Hiking Club goes to Tokoname

I joined a new group this week: CHIC. It stands for Chubu Hiking International Club. Yes, you read that correctly, and you're not in the twilight zone. The girl who hates hiking will go to great lengths to meet new friends in Japan. Today was a "Level 1" hike, meaning easy, short and great for beginners or wimps like me!! I would say it was more like a sightseeing walk than a hike, but I'm not complaining!! We had 14 people show up, which is a great turnout for a winter hike and a level 1. 5 guys, 9 girls, and people from America, Canada, Mexico, Korea, Philippines, China, and of course, Japan.

We took a train to the town of Tokoname, which is about 40 minutes away. First we went on the "Pottery Path" which is a labeled walk around town giving you a glimpse of its pottery history. Tokoname has been a pottery town for over 1,000 years. It became famous in the 12th century for its pottery, but history says it dates back to the 8th century. Tokoname is thought to be the oldest and largest pottery town in Japan because it is located on the sea and could send their products on ships frequently.

The tour starts off with a greeting from this waving cat. (above) This town is known for pottery, but I believe it also has an unnatural obsession with cats. This entire walkway has ceramic cats every 12 feet. (below) Here's my favorite ceramic cat!! More of the "Pottery Path". The edges are lined with old clay pots and even the ground is made of clay rings. Much the path was hilly because (for reasons I don't understand) kilns need to be on an incline.

Pottery wall.

Clay path.

"Dokanzaka" one of the most famous hills in Japan! It's lined with clay pottery on both sides and the bottom! We stop and warm up by this "hibachi". (In traditional Japan style, hibachi aren't grills and aren't used for cooking!) We also were served some unique tea that is a by-product of sake (liquor) production!

Awesome pottery wall! I have no idea how they got all of these cool colors!

Here is the "Climbing Kiln". It is the largest in Japan, was built in 1887, and was used up until 1973.

Inside the Climbing Kiln. Tokoname is the best preserved pottery town in Japan!

You can tell which homes used to have coal kilns from these giant chimneys! Now all kilns use gas and do not require chimneys.

After the Pottery Path, we switched to another trail that was more scenic and less touristy. For a hiking club, these people were awfully pokey walkers. We were constantly stopping to let people catch up.

Tokoname shrine

It seems strange to see a garden in February! But things were growing and many old people were tending them.

We stopped by the Tokoname Museum. Tokoname is known for making large pots, not on a wheel but by hand (featured below). The clay is usually gray and once fired it turns red. In addition, you will find very few glazed pieces of pottery in Tokoname. They like the "rough" look and feel. The pot below was used to mix jet fuel in WWII.

Another giant preserved chimney kiln.

Awesome traffic warning everywhere in the town. Don't let your kids run into the street...

Another clay brick walkway, this time with Japanese characters. Please don't ask me what it says!

Here are some artistic public bathrooms!! They are decorated with pottery and mosaics!

Getting closer... hop a few stones and you can finally pee! The pictures don't do it justice. Everything was so colorful and unique. Really fun!

Cool sculpture next to the train station.

What's a good hike without a little shopping?! Here's my purchase of Tokoname-ware. It's actually a mixture of leftover clays, which is why it's multi-colored, and then the outside is scalloped to show off the design of the clay. It's fired and unglazed in true Tokoname style.

About half way through the hike, we stopped and ate our packed lunches. Even with all of the different nationalities, I felt like a freak show again with my peanut butter sandwich. Everyone else had rice triangles wrapped in seaweed or special sushi rolls leftover from Setsubun. Sandwiches are virtually unheard of here! People were also eating carrot sticks, oranges, and most puzzling one person was gnawing on a giant sweet potato. (I didn't even know those were available in Japan!) At least no one asked me where my vegetables were...

We started talking about Mt. Fuji over lunch, and nearly everyone in the group had climbed Fuji, but no one had made it to the top!! Wow, that really freaks me out. I know some people don't make it top the top, but these people were all on different hikes and had truly terrifying stories to tell! Even during the climbing season (July & August) they said it's wicked cold, and you're gonna get wet either from rain, snow, or hail. Some people had frostbite, others had altitude sickness, but often it was dangerous weather that made they stop climbing and have to turn back around.