10,000 yen per person. Duration ~4 hours.
We’ll start the tour at the famous Shichiemongama pottery workshop, one of the only two remaining artisan kilns in the village. Shichiemongama is a very special store, having been in the same family for over 150 years and seven generations. While the style of pottery created here has changed over time, the methods are materials are still quite traditional. You’ll get to see some beautiful examples of the kinds of ceramicware produced today, and then get a chance to try your hand at the craft.

The on-site ceramics experience is great fun for all ages, and no prior pottery-making experience is necessary. Because the raw materials (taken from the nearby mountain, Chitoseyama) have certain unique characteristics, the molding method is also somewhat different from conventional pottery. But your guide will show you everything you need to know to make a beautiful souvenir, be it a dish, bowl, or your own personal sake cup! After the class, we’ll take a quick tour of the facility, and you’ll see how your work of art will be finished up. (The pottery does take additional time to dry, glaze, and bake, but Shichiemongama can ship your handmade dish straight to your home, anywhere in the world. Please bring cash to fund the postage fees home if you desire this.)

Next, we’ll pop into the Shichemongama showroom, displaying a variety of items and styles, as well as some rare antiquities from the early age of ceramics production at the kiln. Today Shichiemongama’s kilns are gas-fired, but one ancient wood-fired kiln remains on the site, however is only used once or twice a year. In the showroom, you can also see (and buy) examples of the pottery from this kiln, whose color and texture come completely from a natural ashing process inside the kiln.

While a pottery cottage industry once flourished here, now several different trades and artisan shops call Hirashimizu home. Just a block up the street, we’ll head to one such shop, La Jomon, an intimate sake boutique specializing in rare, local pure rice wine sakes (and all-locally produced drinking snacks.) But the best way to learn about Japanese sake is to taste it yourself.