Tour Course 2-Mashiko
Cycling or Walking will be up to you.
This course can be reserved based on your request. Please sent me your request through inquiry on the last page.
Location & Outline
Mashiko town is not just pottery town it has precious cultural assets back to the Muromachi, or the Kamakura Era (about 800 year-ago) which are scattered around the center of the city. As of the pottery town, it is said that Keizaburo Otsuka from Kasama built a kiln in Mashiko at the Edo Period. Mashiko prospered as the typical pottery town of Japan and has become one of the most famous pottery town along with Hagi and Oribe. Currently there are 250 potteries and more than 50 pottery stores. And the town produced a lot of famous artists such as Shoji Hamada who was the first living national treasure of Japan and Tatsuzo Shimaoka who was also a living national treasure. This tour will visits the Pottery Iwashita who has two climbing kilns and provides an experiencing to make potteries, Museum of ceramic ware, an old house of Shoji Hamada, and Indigo dyeing studio which shows a typical Japanese textile and dyeing technique.
Where to go
The tour includes these places shown in a red circle below. And You can confirm them by using the function of the enlargement or the picture view of the Google Map after the next below .
1. Pottery Iwashita Watch climbing kiln, Experience a potter's wheel
2. Bannaizaka Street ( on the red line) Shopping or window shopping
3. Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art ¥600, ¥300 for 65-year-old or more
Admission fee is included in the price.
4. Old Shoji Hanada's house and studio
5. Indigo Dyeing Studio receive a lecture
6. Tonoike Sake Brewery ( Based on your request)
Google map
Even the map is shown in Japanese, You can change the map to in English.
1. Click "拡大地図を表示” the bottom of the left top window.
2. Then click "言語", and choose "English" in the Google Map "Menu (≡)" on the left top window.
Use the function of the enlargement or the picture view of the Google map, and you can make sure a real view where you go and check street view also.
Tour course
The tour follows the blue line from the right side top to the left bottom about 2.1kms walk( about 1.3 miles).
But it depends on your roaming stores and inside museum.
Google Earth movie of the course
The movie follows the course where you will walk even very first.
Bird's-eye view movie of a guiding course using the Google Earth. I hope you may be excited your curiosity.
Price
¥10,000 for a person for a day trip.
And other expenses such as admission fees, tuition, meals, and tickets for buses are required.
A meeting place
9:10 at the information center
of the JR Utsunomiya station
How to get there
Take the JR Tohoku Shinkansen (Yamabiko 127) from Tokyo (at 8:08), or Ueno (8:14) to Utsunomiya. It arrives the Utsunomiya station at 9:01. We will meet at the ticket gate or in front of the information center.
Pictures
