On Mar 31, 2024 we docked at Nagato, Japan, a coastal city in the south of Japan’s Honshu Island. Nagato has a population of 35,000 people.

We took a walking excursion today that started at Hagiyaki Kiln in a small rural area where they have been making pottery for over 350 years in “climbing” kilns that are warmed by burning local pine or oak trees. They are called climbing kilns because they are built in a horizontal line with a slope such that each kiln is a little higher than the one below it. The lowest kiln is fired first and its heat rises upward into the other kilns, thus making it easier to heat the upper kilns. The Hagiyaki is one of Japan’s representative pottery styles. The manufacturing technique was developed in Korea during the early period of the Li Dynasty (1892-1910), and has been handed down to this day. We walked along the road in this little village and enjoyed the local stream and the many cheery blossoms, as well as views of many of the local homes, storage sheds for clay and wood, and the rice fields interspersed throughout the area.

Our next stop was a local hotel where we enjoyed a light lunch on a terrace where we were surrounded by nature.

Then we took a walk through the Nagato Yumoto Onsen town. This Onsen, or hot spring, is the oldest in Yamaguchi Prefecture with over 600 years of history. This town had fallen into disrepair until a group of citizens decided to revitalize it. The revitalization project was completed in 2020 and now provides a place for an easy walk along the Otozure River where we were able to experience the beauty of the town. While we were there, the cherry blossom trees were in full bloom.