Imari-Arita

Kyushu, Japan · Town / small city

Twin porcelain towns at the heart of Saga, the birthplace of Arita-yaki and Imari-yaki ceramics since the 17th century: Tozan Shrine with its porcelain torii and the Tonbai Wall alleys built from kiln fragments in Arita, and the hidden potters' village of Okawachiyama, once the Nabeshima clan's secret kilns, in Imari.

The essentials

Getting there

Train — Direct JR 'Midori' or 'Huis Ten Bosch' limited express from Hakata (Fukuoka) to Arita Station, about 1h20min with no transfers, one train per hour; covered by the National JR Pass and the Kyushu Rail Pass. To also reach Imari, the private Matsuura Railway connects Arita and Imari in 25 minutes (not covered by any JR pass).

What it is genuinely strong in

🏺 Traditional crafts

Frequently asked questions about Imari-Arita

What to do in Imari-Arita: 24 activities

• Izumiyama quarry 0.75 h must-see

  In Arita, a National Historic Site: this is where the stone that made Japan's first porcelain possible was found in 1616, and four centuries of quarrying have split the rock face in two. Free and open access, fifteen minutes on foot from Kami-Arita station.

• Okawachiyama, the secret kiln village 2 h must-see

  On the outskirts of Imari, a mountain village with about 30 workshops where the Nabeshima clan secretly produced Nabeshima-yaki porcelain, reserved for the court; stepped Edo-era kilns and panoramic views from Nabeshima Hanyo Park. An administrative point: Okawachiyama is in the city of Imari, not in the town of Arita — two separate municipalities, about thirteen kilometres and half an hour by train apart. This was the Nabeshima clan kiln, controlled directly by the lord, turning out pieces of the very highest quality only as gifts to the shogunate and the daimyo, never for sale: hence the isolation and secrecy of the valley.

• Tozan Shrine and its porcelain torii 1 h must-see

  A mid-17th-century Shinto shrine honouring the Korean potter who brought porcelain-making to Arita, with a torii and komainu guardian dog statues made entirely of porcelain. Its official reading is Sueyama-jinja; Tozan is the popular one. It is in the town of Arita, and care is needed because the railway line crosses the approach stairway on the level.

• Arita Ceramic Fair 6 h only 29 Apr - 5 May

  From 29 April to 5 May, Japan's largest ceramics fair: some four kilometres of stalls along the main street. The 2025 edition drew 1.14 million visitors in seven days. There is park-and-ride with a shuttle, plus a parallel online edition.

• Arita Autumn Pottery Festival 4 h only late November

  The autumn version, at the end of November: far calmer than the spring one, geared to studio pieces and local food, with autumn leaves and free shuttles. It is when normally closed parts of the Izumiyama quarry are opened.

• Arita Será 2.5 h

  A retail complex of some 66,000 square metres with specialist Arita porcelain shops, a gallery, restaurants and a hotel. It is the same site that older guides call Arita Toji-no-Sato Plaza: it changed its name, they are not two places.

• Eating off Arita tableware 1.25 h

  The most identifiable speciality of Arita: a gratinated curry served and baked inside a porcelain piece that the customer takes home. There are also tea rooms where you choose your cup from a large collection before taking your coffee, and set menus served on pieces from different kilns. Another local dish is godofu, a creamy paste similar to tofu.

• Historic district of Arita-Uchiyama 2 h

  A nationally designated Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings since 1991: 16 hectares, 165 traditional buildings and 130 elements of the setting. It mixes Edo-period ceramic merchants' houses with Western-style buildings from Meiji and Showa, and it is the same axis on which the fair is set up.

• Imari Tonten-Ton 4 h only late October

  One of Japan's three great float fights, at the end of October: two mikoshi crash into each other to the beat of the drum that gives it its name and end up thrown into the Imari River.

• Okawachiyama wind-chime market 1.75 h only from mid-June to late August

  From mid-June to the end of August hundreds of porcelain wind chimes are hung throughout the valley, and the collective sound between the rock walls is the attraction. A good excuse to see the kiln village at a time of year almost nobody chooses.

• Painting porcelain or throwing on the wheel 1.5 h booking

  Several Arita workshops are open to visitors for underglaze painting, hand painting or throwing. Shipping the piece after firing usually takes weeks.

• The story of the Korean potters 1 h

  Japanese porcelain was born out of Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea between 1592 and 1598, after which the lords of Kyushu forcibly deported whole communities of Korean potters: in Japan they are called 'the pottery wars'. The individual figure of Ri Sampei, honoured as the father of the ceramics, is questioned by historians, and his canonical story was fixed in the Meiji era. In Okawachiyama there is a monument to the anonymous Korean potters: it is where this history is told best.

• Tonbai Wall alleys 1 h

  A former potters' quarter with walls built from old kiln bricks and discarded porcelain shards, meant to hide production techniques from rival workshops.

• Arita Porcelain Park 1.75 h

  Free and open every day, with a replica of the Zwinger Palace in Dresden, a baroque garden and a sake distillery with tastings. Warning: the art gallery inside the Zwinger has been closed since the pandemic with no reopening date, even though many guides still list it.

• Autumn festival of the Nabeshima clan kiln 3 h only early November

  In early November in Okawachiyama: on the 3rd there is an offering at the shrine where the founder of the kiln rests, and on the 4th the fude-kuyo is held, the ceremony of thanks to the worn-out decorating brushes, which are ritually burned.

• Hakuji-no-Yu onsen in Imari 2 h

  The only significant onsen in the two municipalities, in Imari: fifteen different baths, a sauna, a large rock rotenburo with a garden and its own restaurant. Ureshino and Takeo, usually cited as the onsen of Arita, are in other municipalities.

• Imari beef 1.75 h booking

  Imari-gyu is the local wagyu brand, of the same quality standard as Saga-gyu, with yakiniku and grill restaurants concentrated in the town. It is the main dish on the Imari side, against the lighter cooking of the Arita side.

• Nabeshima Gallery and the ceramic merchant's house 1.25 h

  At Imari Station, a free gallery shows historic Ko-Imari and Nabeshima pieces on rotation. Ten minutes on foot, beside the river, an Edo-period house preserves the shop downstairs and the living rooms upstairs, and opposite the station a clock stages scenes from local history every hour.

• Sleeping inside the theme, at arita huis 14 h booking

  A design hotel and restaurant within the Arita Será grounds, with rooms and tableware entirely dressed in Arita porcelain. It has no hot springs: Arita has no onsen.

• Tengudani kiln ruins 1 h

  The climbing kiln that archaeology links to the first production of Japanese porcelain, also a National Historic Site. Next to the quarry, a small Benzaiten shrine preserves a monumental ginkgo.

• Arita Ceramic Art Museum 0.5 h

  A small municipal museum in a stone warehouse in the old town, with Ko-Imari, Kakiemon and export Imari. It complements the Kyushu Ceramic Museum, which is the big one in the area.

• Azaleas at Take-no-Koba and sunset at Iroha-jima 2 h

  Take-no-Koba park is known for its azaleas and for the view over Imari Bay; the Iroha-jima viewpoint, on the coast, is the local classic for sunset over the archipelago.

• Fruit picking in Imari 1.5 h booking

  Imari defines itself as the town of ceramics and fruit: there are orchards with nashi pear picking from August to October and strawberries from January to May. It is the local counterpoint to museum visits.

• Kyushu Ceramic Museum 1 h

  Next to Arita Station, a thorough survey of the history of porcelain across the whole island of Kyushu, with historical and contemporary pieces. It is in the town of Arita. One frequent confusion is worth clearing up here: Imari-yaki and Arita-yaki are not two different ceramics but the same porcelain under two names — it was made in Arita and shipped out through the port of Imari, so in Japan and in Europe it became known by the port of departure. The official designation today covers both together.

What only happens on specific dates

• Arita Ceramic Fair 29 Apr - 5 May
• Okawachiyama wind-chime market from mid-June to late August
• Imari Tonten-Ton late October
• Arita Autumn Pottery Festival late November
• Autumn festival of the Nabeshima clan kiln early November

Chains well with

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