[Toki City, Gifu] A Complex Facility "KOYO BASE" where You can Eat, Buy, Enjoy, and Learn All At Once!

Koyo Toki, a long-established ceramic maker founded in 1964, opened “KOYO BASE”, a complex experience facility for pottery, in January 2023.

It is a complex facility packed with 4 spaces: a cafe that uses pottery produced by Koyo Pottery, a shop where you can buy it, a hands-on class, and a factory where you can learn the manufacturing process.

This time, we would like to introduce you to the new experience spot "KOYO BASE" in Toki City, Gifu Prefecture.

*Information is current at the time of the interview.
Please check the latest information of each facility and store.

A Project that Started with the Idea of 
"I want People to Know more About the Earthenware in Toki"

After about 10 minutes by car from Tajimi IC, take a side road from the main street and go up the hill, you will see "KOYO BASE" attached to the factory of Koyo pottery.

"KOYO BASE" is a renovated part of the factory. There are 3 spaces on the 2nd floor: cafe & dining, shop, and workshop.

At the entrance on the 1st floor, you can feel the history of Koyo pottery with the original pottery that was manufactured in 1970.

The facility is located on a small hill, so you can enjoy the greenery of Toki City from the windows. The ceiling is high and open, and the interior and furniture are based on beige. You will be enchanted by the unrealistic space.

2nd floor with cafe & dining, shop and workshop

You can enjoy the green scenery from the window.

Ms. Yoshinaga in charge of public relations

This time, we interviewed Ms. Yoshinaga, who was in charge of public relations and greeted us with a wonderful smile.

– Please give us an overview of the facility.

Ms. Yoshinaga: "This is a facility where you can experience each of the four items of eating, buying, enjoying, and learning through pottery.

In "Eat" section, you can enjoy the dishes served on the plates produced at the factory in the café & dining. In the "Buy" section, you can purchase the actual vessels used in the cafe and dining, as well as products that change according to the season, at the shop. In the "enjoy" workshop, you can paint on the plates and apply transfer sheets to make your own tableware.

The unique appeal of our company is that it is a facility where you can experience these four things at once, and that you can tour the factory where you can see the entire process from clay to being kneaded into a pottery. ”

– What inspired you to open the facility?

Ms. Yoshinaga: “It all started when we won the Smart Factory Award 2019, which is given to companies that have made traditional industries smarter. Until now, we had only allowed people involved and business partners to visit our factories, but the project started when we heard from within the company that we wanted many people to see our factories.

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was reworked, but the idea for a cafe and workshop was born, and it was launched as a complex facility. ”

Using Local Ingredients from Gifu Prefecture
Enjoy Dishes and Tablewares
Cafe & Dining "CLAY Table"

Cafe & dining "CLAY Table" where you can experience "eating" of "KOYO BASE". Served in beautiful Koyo pottery, you can enjoy a special menu that uses local ingredients from Gifu Prefecture.

The cafe mainly use vegetables from Farm Regalo, which is grown using spring water and microbial fertilizer in Toki City, Gifu Prefecture. The vegetables are grown using organic microbial fertilizer, so you can enjoy the sweet and rich taste of vegetables.

This time, we will introduce Ms. Yoshinaga's recommended menu.

Grilled mackerel in herb bread crumbs and vegetables set

Grilled mackerel in herb bread crumbs and vegetables set (1,500 yen)

Grilled mackerel in fresh herb bread crumbs with spring cabbage sauce

This is the new spring menu. It is attractive that the menu is also developed according to the four seasons. The plates are also bright and gentle colors like spring, making the foods stand out.

The main dish, mackerel grilled in fresh herbs, is served with spring cabbage sauce and edible flowers, making it a feast for the eyes.

Citrus and tomato salad with tofu dressing

Farm vegetables and white fish miso soup

local taste rice

Four types of bonito shavings, which are all domestically produced, are used in the soup stock. It has a rich flavor. Local taste rice is a local dish of the Tono region where ingredients in a small bowl are mixed with rice and eaten.

Farm vegetable spice curry

Farm vegetable spice curry (1,300 yen)

Side dishes are served on the top of the layered bowl, and spice curry is served on the bottom. I can't get enough of the excitement when I open the vessel.

The side dish vegetables are served with seasonal vegetable frit. On the day of the interview, it was Jerusalem artichoke frit. Jerusalem artichoke is a vegetable with a light taste and a pleasant texture. The spice curry contains several kinds of spices based on tomatoes. A filling curry has chunks of Hida Takayama pork. The spice curry does not use wheat flour at all, so it is a nice point that it is a healthy finish.

ORIGAMI Cup drinking comparison set

ORIGAMI Cup drinking comparison set (1,000 yen)

This is a set of ORIGAMI Cups with 3 different mouthpieces that allow you to taste the different flavors of a single coffee. Depending on the mouth, the place where the coffee touches the tongue changes, and depending on the place, you can enjoy the sourness, sweetness, and flavor of the coffee. Please enjoy the difference in taste with a cup unique to a ceramic maker.

Rich charred cheesecake

Rich charred cheesecake (500 yen)

Desserts are also handmade and baked daily in the store. A mildly sweet cheesecake made with domestic wheat. It's so delicious that you'll never get tired of eating it.

By all means, please enjoy the tableware and food at the same time at the “CLAY Table”.

"BASE Shop" Introducing Popular Brands!

At the shop “BASE Shop”, it is possible to “buy” a vessel by actually holding it in your hand. At this shop, 4 of the 6 Koyo Pottery brands are sold, and they sell products for each season and scene, as well as the plates used at the CLAY Table café and dining room.

Ms. Yoshinaga introduced a popular brand at "BASE Shop".

ORIGAMI

ORIGAMI dripper and cup

Ms. Yoshinaga: "This is the coffee drinkware brand 'ORIGAMI'. We are developing drippers and cups for brewing coffee.

The world champion barista won the championship using the “ORIGAMI” dripper, and it is a popular brand that is loved all over the world. ”

Roots

"Hourai" series from the "Roots"

Ms. Yoshinaga:"'Roots is a brand that has been developed along the roots of various countries. It has a design that is easy to handle even in ordinary homes. At this shop, the tableware used in the cafe and dining room 'CLAY Table' is particularly popular. Among them, the sales of the Horai series, which are used as curry plates, are strong.”

Koyo pottery is perfect for home use or as a gift. It's a great point that you can actually touch it at the shop.

Enjoy your Original Vessel with Your Favorite design
"BASE Studio"

A lot of works made by customers and staff.

The workshop "BASE Studio" is where you can experience "enjoyment". We hold two workshops a day.

You can take a “painting experience” where you draw your favorite pictures and letters on unglazed pottery using special paints, and a “transfer experience” where you can freely select and paste your favorite design from over 20 types of transfer sheets.

This time, I was shown the procedure for the transcription experience.

First, choose your favorite unglazed pottery and your favorite design from over 20 types of transfer sheets. Align the transfer sheet with the place where you want to put the design, and trace the transfer sheet with a brush soaked in water so that it sticks smoothly.

If you slowly peel off the transfer sheet, the picture or text will appear on the plate.

The painted and transferred pottery will be delivered to your home about a month after it is fired at the factory.

It's very easy, so it's a workshop that kids can enjoy casually. You can add not only pictures but also letters and numbers. It is recommended for making memories or as a gift for someone special with a message. Advance reservations are possible, so be sure to check the website.

You can Observe the Entire Process of Ceramics
"KOYO Factory"

At "KOYO Factory", you can tour the entire manufacturing process. It is held twice a day on (Monday), (Thursday) and (Friday). At this factory, craftsmen's skills and machines are efficiently combined, and more than 10,000 pieces of pottery are produced every day.

The kneaded soil cut into sticks are lined up.

First, a machine is used to knead the soil that will form the base of the vessel, and then it is cut into sticks.

Put it in a special mold.

The edges of the bowl are rounded and smoothed by a machine.

Difficult shapes are formed not only by machines, but also by craftsmen's hands.

Next, put the kneaded soil into a special mold and shape it with a machine. Shapes that are difficult to machine are molded by craftsmen.

Unglazed at a temperature of 800 degrees.

The molded vessels are arranged by hand so that they can be baked efficiently, and are unglazed at a temperature of 800 degrees.

The unglazed pottery is painted and printed.

Glazed.

Painting and printing are performed on the unglazed pottery, and then the glaze is applied.

Firing in a kiln at 1320 degrees. (reduction kiln)

Finally, it is fired in a kiln at 1320 degrees to complete the vessel.

One of the attractions of the factory tour is that you can directly touch the soil and tools that have been kneaded under the guidance of a guide, and experience inspection work. You can learn everything about Utsuwa by looking and touching it.

In this way, the process of making the utensils that we use every day is full of new discoveries and is very interesting.

"KOYO BASE" is a wonderful facility where you can experience everything about pottery. Feel free to drop by just to enjoy lunch or cafe time, or even just to buy some utensils. Please come and visit us.