Seto/Nagakute瀬戸・長久手

Experiencing traditional pottery technology, and learn about automobile history at the Toyota Automobile Museum.

Seto City, one of the two venues for Expo 2005 Aichi Japan, is famous for its ceramics production. Ceramics are called 'Setomono' in Japanese, named after the city of Seto. You can see ceramics used everywhere, including on the walls of public facilities and bridges. At Kamagaki-no-komichi, a walking path located at the foot of the mountains, plates and cups are embedded in the stone walls of the walkways, and you can gain a sense of the everyday life of the craftspeople.

If you would like to learn about ceramics, we recommend a visit to the Seto Municipal Center of Multimedia and Traditional Ceramics. The traditional-style workshop reproduced here provides an opportunity to observe the work up close. You can also observe or experience crafts such as glass art at the Seto Ceramics and Glass Art Center.

Kamagami-jinja Shrine is rather unusual; it is dedicated to the people who have passed on ceramic manufacturing methods, and the Ceramics Festival is held on the 2nd Saturday and Sunday in September. The kiln-shaped shrine pavilion is quite unique. In the distance, you can see the "Grand Canyon of Seto," a pit from which clay and stone are dug for use in ceramics. Many facilities offer ceramics-making activities, so it is a fun place to visit as a family. The Seto City Tourist Association provides a guide service with English-speaking volunteers.

In Nagakute town, which was the other venue for Expo 2005 Aichi Japan, there is a car museum run by Toyota, the renowned car manufacturer. In addition to Japanese cars, approximately 50 European and American cars from the end of the 19th century to the 1940s are exhibited. In the corner introducing the history of the automobile in Japan, many rare cars are on view, including a model of the first automobile introduced in Japan. The site is now called Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park.