This article was automatically translated from Japanese using AI. The Japanese version is the authoritative version.
A friend invited me out of the blue, so I went to the Toki Mino-yaki Pottery Festival on May 4.
This was the 46th festival, held May 3–5, 2022 — just three days — and since the website had announced there would be no shuttle bus from Toki Station, it seemed everyone came by car.
I went without doing any research beforehand, and it was incredibly crowded. “This busy, for a pottery festival!?” I thought, but once I started walking around the venue it was a lot of fun, and even someone who doesn’t know much about ceramics can enjoy it.
What is the Mino-yaki Pottery Festival?
The most fitting description is a festival where tons of Mino-yaki pottery is sold all at once.
Everywhere you walk: pottery, pottery, pottery!!!
There were food stalls, knives, glassware, and not just tableware — plenty of figurines, accessories, and other attractions beyond plates.
The pottery also ranged from expensive pieces to heavily discounted sale items, so if you have a specific plate in mind, this is a great place to go.
Apparently there are famous potters and brands there too — searching on Google turns up Instagram accounts and roundup blog posts.
My personal impression is that Mino-yaki (though this isn’t unique to Mino-yaki) has a strong association with Japanese-style tableware, and since what I was after at the time was Western-style tableware, I was worried I wouldn’t find any. But there was plenty of Western-style tableware, including pieces that made me think, “Wow, they even make plates like this!?” It’s fun just to look, and it’s a place where you can find a plate you really love.
Conditions and schedule on May 4
We left Nagoya around 10 a.m. and headed to Toki City on local roads.
As we got close, there was a 4 km traffic jam leading to the venue parking lot.
It was so packed that we couldn’t get into the lot — we arrived nearby at 11:30 but didn’t actually park until 12:50.
(Some people apparently come the day before or arrive first thing in the morning. Leaving Nagoya early enough to reach Toki in the morning is pretty tough…)
The venue is quite large, with so many shops that two hours wasn’t enough to see them all.
The parking lot is the TOTO factory lot, rented out for the event, so it’s spacious with plenty of capacity.
The venue is enormous, but there are relatively few vending machines or places selling drinks, so I’d recommend bringing your own.
On a sunny day you’ll be walking around in real heat and could get heatstroke.
There’s also little shade, so it takes a lot out of you.
The individual shops set up under tents had distinctive plates, cups, and figurines, averaging around 1,000 to 3,000 yen.
The pricier items went for over 5,000 yen.
At the large-scale shops set up in warehouse-like spaces, prices were very low — some items started at just 100 yen each.
Even the cheap pieces have perfectly good designs and are genuine pottery.
Being able to get Mino-yaki at such low prices is a real treat.
The individual exhibitors had lots of distinctive tableware, so I thought they’d be great not just for yourself but as gifts for friends and family.
What I personally loved was the abundance of B-grade items.
These are pieces with minor scratches or uneven glazing from the production process, and even when the flaws are tiny they’re sold at incredibly low prices.
Some of the blemishes, in spots that don’t affect durability, actually start to look like character, and I was able to get nicely designed tableware for very little.
In the end I bought one large black board-like plate, two blue cups, and a coffee roaster (a ceramic one that roasts using far-infrared, I think).
I want to go again next year.
Who would I recommend it to?
I’d recommend it to anyone who has just moved and needs plates, anyone really into tableware, or anyone with a specific kind of plate in mind — it’s a great opportunity.
Even if you’re not interested in tableware, your interest will gradually grow, and you’ll come across things that make you think, “Huh, I might actually want this” (the friend I went with had zero interest, but ended up buying a few things by the end), so I think it’s worth a visit.
That said, it gets extremely crowded, so come prepared somehow — maybe stock up on snacks in the car and settle in for the slow crawl!!
The convenience stores along the way aren’t much help…