Hey there friends! Our adventures through Shiga continue this time in the town of Shigaraki-cho, now part of Koka-shi in Shiga Prefecture. This time, myself and Émilie were joined by Émilie’s supervisor from the prefectural government, Mashiko!
皆さんこんにちは～ 今回の滋賀への冒険には甲賀市の信楽町に行ってきました！私とヱミリーとともに、滋賀県庁の国際課のましこさんも来てくださいました！
Shigaraki is a small town of approx. 13,000 people, located in southeast Shiga Prefecture. The town was merged into the city of Koka in 2004. It is most well-known for pottery, called Shigaraki-yaki, and particularly for pottery tanuki, or raccoon dogs, popular all throughout Japan.
信楽町は約1.3万人の小さい町で、滋賀県の東南に位置しています。2004年に甲賀市に合併されました。信楽焼きが一番有名で、特に狸の焼き物が日本国中に良く知られています。
I had never been before, but soon after entering the town it became very evident that Shigaraki is in fact the Tanuki Town. Tanuki, as well as frogs and turtles and lots of other pottery, could be seen in virtually every direction on the main streets of the town. We made it a Tanuki themed day, first by exploring around the immediate area around Shigaraki Station.
私は信楽に初めて来ましたが、到着してからすぐ「タヌキタウン」であるということが分かりました。タヌキ、カエル、そしてカメなどの形をしている焼き物が町のどこの方向でもたくさん置いてありました。タヌキというテーマの一日でしたので、信楽駅の周辺を始め、色々なところのタヌキを見て回りました。
For lunch, we stuck to our tanuki-theme and ate in a restaurant literally shaped like a tanuki! Their menu also featured a couple items in tanuki-shaped bowls.
お昼の食事にもタヌキのテーマが続き、タヌキの形をしていた店で食べました！幾つかのメニューはタヌキの皿できました。
Something that is a must-do if you are in a place famous for pottery is to try making it yourself! We saw a couple places around that offered pottery experiences to the public, but we ended up doing it the less obvious place, here.
焼き物で有名な場所で、必ずしなければならないこと。それは、陶芸体験ができる場所が幾つかありましたが、結局この目立たない場所にしました。
While also being a bit cheaper than other places we asked, this place allowed walk-ins and the owner was a very interesting guy who was keen on showing us the ins and outs of pottery. While I am not particularly skilled at any kind of craft that is done with your hands, Émilie and Mashiko predictably did very well. We won’t get our pottery back for about a month or so, but I am looking forward to seeing the finished product. If you want to see more of our experience making Shigaraki pottery, be sure to watch the video below!
他の場所より安い上に、ここには予約なしでもオッケーで、先生が焼き物にとても詳しい面白いおじさんでした。私自身は手作りするのはそんなに得意ではないですが、ヱミリーとましこはさすがに上手に作りました。完成まではあと一ヶ月ぐらいかかりそうですが、できているものを見るのが大変楽しみです。私たちがやっていた陶芸体験をさらに見たい方は、下の動画をぜひご覧ください！
Shigaraki is a quaint little off the beaten track town, where anyone who wants a different experience from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo or Kyoto is sure to enjoy themselves. If you happen to be a fan of tanuki or pottery, Shigaraki is definitely the place for you!
信楽は普通のルートから離れた居心地の良い場所で、東京や京都の都会の喧騒から逃げたい方にとっては間違いなく楽しめると思います。タヌキや焼き物が好きな人であれば、ぜひ信楽に行ってみてください！
Access to Shigaraki:
-take Biwako Line to Kusatsu Station, transfer to Kusatsu Line
-transfer again at Kibukawa to Shigaraki kougen tetsudo to Shigaraki Station
If you would also like to try a Shigaraki pottery experience in the same place that we did, the address is below. Look for the guy with the beard on the sign! (Please note that this is likely only available in Japanese.)
私たちと同じ陶芸体験をしたい方は、下記の住所をご覧ください。ひげおやじの看板が目印！
Rokuroni Challenge
Nagano 1246
Shigaraki-cho, Koka-shi
Shiga Prefecture 529-1851
TEL: 074-882-0611
http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~rokuro/
陶芸道場 ろくろにチャレンジ
滋賀県甲賀市
信楽町長野1246番地
〒529－1851
TEL: 074-882-0611
Be sure to check out our video!
動画もぜひご覧ください！
Yo! Biwako 