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Amazing pottery and ceramics tour in Seto
Joined 2024
Discover Seto, a haven for pottery enthusiasts! Visit a pottery museum, watch a master potter, explore shops, and even join a workshop. Stroll along Kamagaki no Komichi, a 400-meter path lined with old kiln tools showcasing Seto's ceramic heritage. Stop by the Maneki Neko Museum, home to the largest collection of "Goodluck" cats. Enjoy lunch at a scenic soba restaurant before heading to Tajimi to explore the Mino Ceramics Park, with exhibits by local and global artists, a tea ceremony, and more.
Itinerary
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
hotel, hostel, airbnb, station, etc
- Any place within a reasonable reach in and around Nagoya
Seto-Gura museum
The best place to learn about the History of Japan’s Pottery, this museum offers an immersive journey through the history of pottery, featuring a recreated pottery workshop, coal kiln, and chimney, all centered around the 20th century in Seto. Visitors can explore over 1,000 years of Seto ware history and discover the close connection between ceramics production and the Setoden railway. A genuine Setoden train car is also on display, adding to the unique experience.
kamagaki no michi
a 400-meter-long winding footpath in the eastern foothills of the town. This narrow street is lined with old pottery tools and kiln parts, offering a glimpse into Seto's rich ceramic heritage. The house of a potter built in Meiji Era is restored and used as a museum. Tools for ceramic manufacturing and the products manufactured in the Meiji Era are exhibited. If you are up for it we can visit a local shrine, the Suehiko Shrine which enshrines the spirit of Toshiro Kato, the master potter who established Seto as a ceramic center.
observe and chat with a pottery master, or attend a workshop
The title says it all
Lunch time!
The original plan is to have lunch at a lovely place situated in a small forrest. The main menu is soba or buckwheat noodles. Delicious and affordable. However if you are a meat, sushi, Mc Donalds fan, no problems!
Visit Mino Ceramic Park
A beautiful building located in the forrest and mountains, they have different exhibitions each month, please ask me about this beforehand. I don't think there is another place like this, anywhere, a huge building completely focussed on ceramics and pottery.
go for a walk in Tajimi, Honmachi Oribe Street
Honmachi Oribe Street is a shopping district dedicated entirely to ceramics, offering everything from affordable souvenirs to stunning, high-end works of art—catering to every taste and budget. Tajimi, renowned for over a thousand years as a hub of Minoyaki ceramics, is especially famous for its distinctive deep-green copper glaze. Along the street, you'll find a small information center, antique shops, and charming eateries
Recharge your soul
Once you've had your fill of ceramics, and prefer to skip Honmachi Horibe Stree, we can also make a trip to Kokeizan Eihoji Temple for some quiet contemplation. Founded in 1313, Eihoji sits on the bank of the Toki River and is reached via a steep, twisting path through an ancient forest.
The temple features a huge pond filled with giant carp and small Buddhist Jizo statues hidden in the treeline. A meditation hut is placed high on a rock from which a waterfall cascades down to the pond. Monks are still trained at Eihoji, which adds to the spiritual atmosphere.
Ending Point
Bnb/hotel/cardboard box under a bridge
Want to personalize this tour?
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
Inclusions & Exclusions
Transport by minivan/Delica D5
in car Wifi
refreshments
gasoline/parking
some really bad singing (optional)
guidance
(own)lunch
entrance fees
520 yen Seto Gura museum
Tour Important Information
This tour involves a lot of pottery, so make sure you love pottery and ceramics.
The whole itinerary is flexible, we can cut things, add things, whatever you please. We can even call it a "pottery tour", but instead visit all local sake breweries, your spouse never has to know.
No mondays as museums are closed
Cancellation Policy
- Free cancellation - 8 days prior to meeting time
- 50% Refund - 3 to 7 days prior to meeting time
- No Refund - Within 2 day(s) prior to meeting time
Joined 2024
About Tour Guide Serge R.
Hi lovely travelers,
I'm Serge, originally from the Netherlands, and Japan has been my home for over three decades now. What brought me here initially was love, and that love has kept me rooted in this beautiful country ever since. Along the way, I discovered another love: Japan itself. Following my stint as a radio jockey and TV presenter, where I co-hosted a dedicated program for the Nagoya Grampus soccer team, I transitioned to a behind-the-scenes role as a media fixer for international media outlets.
Though my job as media fixer, I've been traveling and working throughout all of Japan, exploring unique places and meeting lots of very interesting people.
I would love to share and make you, my dear traveler, experience these places as well. Visiting and getting a tour at Japan's oldest traditional vinegar maker, or experience and taste at a traditional "katsuo bushi" bonito flake maker, or do you prefer to visit some old local shrines or temples. with no-one around you, except for the crickets and trees. Maybe you just want a friend to bring you to your desired locations and interpret and be at your beck and call 24 hours (like I do for the media). If you're looking for flexibility (time, places. transport), you won't find a better match than me.
My work as a fixer taught me a valuable lesson: the key to traveling together successfully, lies in a blend of humor, professionalism, and adaptability.
Reviews
Paul T.
Nagoya: car tour to Korankei valley, Toyota museum and more
“Top notch tour guide”
We had a wonderful experience with Serge. He contacted us the day before the tour to suggest that we should consider starting our tour at an earlier time due to potential traffic issues going to Korankei Gorge. We were pleased with his suggestion as we even had extra time to go to another lovely spot. Serge gave us three options for the second place to visit. We chose to go to Shikizakura to see the cherry blossoms and colourful autumn leaves. We were not disappointed. He even took candid shots of us. We met Serge as our private tour guide but parted as a friend. He is very passionate at what he does and knowledgeable as a guide. Tip: A great photographer too. Do not hesitate to have him as your tour guide. You will not be disappointed.
Serge R.
Thank you so much for your kind words. Honestly, I feel like I have the best job in the world! With people like you, it never feels like work. From the moment you stepped into my car, the conversation flowed so naturally, it was as if the concept of "strangers" simply vanished. I laughed so much, and I was deeply inspired by the respect and love you share for each other. Thank you both for such a wonderful day—I’m already looking forward to our paths crossing again!
“Private Ceramic Arts Tour”
I asked for a tour of two famous pottery towns, Seto and Tajimi. Serge put together a great day which included a visit with a warm and wonderful ceramic artist, a tour of the Seto Pottery Museum, a visit to a pottery tool store and a tour of an amazing ceramic festival at the Ceramics Park in Mino. Although he was unfamiliar with the pottery scene in these pottery towns, he did his research and reached out to experts and as a result, the tour gave me insight and experiences that I could never have achieved on my own. Just as important, Serge was warm, easy to talk to and answered all my questions with humor and grace.
Serge R.
Thank you so much dear Heidi, we had an amazing day as well, thanks to you, my world has gotten a bit bigger, I could experience something new and I caught the pottery bug as well. At the moment I'm putting your video together, it will take a few weeks due to the busyness of this month, but I hope it'll be worth the wait. Till we see again, Serge
“Amazing guide ”
As in the title amazing guide with a lot of knowledge, great personality and ability to create unforgetable memory. Flexible about program, well prepared abd perfect for as well adults as kids. Highly recommended guide. You will never regret to go with him.
Serge R.
Thank you so much, you all. I had a wonderful time with you. I really loved guiding you around, this is the reason why I became a guide....to meet people like you!
$292/ per group
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