Tokoname is home to Chubu Centrair International Airport, the largest airport in the region. What many people don’t know, is that it is also a city with a long tradition of pottery and amazing craftsmanship. Tokoname is an excellent place to visit for a day or half-day trip from Nagoya (or the airport if you have a long layover). Let Yourself Be Transported to Tokoname by Watching A Whisker Away...

After years of waiting it finally opened, the world’s first Ghibli Park, and we were first in line! So here it is, everything you need to know about the new Ghibli Park, the home of Totoro, Mononoke, Chihiro, and Co. What is Ghibli Park? Map of Ghibli Park, image via ghibli-park.jp Ghibli Park is often called a theme park, but we really shouldn’t compare it to the popular Universal Studios...

If Nagoya had a soul, it’d probably be located in the Cultural Path. The area known locally as Bunka no Michi (the Cultural Path, in Japanese) is the zone between Nagoya Castle and Tokugawa Garden. During the Edo Period (1603-1867), this district served as the residential area for middle and lower-class Samurai. But throughout the Meiji to the early Showa Periods (1868-1930), it transformed into a hub for entrepreneurs, missionaries,...

With the arrival of spring, all of Japan is dyed in pink. This is because at the end of March Sakura (cherry blossoms) begin blooming. You can see the cherry tree flowers all across Japan: in parks and botanical gardens, around temples and shrines, on the banks of rivers, or covering mountains. The season of the cherry tree is synonymous with “a new beginning”. It coincides with the start of...

To grasp the importance of the city of Seto when it comes to pottery in Japan, you only need to look at one word: ‘Setomono.’ It is the universally used Japanese term for pottery, encompassing all pottery, not just the pottery specifically from Seto. A selection of Setomono pieces Pottery from Japan dated to 10,000 B.C. is the oldest known in the world. Moreover, the story of Jomon pottery is...