anniversary together in Japan
Traditional gift for the 20th anniversary: Porcelain
What to activity to consider: Ceramic painting
Places to visit known for porcelain: Airta in Saga prefecture, Mashiko in Tochigi prefecture, Taijimi in Gifu prefecture
Souvenir: Housewares
Though porcelain is delicate, it is also strong and often something to be prized —not unlike a 20 year partnership. Visit one of Japan’s traditional pottery and ceramics villages, to see a way of life preserved for generations. Pieces of artisan ceramics pressed into the bridges, even Japanese shrines covered in pieces, too. Artisans lead ceramic painting workshops so that guests discover how the fine details can transform a piece, the distinctive patterns each Japan region is known for and the science of how the natural materials transform under the heat of the kiln.
25th anniversary: How to celebrate your 25th year anniversary together in Japan
25th years is a huge milestone and worthy of a Japan adventure as unique as this milestone!
Traditional gift for the 25th anniversary: Silver
What to activity to consider: Silver mine visit, Hirazogan (silver inlay workshop), or a silver hammering worshop
Places to visit known for Silver: Visit Omori town in Shimane Prefecture for the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine or Ikuno in Hyogo Prefecture for the Ikuno Silver mile, or take trop along the Silver Route that transported silver from Shimane's silver mine to Osaka and Kyoto. Kanazawa and the Kurume area of Tokyo also are known for silver.
Souvenir: Housewares
Silver is a precious item highly prized. Experience the difficult job of scavenging for silver by visiting one of Japan’s historic Silver Mines, nestled in the heart of the country where few tourists visit. You’ll experience the real, authentic Japan with this experience. The journey to mining silver and moulding it into the artisanal products of today is full of long and difficult moments, just as your partnership. Visit Japan’s Gold capital, Kanazawa to discover the art of silver leafing, or the art of adding silver flakes to textiles or housewares. In Tokyo, the silver industry is over 400 years old. Master artisans will work with you to create a custom designed silver boookmark using the same methods they use to create silver housewares.
50th anniversary: How to celebrate your 50th year anniversary together in Japan
A 50th anniversary is truly exceptional and worthy of visiting some of the most breathtaking places in Japan.
Traditional gift for the 50th anniversary: Gold
What to activity to consider: Gold leafing experience, kintsugi workshop, or a visit to a gold-related location
Places to visit known for Gold: Kanazawa (Japan’s gold capital), or visit the Sado Island Gold Mine, a UNESCO world Heritage site, or Hita City in Oita, a gold rush village and the Taio Gold mine, or Isa City in Kagoshima prefecture, the only modern active mine in Japan, or visit Kyoto’s Kinkau-ji, a gold-plated shrine
Souvenir: Housewares, art, or lotion
Gold, an extremely rare and precious metal symbolized the preciousness of your union. Experience the intersection of Japanese culture and an UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Japan in the town known for gold, Kanazawa. Legend says that gold was found in a stream, but the real reason Kanazawa became known for gold is it’s climate, a delicate balance the right humidity.
Kintsugi is another traditional craft related to gold in Japan that paints gold lacquer onto cracks or broken pieces. The repaired work is often considered more valuable than the original, and prized for the journey it has been through. Just as your union has not been perfect, the result of the trouble and trials you’ve been through is both stronger and more beautiful than before.
60th anniversary: How to celebrate your 60th year anniversary together in Japan
60 years is an extremely rare event, celebrate with an equally rare experience, witnessing the sun rise or the sunset aligning exactly with the peak of Japan’s tallest mountain, Mount Fuji, also known as Fuji-san. This natural phenomena appears as if the mountain has a radiating diamond set atop the mountain.
Traditional gift for the 60th anniversary: Diamond
What to activity to consider: Mount Fuji sunrise or sunset with the sun perfectly aligned to the peak
Places to visit known for a Fuji visit: The location varies throughout the season, only visible for 2-3 days at each location. We can help you plan the right spot if this is something you’d like to try to see.
Souvenir: Photographs of the phenomena or Mount Fuji memorabilia.
Make it special with TokudAw
We are a premium transportation and travel company that values crafting the right itinerary for each of our guests. Our services are accessible for guests with mobility challenges or those traveling with multiple generations because we want everyone to feel comfortable in traveling Japan. We also value building bridges among locals and our guests, and strive to integrate lesser known and unique destinations for our guests where it makes sense so that the “real” Japan is experienced, not just the one in a guide book or on social media. If you’ve a special request, we’d love to work with you try try to fill it, especially because we understand how precious traveling because of a big milestone is. It only happens once! We look forward to celebrating with you!