Weaving and Dyeing Atelier Banananesia

The Weaving and Dyeing Atelier Banananesia in Nakijin Village on Okinawa Island is a production workshop for bashofu cloth, bashoshi paper, and bingata dyeing. Bashofu cloth and bashoshi paper are Ryukyu culture traditional textiles. Everything in the manufacturing process of these textiles is done on site at Banananesia, from raising the Japanese banana plants which provide the leaves for the cloth and paper from seeds, to weaving the cloth and making the paper out of the leaf fibers, to using the Ryukyu traditional classic pattern bingata as well as original patterns to dye the textiles. With advance reservations, visitors can try bingata dyeing themselves and make their own original souvenir cotton handkerchiefs.