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Going to Takayama

Getting out of Tokyo to head to Takayama is not going to be an easy feat today. The mountain road that is most direct is not accessible due to the recent rain and even the highway between Shinjuku and Yamanashi is a parking lot due to a serious accident. We’ll see how it goes…
…what regularly takes 5.5 hours took 9 hours today. Yet, the bus was quite empty so we were able to stretch and spread out while enjoying the varying landscapes.

Soon after leaving Tokyo we were surrounded by mountains that became taller and taller while the valleys got narrower. I was impressed by how woods seem to completely cover the mountains and by the misty low-level clouds that dotted most side valleys.  

During the trip we also decided that the next contest winner will be chosen among those who interact with our Japan photos on Facebook. The prize will be a souvenir from Japan.

Now we made it to Ryokan Tanabe and I can’t wait for dinner!

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Exploring Japanese Traditions

At Marcopoloni, we are always looking for handmade, traditional products from planet Earth. In the spirit of exploration and discovery our research lead us to a fascinating centuries-old Japanese tradition of Koito Pottery. What made this tradition interesting is the fact that most of the artists in this craft work in small, family-owned workshops that pour their dedication and experience into their products. Also, Koito Pottery is beautiful and very unique and seems to fit well with the uniqueness of Marcopoloni products, so, next week we are going to Japan to meet a number of potential new suppliers and get to learn about them and how they make their products.

Koito Pottery is produced in the the alpine Chobu region, in the city of Takayama. Takayama is a beautiful mountain town with a very high number of traditional Japanese homes. We will be gone for two weeks and I look forward to posting updates with pictures of the pottery and the surroundings!