Surrounded by Arita Ware…
Shopping at Arita Será
After the meal, we headed farther into Arita and went to Arita Será.
It’s a shopping complex where various Arita ware makers have their own direct retail stores.
Even the town guide maps and restroom signs are made of Arita ware, and you can feel the attention to detail everywhere.
Inside, there was a wide variety of shops—from stores selling traditional Japanese tableware to ones offering extremely expensive pieces on the level of Living National Treasure craftsmanship, as well as shops carrying stylish modern designs—so I had a great time browsing.
I spotted at an outlet a plate that had been used at a mizutaki restaurant two days earlier, so I ended up buying it.
In the back, there was also a mikoshi on display made from rice bowls, which was a fun and unusual sight.
Arita Será may actually have more of a theme-park feel than Arita Porcelain Park.
After this, we head back to Hakata.
Since it was the autumn outing season, we decided to leave early because we were worried about traffic!
The view in the photo above is said to look just like Ikebukuro Station.
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