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Tokoname Pottery Village is one of the best hidden gems in Nagoya. If you have time in your itinerary, we highly recommend a visit to this unique and charming village. The pottery village is absolutely packed with things to see and do.
We were able to spend over a month living in an Edo-period ninja house in Tokoname. This allowed us plenty of time to explore the village and find all of the best bits. We have pulled all of our experiene together to design a self-guided, free walking tour, which will enable you to see all of the best bits of Tokoname.
PLAN YOUR TRIP – Find out about the BEST areas to stay in Nagoya
WHY NOT STAY IN TOKONAME – Don’t miss GUESTHOUSE TANUKI – a lovely cozy and authentic traditional Japanese Guest House bursting with character. You can find Tanuki on Agoda you can also find Tanuki on booking.com
Map of the Pottery Village Walking Tour
TOP TIP – Click on the pins for details 🙂
- This self-guided walking tour is approximately 3.2 kilometers (not including any walking that you may do at the start or the end of the route).
- The route is only 1.7 km if you skip the INAX Pottery Museum.
- The whole walking tour is likely to take two or three hours. The time very much depends on how long you plan to spend exploring museums, art shops, and cafes.
- The Tokoname Pottery Village has small winding streets, boutique art shops, authentic pottery workshops, and kilns. It is hard to capture the vibe of such a unique and beautiful village.
This route includes all of the main highlights
The walking tour includes all of the following highlights and more. Click on the map pins to find out the specific details and highlights along the route:
- Several beautiful viewpoints
- The famous step kiln and chimneys
- An Edo period house that you can explore
- The iconic Tokoname Viewpoint with the waving cat
- Several beautiful coffee shops and hidden gem cafes
- Pottery workshops
- A traditional Japanese temple
- A pottery museum
- Several scenes from the anime film “A Whisker Away”
We have also included the location of one of the best ramen restaurants we have ever experienced.
LEARN MORE – Find out more in our Full and In-depth Guide The Best things to see and do in Tokoname
How do you get to Tokoname?
The best way to travel to Tokoname is to use the subway and Meitetsu Line. Step one is to take the subway to Kanayama Station (this is situated on the south side of the Meiji Loop Line). At Kanayama Station, you can take the Meitetsu train to Tokoname. It is important to recognize that not all of the trains go to Tokoname. We recommend that you double-check with the staff at the station to make sure that you get on the correct train. It should cost around 800 yen (£4 or $5) to travel to Tokoname Station. You can use the self-service vending machine to purchase tickets.
Following the walking tour route
If you’re traveling from Nagoya, you will arrive at Tokoname Station and you will need to exit the station and walk south for around 5 minutes. The walking tour starts at an amazing ramen restaurant (the homemade noodle shop).
Part 1 Explore the Pottery Village
The route leads you up into the Pottery Village along small winding streets. The first street is a pottery pathway with an Edo-period house that is open to the public (300 yen for adults). At the top of the pottery pathway, take a left and follow a beautiful path along the top of the village.
You will notice a workshop to the left where you can take pottery wheel classes for 3,000 yen per person (this is around £15 or $18)
There are several coffee shops along the route. We particularly recommend the sweet potato and ice cream cafe. You can enjoy your food and drinks with a hot foot spa. The walking tour then takes you along the top of the hill until you reach the iconic waving cat statue. This is a beautiful viewpoint overlooking Tokoname.
From here, the tour takes you around the east side of the Pottery Village, where you can see more coffee shops, cafes, art shops, and kilns. You will see some very beautiful steps lined with bamboo leading up to a temple. Walk up these steps and explore the temple. After this, you can walk down the famous pottery footpath and see a very beautiful public garden.
From here, the tour takes you down to the south part of the Pottery Village, where you can find a tourist information centre, visit art shops, and see the famous step kilns.
In this area, there is also a traditional Japanese temple on the hill (Shinmeisha). If you follow the route that we have marked on the map, you can walk up some beautiful steps to reach this temple.
This completes the first section of the walking tour. From here you could finish walking, grab or coffee or find some food. However, if you want to keep going you can also walk south to the INAX pottery museum – which is a great spot for families. Keep reading…
Part 2 Visit the INAX Pottery Museum
After this, there is a relatively long walk to reach the INAX Pottery Museum (the walk is around 1.5 kilometers and is likely to take around 15 or 20 minutes).
We recommend allowing at least an hour to explore the INAX Pottery Museum.
You can purchase entry tickets from the desk in the Kiln Plaza. It costs 700 yen for adults (which is around £3.50 or $4), 500 yen for high school and college students (around £2.50 or $3), and 250 yen for elementary and junior high school students (£2 or $2.50). Children below elementary age are free of charge (this is normally around six or seven years old).
The museum has several sections, including a kiln and plaza where you can learn about pottery production in the area. There is a tile museum where you can walk around beautiful tile exhibits from around the world. You can explore the Terracotta Park and Terracotta Museum, where you can see authentic artwork and sculptures. If you’re traveling with kids, don’t miss the tile workshop where you can make small tile ornaments (prices range between 900 yen and 1,500 yen depending on the set). With all of this walking and exploring, you may have worked up an appetite. There is also a pizzeria where you can get stone-baked pizzas for lunch. (Top tip: it can get busy here, so reserve a table when you first arrive.)
