Okawachiyama Village

In the center of the photo is the sign of Seizan-yo, one of the 30 kilns in the village, where I bought Imari porcelain vases (photos below). ) One of them is my profile photo for this blog.

I wrote about this quant village of Okawachiyama in Imari kiln village where Imari porcelain came from.  If you heard about Imari porcelain, this is where it was born 400 years ago. And a lot of Imari products were exported to Europe from the nearby port of Imari.  This is not a big sightseeing area at all.  There is no hotel in the village. There is only one restaurant in the village. I thought it’s a very quiet village only the pottery professionals and the biggest fans of pottery know about. But I discovered this village is actually quite active in tourism  business. They have various festivals throughout the year and draw big crowds. I was very surprised. The village has its own official website.  It’s very well-made but it’s in Japanese only.  So, let me roughly explain the main festivals they have.

• Spring Sale by the killns (Haru no Yomoto-ichi) – early April

(haru means spring, yomoto means kilns, ichi means a marketplace/sale)

This year, it will be from March 31, 2012 to April 5, 2012.

This is probably the biggest and the most famous event of the village.  The kilns in the village sell their Imari porcelain products at a good discount.  They have been doing this for decades.

There are 30 kilns in the village of Okawachiyama.  The website says all of the 30 kilns participate in the spring sale.  You may be able to buy really nice stuff for wholesale prices!  They sell not only top-quality (Class-A) products but also Class-B products. The vases (photos above) I bought are only Class-B products but they are quite good!  In fact, Class-A products would be too good to be in your house if you don’t live in a fancy house with fancy furniture and knick knacks!  They would look out of balance.

I wish I could go to the spring sale, but due to the nature of my job, I can never take time off in early April.  I heard that this annual sale draws a very big crowd. Some Imari porcelain enthusiasts carry backpacks to do serious shopping there.

During the sale, there is an exhibition of competition entries by amateur potters from around the world.

If you want to see the webpages of last year  (in Japanese only):

http://www.imari-ookawachiyama.com/2011_haru/index.html

• Wind Chime Festival (Furin Matsuri)  - from mid-June through August

(Furin are Japanese wind chimes.  Matsuri means a festival)

Furin looks like the left picture – pretty different from wind chimes we see in the U.S. (and probably in other countries, too)

The kilns sell wind chimes made of Imari porcelain.  I am assuming they do it every year.  The website shows only the festival they had last year.

Wind chimes were indispensable to Japanese life in summer.  I don’t think they are as popular now, because many houses now are air-conditioned.  Before the advent of air conditioners, people tried to feel cool down by various means; one of them was sound of wind chimes.  You know summer in Japan is really humid and hot.  Day after day it’s unbearably hot, but in the middle of the brutal heat, there comes slight breeze which causes wind chimes to make pleasant sound.  The sound is supposed to help us feel a little cooler. I don’t know exactly how wind chimes sound helps human beings feel cooler, but from my own experience, it seems it really does.

Music concert:  Last year, during the festival, they performed a music concert with Imari porcelain products.  They beat Imari porcelain of various shapes to generate sound of music.

Lamp sale:  Last year, they sold 100 lamps made of Imari porcelain on a first-come-first-served basis.  It was limited to one lamp per person.  I don’t know yet if they will do it again this year.

New product show: During the festival, they held a show to introduce the newest products of the 30 kilns in the village.

Lantern festival:  One night during the festival, they decorate the village with 3,000 lanterns. They have the photos of 2008 lantern festival – check it out!  Beautiful.

If you want to see the webpages of last year (in Japanese only):

http://www.imari-ookawachiyama.com/2011_furin/index.html

• Autumn Sale by the kilns (Aki Matsuri)

Just like the spring sale.

Exhibition of the 30 kiln’s newest products, farmers’ markets, taiko (Japanese drums) performance, exhibition of real Nabeshima porcelain which are hundreds of years old, etc.  The website does not say anything about this year yet, but I am pretty sure they will have another one this year.

If you want to see the webpages of last year (in Japanese only):

http://www.imari-ookawachiyama.com/2011_aki/index.html

• Peach Festival (Hina Matsuri)    February – March

They sell Peach Festival dolls made of Imari porcelain.

When Peach Festival (March 3) approaches, many families with girls display dolls like the ones in the photo in their houses. Some families buy them, other families inherit them.  It’s a festival for girls. Parents and grandparents pray for happiness of their daughters/granddaughters. The dolls are supposed to be the princess, prince, court ladies, court ministers, and court musicians.  On March 3, girls enjoy having candy and sweet drink specially made for the day, admiring the dolls and peach flowers usually displayed by the dolls.

This year, it will be from February 18, 2012 to March 11, 2012

The website has pages updated for this year (in Japanese only)

http://www.imari-ookawachiyama.com/2012_hiina/index.html

Okawachiyama Village and Imari City both have pretty good websites.  I always thought they are internet savvier than other Japanese cities.  I suspect they have somebody who has pretty advanced skill and knowledge in internet marketing. But it’s too bad all are in Japanese only. For example, they have very good information about how to get to Imari City and Okawachiyama Village. They have links to train and bus timetables, but all are in Japanese only…

How to get to Okawachiyama Village:

First you have to get to Imari City by train or by bus or you drive yourself.  I am not going into details here – I am sure you can easily find info somewhere else.

The following webpage explains how to get to Imari City (in Japanese only):

http://www.imari-ookawachiyama.com/access/index.html

The following webpage has links to JR train and bus timetables (in Japanese only):

http://www.marugoto-imari.com/

Map of Okawachiyama Village (in Japanese only):

http://www.imari-ookawachiyama.com/kamamoto/map/index.html

From Imari to Okawachiyama Village, it’s only 15 minutes drive.  If you want take a bus, you can take Saihi Bus from JR Imari train station.  I took a bus before.  Very easy trip. There is only about one bus an hour, though.  During the annual sale, I think the buses probably get packed.

Where to stay:

There are no hotels in Okawachiyama.  Unless you want to camp (there is a camping site in the outskirt of the village), there are reasonablly-priced hotels in Imari City.  Some are within a walking distance from Imari train station.

Views of Imari city

It looks like just another sleepy small local city in Japan, but this city is significant in the history of Japanese pottery!  There is Imari Port in the outskirt of the city where a lot of Imari porcelain products were exported to Europe a few hundred years ago.

Basically Imari city is “inaka” – a small local city.  The good thing about it is the whole city has a very relaxed, easy-going atmosphere.  I find it pretty charming.

But Imari City is also trying hard to boost tourism. I can see it reading their website.

Finally, here are maps, borrowed from Google Map.  You can see Okawachiyama Village is very close to Imari City. For some reason, the map does not show “Okawachiyama”.  Instead it says “Nabeshimahanyo” – that’s where Okawachiyama village is.