Okawachiyama Village

Each pottery shop has their own character, plus the entire area is very scenic and quiet. We enjoyed all the window shopping, and purchased some nice hand painted bowls from a store.

Everyone was so nice there, down-home friendly. Nestled in the mountainside village of Okawachi Yama, there's a hidden pottery town, filled with history and beauty.

Lovely place, the day I went on was a rainy day and I didn’t managed to explore as much as I would have liked but I love cosy quaint places just like this, it would helped the village a lot if their government provided more tourist friendly ways to travel there, as I feel like a lot of the shops deserve more people visiting them as they have really lovely porcelain ware there! Even if you don’t buy anything it’s worth dropping by!

Not worth planning a whole day around coming here. The bus only runs once every 2 hours and there definitely wasn’t enough to see or do for two hours. A basic run down of the entire village is pottery shops left, pottery shops right, a pretty well thought out up hill walking street with a river flowing through, and more pottery. As another reviewer said, after the first 3 shops, it all becomes the same. Honesty, if you’re in to buying Japanese pottery then this is the place. If you want to learn about Japanese pottery then go to the history museum in Nagasaki which contain a vast collection of pottery from around the northern Kyushu area. Also, the hill to the right side of the village isn’t worth climbing up as the trees block any clear view of the valley and there’s nothing else to look at up there. Only upsides are the river is very clean and has stairs where you can walk down into the river, and the 19th century Japanese architect makes for great photos.

It is a beautiful place to walk through. Hot in summer, any other time would just make it better. A good spot to spend a few hours wondering through the pottery shops and see the artisans painting and dipping their pottery.