I'm going to start our adventure with our visit to Okawachiyama village.
Per the internet: Hidden in the mountains between Saga's famous porcelain towns Imari and Arita, Okawachiyama Village was once known as the "Village of the Secret Kilns". During the Edo period (1603-1867), Okawachiyama Village was completely controlled by the Nabeshima family who ruled the area, building kilns and employing the best artisans to make porcelain exclusively for the nobility. Many of the potters were Korean, who brought a style that differed from the pottery in surrounding areas. To preserve this exclusive style known as Nabeshima ware, the village was kept isolated from outsiders. As you walk through the quiet cobblestone streets, you will see various porcelain details embedded in the walls, including a blue and white tiled bridge. Shops and workshops in town sell traditional Nabeshima ware pieces and you can visit some of the old kilns.
Now that we've got that out of the way, let's start walking around the village.
The entrance to the village is this beautiful bridge.
At the free parking area there is a big ceramic map of the village.
We arrived at 09:00am and I was surprised that many of the shops were already open. The village is best suited for walking.
It is very picturesque here. It's a pleasure to walk along the streets.
Here comes Emi and Mayumi. Hiroko is in the back.
The girls started exploring the shops. I decided to checkout some of the back streets.
Everything is so nice here.
I've been to Okawachiyama village before and I I'm sure I'll come here again in the future. I never get tired of this place.
I'm just following the scenic promenade.
The walkway is leading me back to the center of the village.
On the other side of the bridge there is a nice shop on the left side. I decided to go inside.
Wow! This stuff is beautiful and expensive.
Next I went inside a shop that had things in my price range.
I bought a nice tea cup here.
Back outside I did some more wandering around.
At the end of this alley I turned left and walked into a shop.
The shop was small but had some amazing pottery on display.
This is a link to the shop's Instagram site: Zeryugama
I was so impressed I bought two cups here.
Back out on the street. If you come here later in the day or on the weekend it is very crowded. By the way, the people in Okawachiyama Village are very friendly. There is no pressure to buy anything.
I noticed that there are a lot of cats in the village.
One shop had a Koi pond by the entrance.
Back by the entrance to the village I took a closer look at the bridge.
There's so much more to see here but we need to get back on the road. We have many more places to visit today.
Time for a group picture before we all get in the car.
Crossing over the bridge on our way out.
Zooming in on the bridge one can see that the top section (under the vase) is made of thousands of small pieces of broken pottery.
A couple of bonus pictures of the Nagasaki Peace Park for Mayumi. We visited the park the day before but we didn't stay very long.
Part 2 of the big Kyushu adventure will be coming soon!
All the best,
No comments:
Post a Comment