| Customer: Belgian/Female/34 Danish/Male/32 Russian/Female/38 Destination: Mino Duration: 2009/7/10-2009/7/12 |
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Message from our customer: We left Tokyo Friday evening around 7PM for Mino. It took less than 3 hours to get away from the busy city and enjoy a different pace of life. Our first day in Mino was well organized and we didn’t feel rushed. We had enough time to relax, ask questions, take pictures and get a feel for the place. The two ladies who accompanied us were there to talk about their area and types of ceramics in Mino. I found them very friendly and helpful. We particularly enjoyed the Ceramics Park. It offers the visitor the opportunity to enjoy the modern architecture of the beautifully built museum, bright and spacious, surrounded by nature, its surroundings and a very interesting collection of potteries from various artists from all over the world. We could have easily spent more time, probably a couple of hours. We loved the gallery walk that takes you to the main entrance; the ceiling is covered in multiple fragments of ceramics, the observatory point where you get a good panoramic view of the area and the beautiful potteries on display. Not to be missed if you visit this area. We loved it! We spent the afternoon making potteries and that was the really fun part of the day. I was more of a beginner while my friends had more experience but with the instructors help, we all managed to make nice things to take home. I can’t wait to see what my cup and bowl will look like when cooked and glazed. I will get them in a couple of weeks! On Sunday, we decided to visit Eihouji temple which is being renovated at the moment. It is a nice temple and there is a Japanese coffee shop nearby that is a very nice place to relax after visiting the temple. It is called Akariya. The waitress was very friendly and she even gave us a lift to the station. After that, we went to Honmachi Oribe street to buy a few potteries. We bought most of our gifts in a shopping center called Tajimi Souzoukan. It has 3 floors of potteries and some of the items we bought were really cheap and from the area. The tour was a lot of fun and I think it has a lot to offer to young or older people. Even kids would enjoy this tour I think. We saw kids making potteries and they seemed to really enjoy it! I would recommend this tour to anybody interested in Japanese culture, who wants to discover the?REAL not so touristy Japan, off the beaten tracks. In fact, we didn’t meet any foreigners during our stay in Mino! Whether you are a complete beginner or experienced potter, I think this tour is a lot of fun and you get to learn a lot about the area and types of potteries from the area. The organisers were very flexible so you could do it at your desired pace. A two day trip was a bit short though, I would recommend 3 days to make the most of it! (by L.D)Thank you for organizing an amazing and fantastic weekend for us – it was what I was looking for and then some. Great insights and places I would never have found on my own. I’ve been to this area many times before, but I had no idea some of these places existed. The Museum of Modern Ceramic Art was one of the best I’ve visited in recent years and I’ll definitely return to with friends. Also the two Michelin star awarded Kobeiyama was excellent. It’s just amazing to get out of Tokyo and meet friendly people who are open minded and helpful. I wish I could move my job out of Tokyo sometimes. Thank you for arranging this trip for me and my friends. (by L.J) I would like to thanks the organizers of the pottery tour to Tajimi city because I really enjoyed doing the pottery at one of the most famous kiln by the name of Koubei Gama. On my opinion the selection of the sightseeing cites covered the most meaningful and beautiful places. Among them I would like to mention the Ceramic Park Mino, which impressed me by its architecture, originality of the exposed items, shops, fountain and the observatory from where I could get a perfect view of the valley with Tajimi city and surrounding area. A lot of greenery from one side, that represents the forces of Nature and the amazing crafts of local and foreigners artists from the other, such combination of the Natural beauty and the man-made beauty created an atmosphere of the perfect harmony for what Japan is famous for. I would recommend all Japanese culture lovers to experience doing pottery in Japan. (by I.P) Special Thanks to L.D, L.J and I.P |
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