Mashiko Pottery Village

Yesterday I had the opportunity to hop on a chartered bus and travel into one of the the mountainous regions of Japan, North of Tokyo, near Nikko, to a town called Mashiko. This small town is known for it's pottery. It's a pottery Mecca. All types, all styles, glazes, all manner of variety of design. It was fabulous. There is also a place where they make cotton fabric and use indigo dye to make the fabulous blue of Japanese fabric. The picture above was taken at the fabric place. They were drying a long piece of blue fabric in the yard. My friend Beth is walking in the picture.



These 3 baskets had raw cotton balls in them. I picked one ball up in my fingers and felt it. It was very soft, except for what I presume to be a hard seed in the center. (or is it?)



The variety of blue and white fabrics for sale here were fabulous. They completely rang my blue and white bell.




These pots in the ground were filled with blue dye. The dye has a distinctive smell that has insect repellent qualities, so farmers and others who work outside are often seen wearing blue cotton fabric.



This is just the tip of the iceberg. The town center was filled with hundreds of pottery artisans and their booths, tents and tables covered with their fantastic wares. There was everything from expensive art pieces to the whimsical and fun to the very functional, utilitarian everyday pieces.
I liked the use of the steps for this display.

It was a gorgeous sunny day. Beth and I ate yaki tori (grilled chicken) on a stick and then got some Italian gelato. Well, not quite real gelato. It was not creamy or rich enough to be the real deal. It was more the taste and texture of frozen yogurt. The Japanese sweet tooth is very mild. Ice cream, cakes, yogurts and other desserts are not as sweet as they are in the US, and I love it!

We were back on the bus by 3:15, and true to other Women's Group tours, we were treated to cheese, crackers and wine to help the homeward trip go by faster. It was a really nice day.