Buying pots in Japan

[Rolf]

Hi all,
I would like to hear from all the well experienced Japan travelers where to buy best pots in Japan??
Like in Tokoname, Nagoya or nurseries, markets, festivals etc.....
Thank you very much for your time.
Cheers
Rolf

[TimS]

I’ve purchased pots at a shohin nursery in Kyoto when I was there, they were very pleasant to deal with. Transporting the back in hand luggage was easy but posting them back would be expensive and time consuming. Of course if you're buying up a large number then it makes financial sense to post, but for a couple of souvenirs then just wrap them up in your bags.

I have a large tray I got recently here in Melbourne that I shudder to think what the freight costs would have been from Japan.

I’m going back to Japan next year and visiting Tokoname and Omiya. I’ll do the same as last time and bring pots back in hand luggage

[Dark_Forest]

Same as Tim here, I think we must have been to the same nursery. I purchased two smaller pots (in "Pot Shot" thread) for 3000 Yen each and brought them back in my luggage. Wish I got more!

[wrcmad]

I have travelled Japan extensively over the last 25 years, and it has always been my experience and opinion that the best pot bargains to be had are in the 2nd-hand market, for a number of reasons:

Firstly, like anything brand-new, you will pay a premium.
Secondly, the sellers of second-hand pots are trying to offload excess or unwanted inventory, in used condition - this forces them to reduce prices in competition with the brand-new market.
Thirdly, the second-hand market contains pots made by potters who no longer produce from their kilns, meaning they are often more desirable on a personal level (like my own personal fetish for Yamaaki pots), or more desirable on a collectible level due to their increasing rarity.
Lastly, if they are undamaged (without chips or cracks) they are as good as the day the came out of the kiln, because good pottery does not deteriorate with time.

Given the above points, where do you start looking?

If you happen to be in Japan, I would point you to either the sales tables at big events such as Kokufu (I have scored some bargains here),
or, the excess stock the nurseries have for sale. For example, last year there were some absolute bargains to be had in Omiya - to give a couple of examples, Fuyo-en was off-loading excess Koyo stock, which was actually commissioned stock, so carried the Foyo-en counter-stamp on the bottom of the pots... absolute bargains. Also, Mansei-en was selling hundreds of excess pots at absolute bargains, and I picked up a nice Ittouen. However, you are very limited by your hand luggage weight and dimensions - forget about sourcing big pots due to this limitation.

If you travel to Tokoname - a trip very worth-while, you will be looking at brand new stock, which costs comparatively more than I'm willing to pay for. Although I love visiting Tokoname and recommend the trip to anyone, I balk at the prices the kilns are asking for their wares. The best bet in Tokoname is the warehouses like Kataoka, where they sell of excess stock of other kilns at cheaper prices.

Surprisingly, some of the best bargains I have had in terms of quality, collectible Tokoname pots have been on the Japanese online auction sites (I once picked up a nice Tofukuji for AUD$30, which was selling at the Kokufu tables for AUD$1100). Even including shipping to Australia, some of these auction buys have been absolute bargains. If you are after large pots (40cm+) then ship by sea for a significant cost saving. However, over the last few years as the AUD/USD exchange rate has deteriorated, the Americans have pushed prices sky-high, meaning bargains are increasingly difficult to find online.

[Rolf]

I have travelled Japan extensively over the last 25 years, and it has always been my experience and opinion that the best pot bargains to be had are in the 2nd-hand market, for a number of reasons:

Firstly, like anything brand-new, you will pay a premium.
Secondly, the sellers of second-hand pots are trying to offload excess or unwanted inventory, in used condition - this forces them to reduce prices in competition with the brand-new market.
Thirdly, the second-hand market contains pots made by potters who no longer produce from their kilns, meaning they are often more desirable on a personal level (like my own personal fetish for Yamaaki pots), or more desirable on a collectible level due to their increasing rarity.
Lastly, if they are undamaged (without chips or cracks) they are as good as the day the came out of the kiln, because good pottery does not deteriorate with time.

Given the above points, where do you start looking?

If you happen to be in Japan, I would point you to either the sales tables at big events such as Kokufu (I have scored some bargains here),
or, the excess stock the nurseries have for sale. For example, last year there were some absolute bargains to be had in Omiya - to give a couple of examples, Fuyo-en was off-loading excess Koyo stock, which was actually commissioned stock, so carried the Foyo-en counter-stamp on the bottom of the pots... absolute bargains. Also, Mansei-en was selling hundreds of excess pots at absolute bargains, and I picked up a nice Ittouen. However, you are very limited by your hand luggage weight and dimensions - forget about sourcing big pots due to this limitation.

If you travel to Tokoname - a trip very worth-while, you will be looking at brand new stock, which costs comparatively more than I'm willing to pay for. Although I love visiting Tokoname and recommend the trip to anyone, I balk at the prices the kilns are asking for their wares. The best bet in Tokoname is the warehouses like Kataoka, where they sell of excess stock of other kilns at cheaper prices.

Surprisingly, some of the best bargains I have had in terms of quality, collectible Tokoname pots have been on the Japanese online auction sites (I once picked up a nice Tofukuji for AUD$30, which was selling at the Kokufu tables for AUD$1100). Even including shipping to Australia, some of these auction buys have been absolute bargains. If you are after large pots (40cm+) then ship by sea for a significant cost saving. However, over the last few years as the AUD/USD exchange rate has deteriorated, the Americans have pushed prices sky-high, meaning bargains are increasingly difficult to find online.

Thank you so much for your info wrcmad. Very much appreciated !!!!!
Can't wait to get over there!!

Cheers
Rolf

[TimS]

Worth noting that sea freight can take extended periods of time. I’ll haven’t sea freighted anything before, but friends have and it took 2-3 months for their items to arrive.

I’ll sea freight if I find large pots that can’t be put in carry on. My weight limit for carry on is 10kg, so I’ll take bubble wrap, empty the bag out and jam as much as I can into that.

[SquatJar]

Surprisingly, some of the best bargains I have had in terms of quality, collectible Tokoname pots have been on the Japanese online auction sites

wrcmad, do you mind posting what auction sites you use? I haven't had much luck in the past

[wrcmad]

wrcmad, do you mind posting what auction sites you use? I haven't had much luck in the past

PM'd

[Jb1]

Hi Rolf,
I purchased a number of pots from a bonsai market adjacent to Osaka castle. Plenty to choose from. Reasonably priced. Unsure where they originated from. I sent them home by air with no worries.
Jb1

[Ash]

Kinbon in Kyoto had a three-storey warehouse with pots and stands from all over Japan and China. They foam wrapped my selections into a tailor-made sturdy suitcase sized cardboard box for me to bring back on the plane. Koju-en shohin bonsai nursery is nearby and also has many smaller pots. The service at every bonsai nursery, pot supplier, show and street market that I visited was kind and helpful. Ash

[Rolf]

Hi Rolf,
I purchased a number of pots from a bonsai market adjacent to Osaka castle. Plenty to choose from. Reasonably priced. Unsure where they originated from. I sent them home by air with no worries.
Jb1

Hi Jb1,
Thanks for your reply.
When have you been to Japan and what was the market called, can you still remember???
Did your pots arrive in one piece?? And how big where they??
Cheers
Rolf

[Rolf]

Kinbon in Kyoto had a three-storey warehouse with pots and stands from all over Japan and China. They foam wrapped my selections into a tailor-made sturdy suitcase sized cardboard box for me to bring back on the plane. Koju-en shohin bonsai nursery is nearby and also has many smaller pots. The service at every bonsai nursery, pot supplier, show and street market that I visited was kind and helpful. Ash

sent PM!

[Jb1]

Hi Rolf
PM sent
Jb1

[Rolf]

Hi Rolf
PM sent
Jb1

Sorry mate didn't come through!! ?

[Jb1]

Rolf,
I bought 6 pots from a weekly Sunday market in the Osaka castle precinct. I air freighted them to Australia for $80-100 AUD. One of the pots, a free form tray, sustained a small fracture. The only down side, as it turned out, was the maker’s marks are Chinese not Japanese.
Jb1