Dan Hill on tue 25 jan 05
Hello All!
I will be travelling to Japan for 3 weeks in April and would really
appreciate suggestions on where to go and what to see, pottery related and
otherwise. My partner is a painter and she is interested in brush painting
and textiles.
We have a friend in the Osaka region with a car who has offered to help us
get around since we know zero Japanese. We will likely get as far north as
Tokyo at some point so Mashiko is on my to do list.
I do have a list of pottery areas provided by Japan travel but it would be
great to get some first hand reccomendations, contacts.
Thanks in advance,
Dan Hill
Hill Pottery
Wilno, Ontario, Canada.
Steve Irvine on tue 25 jan 05
Dan,
April is a wonderful time to visit Japan. The weather is pleasant, and the cherry blossoms are
still out in many parts of the country. There are several terrific pottery regions within easy
travel from Osaka. Shigaraki of course, and on your way there be sure to spend some time in
Nara, the ancient capital. The Todai-ji temple in Nara-koen is an architectural wonder. The
park surrounding it is also famous for its deer and the thousands of stone lanterns that line
the roads. After seeing Shigaraki make a side trip to see the Miho Museum, also an
architectural wonder, but in a very modern sense.
To the west of Osaka is Bizen. The train station to get off at for Bizen town is Imbe station.
The potters fire the kilns in the spring and autumn, so you should be able to see at least a
few firings underway. An amazing town with an excellent museum next to the train station
and pottery shops everywhere. It seems like there are at least two or three big noborigama
kilns on every block throughout the city! If you have time, take a short walk into the hills
north of the city. You'll find a pretty little lake, and in April the hills around it will be covered
with wild azaleas in bloom.
Of course you will also have to see Kyoto, one of the world's great cities. You could easily
spend all of your time there and still just scratch the surface. Be sure to see the craft shops
and historic buildings like Kiyomizu in the Higashiyama part of the city. On the north edge of
the city is the Ryoanji Temple. The zen rock garden there is something of profound beauty
and inspiration.
Check Robert Yellin's site, e-yakimono.net It's a wonderful resource.
Steve Irvine
http://www.steveirvine.com
On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:06:14 -0500, Dan Hill wrote:
>Hello All!
>I will be travelling to Japan for 3 weeks in April and would really
>appreciate suggestions on where to go and what to see, pottery related and
>otherwise. My partner is a painter and she is interested in brush painting
>and textiles.
>We have a friend in the Osaka region with a car who has offered to help us
>get around since we know zero Japanese. We will likely get as far north as
>Tokyo at some point so Mashiko is on my to do list.
>I do have a list of pottery areas provided by Japan travel but it would be
>great to get some first hand reccomendations, contacts.
>Thanks in advance,
>Dan Hill
>Hill Pottery
>Wilno, Ontario, Canada.
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