Kurawankan Showroom: Hasami Town, Nagasaki Prefecture

There’s a small town located in the rural confines of Nagasaki prefecture called Hasami and it is considered to be one of the birthplaces of the ceramic industry in Japan, established in the 17th Century. The town feels like a step back into history. Seeing a community whose livelihood is fully intertwined with every facet of its famous ceramic industry is an amazing site whether you’re here for two days or 20 minutes.

If you do have the time, of course you should pop into 10 to 15 different ceramic shops, showcases, showrooms and kilns dotted throughout the Main Street and outlying dedicated pottery villages. However, many of my tours are shore excursions and thus time is of the essence and this is why I go to one pottery location called Kurawankan. It is located inside the Hasami pottery information center with the museum on the second floor and the showroom on the first floor.

Here you will find 30 different local artisian’s showcasing their ceramic wares. At the entrance you have a lot of stock that is heavily discounted and as you wander through each section, you get to read a little bit about the artists and see how beautiful and amazing this pottery really is. 

It’s quite incredible. I get many many customers who say they just want to get a look at the pottery because they have no room in their suitcase or that they're not interested but 99.99% of the time there is definitely one purchase at the minimum taking place. The ladies in the store are so helpful and they will wrap your most valuable assets to make it transport worthy.

It's an incredible place and an amazing experience to see one of Japanese most cultural assets so elegantly and professionally presented to the world.

Please check out the Karawankan Showroom here on the map below:

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TOTO Toilet Museum: Kokura City, Fukuoka Prefecture

The Toto Toilet Museum in Kokura City, Fukuoka is a real fine. It’s just one of those places that you don’t expect to be very good until you turn up one day and it blows your expectations out of the water.

Today we take toilets for granted, but obviously the technology of toilets have changed considerably over the decades from the basic and very substandard models of yesteryear. The first thing you noticed when you walk in is how big the museum is. Not only spacious, but the interior design and the atmosphere of the place is incredible as well. As you walk through from room to room and exhibition to exhibition you soon realize how much you didn't know about this product that you use on a daily basis!

There’s just so much to see and explore. Not only do you have a timeline of when different technologies came into place, but it also shows the transformation of the toilet in different continents of the world and obviously in particular Japan. One of the most interesting experiences at the museum and actually when you have to go to the toilet! The latest toilet technology is there to greet you, I can tell you its an incredible feeling!

Did you know that the TOTO toilet company was originally a ceramics and porcelain company?  Of course, when that market became saturated, the TOTO company had to look elsewhere and one of the most dynamic markets at that time was in the bathroom sector. All I can say is that, not only will it be an  incredibly interesting attraction but you will definitely learn a lot. You never know that information might come in handy one day!

If you don’t have a TOTO toilet, it’s about time you got one. It will change your life in so many ways for the better.

Please check out the TOTO Toilet Company here on this map below:

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Amazing structure indeed

Plenty of English 

Lots of toilet seats to sit on

Originally a ceramics company

The famous asian squat toilet

Lavender toilet anyone

Incredible showroom

Continental difference explained

Everyone loves TOTO

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Tokunaga Tea House: Ureshino, Saga Prefecture

Ureshino town in Saga prefecture is a famous producer of Japanese tea. It is located in a basin surrounded by foggy mountains and is ideally suited to growing tea with its fresh air and clean water supply. The Tokunaga teahouse is a specialty shop that sells a wide variety of green, brown and black teas, including the most sort after tea of the lot, namely Matcha. 

This Traditional tea has a specific tea called Tamaryocha ( curly tea ) due to its unique rounded profile of its tea leaves. These leaves have a strong aroma and umami taste. There’s no other region in Japan that sells this type of tea. If you didn’t know, a green tea has a unique taste, and that includes its astringency, bitterness, and most importantly it's Umami There are many health benefits, including catechin, fluoride, caffeine, and most importantly theanine.

What I love about bringing customers to the Tokunaga tea house is that they have an English speaking tea sommelier who originally comes from Slovenia. She is friendly, polite, and most importantly very professional about her craft. It is here where you can get down to the nitty-gritty of the many different elements that go into tea producing and obviously drinking. They have a wide variety of products so be careful, it’s very difficult to leave this place without stocking up on all your favorites. But don't worry they make the decision making process easy by allowing you to sample and compare the dozens of types of tea that they have in stock including many original ones not sold anywhere.

A real tea experience that must be tried to be believed.

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interesting varieties

gift packs galore

Products galore

Smell test

lots of samples

A private audience with a real pro

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