Private Traditional Craft Experience From

$500

Pottery of the Tenryu Gorge

-天竜峡焼物-

Combine a pottery workshop with a mini-hike and a boat ride on the Tenryu Gorge!

Really Rural Japan highly recommend combining this half day experience with a half day at the Tenryu Gorge! The full day is nicely based in a small local area!

Pottery of the Tenryu Gorge:

According to the Miwa family who run the pottery shop Miwa Rakugado, the origins of their family business come from Mino. The famous minoware potters are amongst the most prestigious in Japan. The Miwa family migrated away from Mino to the Tenryu Gorge and founded their shop in 1919. Then Tenryu Gorge had then just recently begun the touristic use of its traditional boats and the area was developing a new budding tourist industry. Tenyu Gorge also has lots of red pines and clay ideal for minoware pottery. Their plan worked out great! Until it didn’t. The boom days for tourism in the Tenryu Gorge are long gone. But that quiet calmness is what we love about it!

What will you do during this experience?

  • Meet and greet the master craftsman: During this experience you will be taught by the Miwa family.

  • Pottery experience: You will be guided and helped in making pottery by a master, but what you make will be up to you. You will get a piece of clay to work with and the guidance of a master. The design and the rest is up to you.

  • Firing up the kilns: Miwa Rakugudo only fire up the kilns around 4 times per year. This means that your piece will likely take a long time to be complete. When it has been finished, your artwork will be sent to you wherever you are. The price of shipping will be paid by you in advance.

  • Shopping and farewells: Finally you can peruse their shop freely and say your farewells.

Combinations:

This tour can be combined with a hike and/or boat ride along the Tenryu Gorge to make a full day of it.