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Tokoname Pottery Footpath

HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > Tokoname Pottery Footpath

Enjoy a leisurely walk through an historical pottery town, among brick chimneys and old kilns

Tokoname City

With a pottery tradition dating back to the 12th century, Tokoname in Aichi Prefecture is one of Japan's Six Ancient Kilns and is recognized as a Japan Heritage Site. Also home to the Chubu Centrair International Airport, the gateway to the Tokai region, Tokoname is a city where historical and modern coexist.

Tokoname still retains a unique atmosphere of brick chimneys and kilns, slopes piled with clay pipes and shochu bottles, and black-walled kiln houses, and has one of the most emotional and nostalgic landscapes in Japan. Take a walk along the Pottery Footpath to experience the charms of this quaint pottery town and explore backstreets lined with traditional houses and pottery studios. Enjoy shopping at the countless ceramic shops or stop for a break at one of the cozy cafes along the way.

Islamic tiled dome ceiling reproduction displayed at the INAX Museums

The Pottery Footpath also leads to the INAX Museums, a museum complex consisting of six pavilions that offers a wide variety of enjoyable activities regarding pottery and clay. At the Kiln Plaza, you can visit a factory with a vast kiln inside, which used to produce stoneware pipes from the 1920s to early 1970s, and learn and experience the history of Tokoname’s ceramic manufacturing. In the Tile Museum, decorative tiles collected worldwide are on display, with over 7,000 items spanning from B.C. to modern times.

How to get there

About 5 minutes by Meitetsu train from Chubu Centrair International Airport to Tokoname Station. The Pottery Footpath is about 5 minutes on foot from Tokoname Station.

Tokoname-shi, Aichi-ken