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:
Please click on these photos below to enlarge:
Please click on these videos below to see more aboit the Kurawankan Showroom in Hasami Town, Nagasaki:
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