Tokoname's Pottery Footpath and maneki-neko cats: a day trip about 30 minutes from Nagoya to the pipe slope, climbing kiln and Tokonyan

Tokoname is an Aichi town known for its pottery. Tokoname Station is about 30 minutes from Meitetsu Nagoya Station by Limited Express (750 yen for adults), or about 5 minutes from Central Japan International Airport. The Pottery Footpath starts about 5 minutes' walk from the station, taking you past Tokoname Maneki-neko Street lined with lucky cats, the 6.3 m wide, 3.8 m tall guardian cat Tokonyan, the Dokan-zaka pipe slope with Meiji-era pipes set into its walls, and a climbing kiln that is an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan. According to Aichi Prefecture's official tourism site, Course A is 1.6 km and takes about 1 hour. This article explains how to walk Tokoname on a day trip from Nagoya.

How do you get to Tokoname?

What is the Pottery Footpath?

The Pottery Footpath (Yakimono Sanpo-michi) is a walk through the pottery townscape on the hill near Tokoname Station. According to Aichi Now, Aichi Prefecture's official tourism site, it starts 5 minutes' walk from Tokoname Station; Course A is 1.6 km and takes about 1 hour, and Course B is 4 km and takes about 2 hours 30 minutes, including the INAX Live Museum. The Tokoname tourism association suggests a classic course for first-timers (1–6 hours) and an advanced course of about 4 km taking in the INAX Live Museum and the Tokoname Tounomori museum.

What can you see on the classic course?

• Tokoname Maneki-neko Street: about 5 minutes from Tokoname Station, lined with ceramic lucky cats, including works by local artists
• Tokoname Tourist Information Center (Ceramics Hall): pick up a walking map. The counter is open 9:00–16:30, and luggage storage closes at 16:00
• Chimney views: more than 400 chimneys once stood here; a high point gives a view over the town
• Guardian cat Tokonyan: a giant maneki-neko 6.3 m wide and 3.8 m tall. Photograph it from the footbridge
• Takita House (former shipping merchant): a Tokoname City-designated Tangible Cultural Property. Closed Wednesdays (open on public holidays)
• Dokan-zaka (pipe slope): walls covered with Meiji-era clay pipes and early Showa shochu bottles, with kesawa rings laid underfoot to stop slipping
• Noborigama climbing kiln (Toei-gama): over 100 years old. Designated an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan in 1982 and a Heritage of Industrial Modernization in 2007
• Kurafutoya Street: small shops and cafés

Where can you see Tokonyan?

Tokonyan is a giant maneki-neko in Sakaemachi, Tokoname, 6.3 m wide and 3.8 m tall according to the Tokoname tourism association. It is 10 minutes' walk from Meitetsu Tokoname Station. It watches over the footpath, and you can photograph it from the footbridge. Maneki-neko Street, near the start of the footpath, is also lined with ceramic cats.

Are there other ways to walk it besides the classic course?

The Tokoname tourism association suggests two more courses. One is an advanced course of about 4 km that takes in two pottery museums, the INAX Live Museum and Tokoname Tounomori, over a full day. The other is a food course through the back lanes for local flavours. Choose the classic course for a first visit, or the advanced course to see pottery in depth, depending on your time and interests. Whichever you choose, pick up a walking map at the tourist information center first so you don't get lost in the narrow lanes.

Why see the pipe slope and the climbing kiln?

The pipe slope and the climbing kiln show at a glance how Tokoname grew as a pottery town. On Dokan-zaka, Meiji-era clay pipes and early Showa shochu bottles fill the walls on both sides, and kesawa rings used when firing pipes are laid underfoot to stop slipping. The Toei-gama climbing kiln, built over 100 years ago, has 8 firing chambers on a slope of about 17 degrees and 10 chimneys of different heights. It was designated an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan in 1982 and recognised as a Heritage of Industrial Modernization in 2007.

Are there other pottery towns in Aichi?

Seto, also in Aichi, is another pottery town. From Nagoya Station, take the Higashiyama subway line to Sakae, then the Meitetsu Seto Line from Sakaemachi Station to Owari-Seto Station; the Seto-gura Museum is 5 minutes' walk east of the station. Both are day trips from Nagoya, so you can stay in Nagoya and visit them on different days to compare the two pottery towns.

What should you keep in mind when walking Tokoname?

• Luggage storage at the tourist information center closes at 16:00. Leave big luggage at your Nagoya stay and walk light
• Takita House and the Noborigama Plaza Exhibition Workshop close on Wednesdays, so consider another day if you can
• There are many slopes and narrow lanes, so wear comfortable shoes
• Some shops on Kurafutoya Street close irregularly

Good for children or photography?

With children, you can try painting pottery or making a maneki-neko on the 2nd floor of the Noborigama Plaza Exhibition Workshop (closed Wednesdays). Tokonyan, 6.3 m wide and 3.8 m tall, is big enough to look up at and fun to see with children. For photographers, shoot Tokonyan from the footbridge and the chimney-dotted townscape from the high point. The pipe slope, lined with walls of clay pipes, is another spot for photos that say Tokoname.

How to plan the day

• Morning: Limited Express from Meitetsu Nagoya Station to Tokoname (about 30 minutes)
• Late morning: walk Maneki-neko Street to the tourist information center and pick up a map
• Before lunch: Tokonyan, the pipe slope and the climbing kiln (Course A is 1.6 km, about 1 hour)
• Lunch: take a break on Kurafutoya Street
• Afternoon: if you have time, the INAX Live Museum or Tokoname Tounomori; back to Nagoya by evening

Because it is close to the airport, you can also stop by on the afternoon you arrive in Japan or the morning you fly home. If so, remember that luggage storage closes at 16:00. Back in Nagoya in the evening, eating Nagoya food at Nagoya Umaimon-dori in Nagoya Station keeps your travel to a minimum.

Where in Nagoya is convenient to stay?

Trains to Tokoname leave from Meitetsu Nagoya Station, so a stay with easy access to Nagoya Station is convenient. Central Nagoya has private stays in Nakamura Ward, west of Nagoya Station. House and Residence are 7 and 2 minutes' walk from Nakamura Koen Station, 4 stops (about 7 minutes, 240 yen) from Nagoya Station on the Higashiyama subway line. Stays is 4 minutes' walk from Taiko-dori Station, 1 stop from Nagoya Station on the Sakura-dori Line. All have a kitchen and a washing machine (or washer-dryer), plus a 10% long-stay discount.

• Things to do only in Aichi →
• From Centrair airport to your stay in Nagoya →
• Small towns to visit from Nagoya →

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