The Dokanzaka: a slope lined with Meiji-period ceramic pipes.
The route crosses the hillside neighbourhood where Tokoname has been making ceramics for about a thousand years, among former kilns and brick chimneys. Its most photographed spot is the Dokanzaka, a slope of about ten metres from the old Takita merchant house: the walls are covered with Meiji-period ceramic pipes and shochu bottles from the early Shōwa years, and the paving is made of ‘kesawa’, the discarded rings from firing the pipes, which keep your feet steady on the incline.
Two signposted routes, a short one of 1.6 km (about an hour) and a long one of 4 km (about two and a half hours), link kilns, shops and houses of pottery merchants that are still in business.
ℹ️ Public route, open and free at all times. The starting point is 5 minutes’ walk from Tokoname Station (Meitetsu Line).
🚉 Tokoname · 10 min walk
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