Special Feature on "Industrial Museums" in the Tokai area where you can Learn while Having Fun

The Tokai area is home to a variety of industries, including automobiles, ceramics, textiles, and brewing. There are also plenty of "industrial museums" that convey the technology and history of manufacturing.

We will introduce industrial museums in the Tokai area, such as the "INAX Museum" where you can fully experience the charm of pottery, and the "MIM Mizkan Museum" where you can learn about vinegar while having fun.

[Notice] Due to the COVID-19, there may be changes in business hours and temporary closures. Please check the latest information of each facility and store when using.

Real tableware created by 100 years of history
"Noritake Garden"

About 15 minutes on foot from Nagoya Station. As part of the 100th anniversary project of Noritake, a Western tableware manufacturer loved all over the world, "Noritake Garden" opened on the former site of the head office factory in Nagoya City. With the theme of "encountering culture and resting in the forest", this is a complex facility where you can enjoy a whole day with various facilities such as museums, craft centers, shops, and cafes.

A red brick building that can be said to be the symbol of Noritake Garden. Built in 1904 (Meiji 37), this is the first factory of Nippon Toki Gomei Kaisha (company name when Noritake was founded).

At the "Welcome Center", you can learn about the history of Noritake through panels of the executives who founded Noritake and a chronology.

At the "Craft Center" next to the Welcome Center, you can actually see the process of fabric manufacturing, from bone china prototype making to glaze firing.

Japan's first hard white porcelain dinner set "SEDAN" was born in 1914. Since its founding in 1904, the Noritake Museum has exhibited mainly dinnerware made as industrial products.

"Noritake Square Nagoya" in the facility. This is a lifestyle shop that offers not only Noritake tableware, but also kitchen items and miscellaneous goods.

Authentic Tableware Created by 100 years of History. "Noritake Garden"

About 15 minutes on foot from Nagoya Station. As part of the 100th anniversary project of Noritake, a western tableware manufacturer loved all over the world, "Noritake Garden" opened on the site of the head office factory in Nagoya City. With the theme of "encountering culture and resting in the forest", there are museums, craft centers, shops, cafes, etc.

2018.02.13

https://life-designs.jp

[Noritake Garden]
Address: 3-1-36 Noritake Shinmachi, Nishi Ward, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture
Access: 15 minutes walk from Nagoya station.
Closed: Every Monday (if Monday is a public holiday, then the following weekday), year-end and New Year holidays
Phone number: 052-561-7290
Admission: Free *Craft Center & Museum only
http://www.noritake.co.jp/mori/
(Please see the official website for the opening hours of each facility, admission fees, etc.)

A hands-on museum where you can fully experience the charm of pottery
"INAX Museum"

We went to the "INAX Museum "operated by LIXIL in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, the city of pottery. This is a hands-on museum where you can experience the culture of tiles and pottery from around the world.

There are 6 facilities, and you can not only see and learn, but also touch the tiles and participate in workshops. There is also an Italian restaurant, so it is a spot where you can enjoy a whole day with your family.

At the World Tile Museum, about 1,000 decorative tiles from around the world, from B.C. to modern times, are on display, and the history of their development is introduced.

The Islamic tiled dome ceiling is one of the highlights of the World Tile Museum.

In the permanent exhibition room on the second floor, approximately 1,000 pieces from the tile collection, ranging from ancient times before B.C. to the modern 19th century, are displayed in sections organized by region.

The "Tsuchi and Doronko-kan" is a hands-on facility that focuses on clay, which is essential for making pottery. A particularly popular workshop is "making glowing Dorondango (mud ball)". In a completely different method from the "Dorodango" made in the sandbox or school yard, clay balls are shaved, colored, and polished to create a glowing sphere.

It also has a special exhibition room.

At the Toraku Koubou, you can take tile art and painting classes.

"INAX Museum", a hands-on museum where you can fully experience the charm of pottery [Part 1]

We went to the "INAX Museum" operated by LIXIL in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, the city of pottery. This is a hands-on museum where you can experience the culture of tiles and pottery from around the world. There are 6 facilities in the museum, where you can not only learn by watching, but also touch the tiles and participate in workshops...

2019.03.28

https://life-designs.jp

"INAX Museum", a hands-on museum where you can fully experience the charm of pottery [Part 2] 

We went to the "INAX Museum" operated by LIXIL in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, the city of pottery. This is a hands-on museum where you can experience the culture of tiles and pottery from around the world. There are 6 facilities in the museum, where you can not only learn by watching, but also touch the tiles and participate in workshops...

2019.03.28

https://life-designs.jp

[INAX Museum]
Address ：1-1302 Okuei-cho, Tokoname-shi, Aichi
Phone number ：0569-34-8282
Business hours ： 10:00 - 17:00 (admission until 16:30)
Closed ： Wednesdays (open if Wednesday is a holiday), year-end and New Year holidays
Parking　 ：Available

https://www.livingculture.lixil/ilm/

Is this the Mizkan museum? ! Learn vinegar while having fun
"MIM Mizkan Museum"

"Mizkan Museum MIM" in Handa City Prefecture was completely renewed in November 2015. This is a hands-on museum where you can enjoy learning about the history of vinegar-making by Mizkan, a company famous for vinegar, and the appeal of food culture. Handa is the birthplace of a groundbreaking innovation that produces vinegar from sake lees. It also triggered the Edomae-zushi (Edo-style sushi) boom.

In the "Daichi no Kura" zone, you can experience the spirit of craftsmanship that has been passed down from generation to generation by observing vinegar making in the Edo period and the current state of brewing.

In the "Storehouse of Time" zone, the history of the Mizkan Group is depicted like a picture scroll, allowing visitors to learn about the transformation and history of Mizkan.

The giant object in the center is a full-size reproduction of the "Bezaisen" that transported vinegar from Handa to Edo during the Edo period. (20 meters long, 5 meters high, 20 tons in weight)

The “Garden of Light” zone where you can enjoy learning about the appeal of food through various experiences.

The table named "Sushi Continent" has more than 1,000 pieces of more than 20 types of nigiri sushi.

"Ajipon Studio" where you can make "My Ponzu"

There is also a “photo spot” where you can use your body to complete the Japanese Hiragana character “su”.

[Handa city] "MIM Mizkan Museum" where You can Learn about Vinegar while Having Fun

I went to "MIM  Mizkan Museum" in Handa City, Aichi Prefecture, which was completely renewed in November 2015. This is a hands-on museum where you can enjoy learning about the history of vinegar-making by Mizkan, a company famous for vinegar, and the appeal of food culture. Handa is a revolutionary innovation that creates vinegar from sake lees.

2019.01.29

https://life-designs.jp

[MIM Mizkan Museum] *Visits must be reserved in advance.
Address ：2-6 Nakamura-cho, Aichi Handa City
Phone number ：0569-24-5111
Hours of operation : 9:30-17:00
Closed ：Thursdays (if Thursday is a national holiday, the museum is open on Thursday and closed on the following Friday), Year-end and New Year holidays
Parking: Approx. 40 cars in the first parking lot, approx. 100 cars in the second parking lot (8 buses available)

http://www.mizkan.co.jp/mim/

"Tajimi City Mosaic Tile Museum"

​The Tajimi Mosaic Tile Museum is located in Kasahara-cho, Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture.

I'm sure many of you have never been there. It takes about 1 hour by car from Nagoya to the Mosaic Tile Museum. This building was designed and supervised by Terunobu Fujimori, a world-famous architect.

The highlight of the museum is the tiles carefully selected by Terunobu Fujimori in the exhibition room on the 4th floor.

"Tile curtain". Proposed as a new way of showing tiles, it is connected with tiles of various sizes.

The second and third floors are exhibition rooms and showrooms where you can learn about the history of tiles. In the showroom, you can also get advice on making a house.

[Tajimi] "Tajimi Mosaic Tile Museum" was full of hints for building a house!

Hello everyone. Looking at the recent construction examples, the number of houses using tiles is increasing. So I decided to learn about tiles again, and went to the "Tajimi City Mosaic Tile Museum" in Kasahara-cho, Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture. Everything is not only a museum, but also a house...

2017.10.31

https://life-designs.jp

[Tajimi Mosaic Tile Museum]
Address: 2082-5 Kasahara-cho, Tajimi-shi, Gifu 507-0901
Hours: 9:00 - 17:00 (admission until 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (or the following weekday if Monday is a holiday) and the year-end and New Year holidays
Fee: 300 yen, Annual Passport: 1000 yen
TEL：0572-43-5101

http://www.mosaictile-museum.jp/