The Guitar Strap Workshop in the Mountains
A quick note before we start: unlike most of what’s on this site, this one isn’t based on a personal visit — I haven’t been to this shop myself yet. What follows is drawn from published sources (a regional newspaper feature and the shop’s own site), not first-hand experience. We’re including it anyway because it’s a genuinely unusual thing to find in a small mountain castle town, and we think it’s worth knowing about. Treat this as an introduction, not a review — and verify hours and availability before making a special trip.
What’s actually going on here
Ksound (小林楽器店 / Kobayashi Gakkiten) is a music shop in central Gujo Hachiman, founded in 1945 as an instrument sales and repair business by the current owner’s father. Decades later, the shop’s current owners — a husband-and-wife team — started making guitar straps by hand, under the brand name Elara Straps.
What makes them distinctive: the straps use vintage jacquard-woven fabric, much of it sourced from overseas textiles dating back to the 1950s onward — the kind of richly patterned material historically used by well-known Western musicians. The shop backs it with faux-leather lining for durability and comfort, and finishes each strap by hand.
This isn’t a small local curiosity — it’s used by name-recognition musicians. According to a regional newspaper feature, artists including Tamio Okuda, Toshihiko Takamizawa (of THE ALFEE), and Yohito Teraoka are known to use them, along with BEGIN’s Yu Shimabukuro. The shop has also appeared on regional television.
Why this might interest a visitor
If you play guitar, or you’re shopping for someone who does, this is a genuinely uncommon souvenir: a handmade item, made in a small workshop in the Japanese mountains, using the same kind of vintage materials associated with famous musicians historically — not something you’ll find in an airport gift shop.
Straps can reportedly be customized — face fabric, backing, and hardware — meaning two straps are rarely quite the same.
What we don’t know yet (and you should check)
Published sources give slightly different opening hours (accounts range from 10:00–18:00 to 10:00–21:00, and the shop’s own site lists 10:00–18:00, closed Mondays), so we’re not stating a single figure with confidence here. Confirm current hours directly before visiting.
Reported pricing (per a 2022 newspaper feature, likely to have changed since): roughly ¥14,300 for a 2-inch width strap, ¥19,800 for 3-inch. Treat these as historical reference points, not current prices — check the shop’s own site for up-to-date figures.
Location
Central Gujo Hachiman, a few minutes’ drive from Gujo Hachiman IC. No dedicated parking at the shop itself — nearby public parking is the practical option. It’s a longer walk from Gujo Hachiman Station (around 20 minutes), so this is more of a “if you’re already in town center” stop than a dedicated destination unless you’re specifically after a strap.
This article is based on published sources as of July 2026, not a personal visit. We plan to update it — including with our own photos and a firsthand account — once we’ve been. If you visit before we do, we’d genuinely like to hear how it went.