Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [185]
AROUND NAGOYA
This region, consisting of outlying Aichi-ken and southern Gifu-ken, offers plenty of easy day trips. The commuter towns of Tokoname and Arimatsu are historic centres for ceramics and tie-dyeing. Or for some 21st-century monozukuri, check out the factories making household-name brands (see the boxed text). Easygoing Inuyama boasts National Treasures – its castle and tea house – as well as side trips to an architecturally historical theme park and some rather randy shrines. Both Inuyama and Gifu city are famed for ukai (cormorant fishing), in which the trained birds, with cords around their necks, dive for river trout and smelts.
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TOKONAME
0569 / pop 52,800
Clay beneath the ground of this bayside community has made Tokoname a hub for ceramic-making for centuries – during its height some 400 chimneys rose above its centre. Today, Tokoname still produces some ¥60 trillion in ceramics annually. Most of that is for plumbing and tiles, but teapots and maneki-neko (welcoming cat figurines at the entrance to shops and restaurants) are also signature designs. It all makes Tokoname’s historic centre a visually interesting day trip from Nagoya or a quick detour from Central Japan International Airport. Pick up a map in English at Tokoname Tourist Information (; 34-8888; 9am-5.30pm), inside Tokoname Station.
Yakimono Sanpo Michi (; Pottery Footpath) is a handsome 1.8km paved trail looping up and down hills around the town’s historic centre. Lining the path are locally produced ceramics from historic pipes to roofing tiles and plaques decorated by school kids. Numbered plaques corresponding to the tourist office map indicate the stops along the way, and you’ll pass kilns and chimneys, cafes and galleries selling the works of some 100 local ceramic artists, some at bargain prices. The pipe-and-jug-lined lane Dokanzaka (; stop 9) is particularly photogenic, and go around the back at Noborigama-hiroba (; Climbing Kiln Sq; stop 13) for a peek at the 10 square chimneys that served the gigantic, 1887 kiln. The restored Takita-ke (; Takita residence; 36-2031; stop 8; admission ¥300; 9am-4.30pm Tue-Sun), c 1850, was the home of a shipping magnate family and exhibits a replica of the local trading ships called bishu-kaisen, and displays of ceramics, lacquer, furniture and oil lamps. Look for the suikinkutsu, a ceramic jar buried in the ground so that it rings like a koto (13-stringed instrument derived from a Chinese zither that is played flat on the floor) when water drips into it. A video is available with English translation.
With a little more time, visit Inax Live Museum (; 34-8282; adult/child/student ¥600/200/400; 10am-6pm, closed 3rd Wed of month), a cluster of buildings about a five-minute detour from the Pottery Footpath. Inax is one of Japan’s top plumbing-equipment manufacturers. On the 2nd floor of Inax Kiln Plaza are some 150 Meiji- and Taisho-era toilets that are elaborately decorated. There are also small exhibits of tiles from around the world, and a workshop where you can try your own hand at tile-making (at an extra charge).
You won’t have trouble finding cafes along the Pottery Footpath. Koyōan (; 35-8350; mains ¥880-1800; 11.30am-5pm Tue-Sun, dinner by reservation) serves homemade soba (buckwheat noodles) on handsome ceramic-ware dishes, surrounded by wood-beamed ceilings and inlaid tiles. There’s no English menu, but specialities include teuchi soba (handmade soba, ¥880) and tempura soba (¥1780); set menus are available from ¥2100.
Many visitors cap their day with a side trip to Central Japan International Airport for restaurants, shopping and onsen-ing.
Getting There & Around
The private Meitetsu line connects Tokoname with Meitetsu Nagoya (kyūkō, ¥650, 40 minutes; tokkyū ¥1000, 30 minutes) and Central Japan International Airport (¥300, five minutes). Once in town, the Pottery Footpath is a few hundred metres from the train station.
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INUYAMA
0568 / pop 75,700
Dubbed the ‘Japanese Rhine’ since the 19th century, Inuyama