Over my last couple of visits to Japan, I’ve started to notice and appreciate more of these  little welcome gifts in the form of origami. I got them when checking in on hotels, or even just dropping by tourist information centers, or entering museums.

Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding. I remember doing this in a summer camp ages ago, but I didn’t get it back then as to what the fuss was about. Now that I’ve rekindled my interest in art and embraced simpler things in life, I am amazed at how colorful papers are tucked together to form these heartwarming souvenirs. Origami is a great productive activity for workshops – applicable for audiences of all ages. I had a smile on myself as I watched some of the ladies at the reception of Matsumoto Museum happily folding away – all the while focused in perfecting their craft. I’d like to think origami is not just an art in itself, but a good way to meditate and focus.

Because of rediscovering the beauty of origami, I excitedly bought origami papers of various colors from Daiso, and looked up tutorials in the net. Here’s a helpful website that I came across that provides step by step procedures on origami folding.

Have you tried origami? If you were to demonstrate origami right now, what project can you do from memory? I have yet to find mine – I will start with flowers.