Tokoname Pottery Festival 2026: Three Venues, One Weekend
The Tokoname Pottery Festival is held on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October 2026, across three venues in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture. This is the 60th edition. The last one drew around 110,000 people.
It is not one site but three, each with a different character, and it is one of the large autumn pottery festivals. A place to buy, a place to walk, a place to drink tea. You can have all of it in one visit.
This article covers how to move between the three venues and how to enjoy the festival. On Tokoname ware itself, see Tokoname kyusu, and for dates across Japan see the pottery festival calendar.
The venue map, the list of sellers and the transport guidance are announced as they are decided. Always check the official site before you set out.
Dates for 2026
| Day | Hours | Only on this day |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday 3 October | 9:00-20:00 | Tokoname citizens' fireworks from 18:00 |
| Sunday 4 October | 9:00-16:00 | The morning to choose pieces |
The first day runs late, to 20:00, with the Tokoname citizens' fireworks at the same time. Fireworks seen against a cool autumn sky are something else. The second day ends at 16:00, so if you plan to start in the afternoon the first day gives you more room.
Conversely, if you want to take your time over the pieces, the morning of the second day is best. The fireworks crowd concentrates on day one, so Sunday morning leaves you free to choose slowly.
The three venues and what each is for
The festival splits broadly into three venues. And the three are not close to each other. That makes planning your route essential. Come intending to do all three and the day goes on travel alone.
| Venue | Character | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Boat Race Tokoname | The big pottery sale, Tokoname maker booths, food lounge, talks | Shopping is the point. The main venue of the festival |
| Pottery Footpath | Walking from one distinctive shop to the next | Shopping unhurried, with clay-pipe slopes and chimneys to look at |
| Ceramall | Outdoor tea gathering | Wanting to learn about using the pieces, not only buying them |
If shopping is the main aim, go straight to Boat Race Tokoname. The big sale and the maker booths are gathered here. The Tokoname maker booths are the distinctive part: not only kiln production runs, but one-off pieces by individual makers.
The Pottery Footpath is less a festival venue than the town of Tokoname itself. The Clay Pipe Slope with pipes and shochu bottles set into the incline, brick chimneys, the remains of kilns. You can walk it outside the festival too, but on festival days there are more shops open and a different kind of pleasure to it.
The outdoor tea gathering at Ceramall is not about buying. It is a venue for using Tokoname ware and learning about it, with tea served outside. It suits anyone who wants time to use a piece rather than choose one.
Getting to the Tokoname Pottery Festival
| Means | Route |
|---|---|
| Train | Tokoname Station on the Meitetsu Tokoname Line. The Pottery Footpath is within walking distance of the station |
| Air | Two stops by Meitetsu from Chubu Centrair International Airport |
| Car | Rinku IC on the Chita Odan Road and others. Parking is limited |
Tokoname is the town next to the airport. Two stops by Meitetsu from Chubu Centrair. No other pottery festival sits like this. It is an easy region to build into either end of a trip.
The flip side of that access is that there is no shuttle bus, and none between the three venues either. So researching how you will work the three is essential. Ceramall alone is a little further out, so if you want all three, plan the day around the driving time between them.
On traffic control, the official site carries no notice of road restrictions. That said, from the evening of the first day, when the fireworks are on, the surrounding roads and the station get busy. Check the official site close to the date for whether restrictions apply and how far they extend.
What to do about the fireworks day
The Tokoname citizens' fireworks start at 18:00 on the first day. Paid seating is available. So you can build a day that runs from 9:00 to 20:00: looking at pieces, eating, then the fireworks.
On the other hand, from late afternoon what people are there for shifts to the fireworks. Trains and roads home concentrate around the time the fireworks let out, so it will be busy without question.
If the pieces are what you came for, finish your shopping during the morning of the first day.
About Tokoname as a pottery region
Tokoname is one of the Six Ancient Kilns. It has continued since the end of the Heian period and is held to have been the largest of the six in scale.
In medieval times, anagama kilns were built into the hillsides and large jars and pots were fired and carried across Japan by ship. In the modern era it was clay pipes and tiles. Tokoname was consistently a region that made useful things in quantity. The Clay Pipe Slope on the Pottery Footpath is what remains of that.
And what carries the name of Tokoname around the world today is the shudei kyusu, the red-clay teapot.
Shudei takes no glaze. Tokoname clay, high in iron, is fired as it is and then polished. That unglazed interior is said to soften the astringency of tea, and it is the reason Tokoname kyusu are called the teapots that make tea taste better. We cover this in Tokoname kyusu, so do have a look.
How to work the Tokoname Pottery Festival
- 1. Enjoy the shopping at Boat Race Tokoname Start with the main sale and the maker booths.
- 2. See the Tokoname maker booths first There is only one of each one-off piece, so looking early and picking up what you like gives you the better encounter. Start with the maker booths.
- 3. Drop your bags, then head for the footpath Once the shopping is done, leave your bags in the car if you can, and walk the footpath at your own pace. It is an atmospheric place to come across things unhurried.
- 4. Ceramall if time is left Ceramall is a little further out, so it is fine to plan the tea gathering as an if-there-is-time item.
What to bring to a pottery festival
- Cash Outdoor booths are sometimes cash only, so bring some.
- A backpack With no shuttle you walk. A backpack makes it easier to stow what you buy and keep strolling.
- Newspaper or a towel The spout and the lid knob are where a kyusu chips. They will wrap it for you, but sometimes only lightly, so bring something to wrap in if it worries you.
- Shoes you can walk in The Pottery Footpath is slopes and narrow lanes. Come in shoes and clothes you can really walk in.
- A layer to throw on Early October, by the sea. It cools from the evening. Essential if you are staying for the fireworks. Do not forget something warm.
Related articles
Getting to know Tokoname
- Tokoname Kyusu: Why Red Clay Makes Tea Taste Better
- Japan's Six Ancient Kilns: All 6 Regions Compared
- Yakishime: Unglazed Pottery Fired to Its Limit
Neighbouring regions
- Seto Ware: The Kiln Town That Named Japanese Pottery
- Echizen Ware: The Plainest of the Six Ancient Kilns
- Tamba Ware Guide: Japan's 800-Year Ash-Glazed Pottery
Before you go to a pottery festival
- Pottery Fair Calendar
- How to Visit a Japanese Pottery Fair: 9 Regions Compared
- Pottery Classes in Japan: Where to Try the Wheel
- Kodai (Foot Ring): The Part Collectors Check First
For the days you cannot be there
The Tokoname Pottery Festival runs only two days a year. Even if you cannot go on those days, we deliver pieces made one at a time by makers across Japan, direct from where they are made. Each carries its maker's name, so you can trace who made it.
See pieces by our makersFAQ
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New to Japanese pottery? Start here — its history, how pottery differs from porcelain, the clays and glazes behind each style, and how to care for a piece. → Japanese Pottery: The Complete Guide