Gojo Pottery Festival

Gojo Pottery Festival is one of the biggest festivals showcasing a variety of pottery. The festival serves as a way for shops to get rid of unsold inventory and make room for stock from the next season's firing. The festival is an inseparable part of summer in Kyoto.

The pottery festival features nearly 500 stalls setup by different ceramic shops that extends up to both sides of the Gojo Street. These stalls offer visitors an enormous range of variety tea cups, plates, tea ceremony bowls, vases and more. Kyoto is thus regarded as one of Japan’s ceramic centers. There are other stands where you will come across pottery from other parts of Japan such as Shiga, Tambi and Hagi to name a few. Much of what is sold here is not ‘B Grade’ pottery usually marked by minor flaws or irregular shapes. The items are sold at a price which is 50 to 60 percent of their regular price. Vendors are easily talked down even more with a little prodding.

You will be greeted by cheerful vendors who greet everyone with a loud "irrashaimase!" which means welcome when you visit the Gojo Pottery Festival in Kyoto. There are bargain hunters who hurry with their bags full of things for the cupboard. There are treasure hunters too who scan the lower shelves carefully for some rare pieces which they can add to their existing collection.

At the Gojo Pottery Festival, there a large number of stalls set by young local artists who use the festival as platform to introduce their work to a large audience. This festival is a major venue for upcoming potters who lack reputation to showcase their skills and craftsmanship. Buyers also have an option to buy contemporary pieces at reasonable prices from these upcoming artisans. The stalls are set up everyday at 9AM in the morning and are there till 7:30PM in the evening or more.

A common sight in most pottery festivals in Japan including the Gojo Pottery Festival is a large amount of mass produced table ware from areas such as Arita and Mino. This is no better place than the Gojo Pottery Festival for inexpensive tableware.

It takes a good hour to go through the entire Gojo Festival. You must visit both sides of the Gojo Street to get a feel of the festival. In the end, very few visitors leave the festival disappointed.

It is advisable that you visit you visit the festival early so that you can browse through the best items on offer. According to the Kiyomizu-yaki Ceramics Association nearly 50000 people visit the festival over the four days and chances are that you might miss out on the best items if you go towards the end. First time visitors to the festival must take a note of the following. The weather is often hot and rainy during the festival and temperatures can reach 39 degrees centigrade or more. Visitors are thus advised to carry sunscreen, plenty of bottled water, and an uchiwa (fan). Finally, several stalls in the festival sell food but it is recommended that you carry your own lunch.

Hotels in Kyoto
Hotel Ana	Hotel Tokyu
Hotel Royal	Hotel Righa Royal
Hotel Aranvert	Hotel Court