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One more hour in Japan: a pottery walk in Tokoname

Check out, drive towards the airport, and spend your last hours in Japan on the hillside lanes of one of its oldest pottery towns. Tokoname sits right next to Chubu Centrair, and its short walking course takes about an hour. Here is how to see it, where to park, what to eat, and how to fit it in before your flight.

For: Culture travellers with a few hours before or after a flight at Chubu Centrair7 min readUpdated 3 November 2026

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Line drawing of a slope lined with clay pipes and a brick chimney

Why Tokoname, and why on your last day

Tokoname has made pottery for around a thousand years and is one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan, recognised as Japan Heritage. Its old quarter climbs a hill above the bay. Walls are built from old pipes and bottles, brick chimneys rise over black-walled workshops, and narrow lanes wind between them.

It is also the closest town to Chubu Centrair. Tokoname Station is about 5 minutes by train from the airport, and if you are driving, the town is on the way to the airport. On the morning you check out of Hanaike Retreat (by 11 AM), it fits neatly between the house and your flight.

Line drawing of a plane taking off over the sea and a bridge to an island airport

From clay pipes to cafés

For much of the modern era, Tokoname was an industrial town. Its kilns turned out drainage pipes, tiles and everyday wares, and at the 1950s peak more than 300 brick chimneys smoked over the hill. Newer firing technology and stricter environmental rules changed all that; Noborigama, now the town's last surviving climbing kiln, stopped firing in 1974 for exactly those reasons.

Instead of disappearing, the old quarter around Sakaemachi was kept. The Pottery Footpath has guided walkers through it since the 1970s, and empty workshops have since become studios, galleries and cafés. That is what you are walking through: a working town that turned its leftovers — pipes, bottles, clay rings — into its streetscape.

Getting there: car, train or free shuttle

  • By car: about 5 minutes from Tokoname IC on the Chita Odan Road. The lanes inside the old quarter are narrow, so park at the edge rather than driving in. The Pottery Footpath car park holds about 45 cars (¥300 for 8 hours); the Tourist Information Center car park holds about 40 (¥500 a day).
  • By train: Meitetsu Tokoname Station is about 5 minutes from Centrair. From the station it's a 5-minute walk to the Tokoname Ceramic Hall, where both courses start.
  • By free shuttle: the TOKONAME SHUTTLE runs from the airport island to the Ceramic Hall in about 20 minutes, at no charge.
  • By e-bike: HELLO CYCLING bikes start from the Tourist Information Center, at ¥100 per 15 minutes.

The Ceramic Hall doubles as the tourist information centre and sells Tokoname ware and souvenirs, so pick up a map there before you set off.

Line drawing of a narrow country lane with a small car and a gate

Course A: the one-hour loop

Course A is about 1.6 km and takes around an hour at a gentle pace — the right choice before a flight. These are the sights to look out for.

  • Dokan-zaka: the town's signature slope. Its walls are built from Meiji-period clay pipes and early-Showa shochu jugs. Look down, too: rings of clay left over from pipe-making are set into the path to stop your feet slipping.
  • Noborigama (Toei Kiln): a climbing kiln that fired from 1887 to 1974 — eight chambers stepping up the hillside at about 17 degrees, with ten chimneys of different heights to even out the heat. It is one of the largest of its kind in Japan and a National Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property.
  • Climbing Kiln Plaza: a kiln from around 1921 that you can actually walk through, plus an exhibition space and studio.
  • Brick chimneys and black-walled factories: the skyline of the old pottery quarter.
  • Takita House: built in 1850 for a wealthy shipping family, with period furniture, ceramics, lacquerware and displays on Tokoname's shipping history. Admission is ¥200, free for junior-high students and younger.
Line drawing of a climbing kiln stepping up a hillside with a row of brick chimneys

Maneki-neko Street and a very large cat

Walking up from the station, you'll be watched. Manekineko-dori, the road between Tokoname Station and the Ceramic Hall, is lined with clay beckoning cats made by 39 local potters — Tokoname is famous for its maneki-neko.

Above the street, a giant guardian cat named Tokonyan peers over a wall: 3.8 m tall and 6.3 m across. The best photo is from the overpass.

Line drawing of a giant beckoning cat looking over a wall above a street lined with small clay cats

Course B, if you have longer

With an evening flight, consider Course B: about 4 km and around two and a half hours, through winding alleys to the town's museums.

  • INAX Live Museum: pavilions on kilns, tiles and architectural terracotta, with a paid tile-painting workshop. 10 AM–5 PM (last entry 4:30 PM), closed Wednesdays.
  • Tokoname Tou no Mori Museum: the town's history museum and a training studio for young ceramic artists, with good English signage.

Many visitors take longer than the suggested time, so before a flight, stick to Course A.

Milk, dango and lunch

The walk is short, but you'll want a break. The town's tourism site suggests:

  • Tokoname Milk Stand BAITEN on Kurafutoya-dori, for a bottle of local milk (there's a coffee version too)
  • Dango teahouse on the footpath, whose "cat dumplings" come topped with bonito flakes
  • Wabisuke, serving pot-simmered curry udon in a converted ceramic-pipe factory
  • TOKONAME-ya, for a green-tea set or Tokoname-style chirashi sushi

Opening hours and closing days vary — check before you go.

Line drawing of a cup of coffee by a window looking out on a garden

Making or buying pottery

Workshops and galleries line the footpath, and some studios offer short classes. Book ahead. Be aware that the pieces you make are usually fired after you leave and sent on later — at one studio, about two months afterwards — so ask whether they ship abroad before you sign up.

If you'd rather take something home today, the Ceramic Hall and the galleries along the path sell finished pieces.

Fitting it into your last day

An afternoon flight works best. One simple way to do it:

  1. By 11:00 Check out of Hanaike Retreat
  2. On the way to the airport Park in Tokoname and have lunch
  3. Next Walk Course A (about an hour)
  4. Afterwards Drive on to Centrair, refuel and return the rental car
  5. Then Check in for your flight

Prefer to hand back the car first? Return it at Centrair, leave your bags with the airport's baggage storage, and take the train (5 minutes) or the free shuttle into town. Chubu Centrair is about 35 minutes from Hanaike by car.

Keep an eye on the clock

Work backwards from your airline's check-in deadline, not your departure time, and leave a buffer for returning the car. If time gets tight, walk just to Dokan-zaka and back.

Good to know

  • Walking the footpath is free and possible at any time; the shops, museums and cafés keep their own hours.
  • The old quarter is hilly, with narrow residential lanes — wear comfortable shoes.
  • People live here. Be considerate when taking photos of houses and workshops.
  • Toilets are available, and guided walking tours run on some days — see the official Tokoname tourism site.

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Sources: Rurubu and MATCHA (Six Ancient Kilns, Japan Heritage, 5 minutes by train from Centrair); Aichi Now (Pottery Footpath courses, start point, parking, access, shuttle, e-bikes, Takita House; INAX Live Museum hours and workshop); Japan Tourism Agency multilingual commentary database (Dokan-zaka, Noborigama, Climbing Kiln Plaza, Course B museums); VISIT TOKONAME, the official Tokoname tourism site (Manekineko-dori, Tokonyan, cafés, pottery classes, etiquette); Chubu Centrair (baggage storage). Drive time to Centrair is approximate, from the house guide (measured with Google Maps, October 2026); it varies with traffic. Information as of November 2026.

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