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At Hanzougama, linger a while: a rare long-stay pottery retreat with on-site lodging, kiln building, and Zen temple escapades, where clay, culture and quiet mischief all get wonderfully entangled.
2-week pottery retreat
Immerse yourself in two inspiring weeks of Japanese pottery at Hanzougama Kiln, learning directly from master potter Ikuhiko Shibata in the heart of Tajimi’s Mino ware country. Each day you will shape and refine your own pieces in a traditional workshop, discover classic Shino, Oribe and Ki-Seto aesthetics, and experience the gentle rhythm of life in a historic ceramics town. Convenient and spacious lodging is included just steps from the kiln, giving you time and freedom to explore local hot springs, neighbourhood shops and the quiet streets between studio sessions. This retreat is ideal for enthusiastic beginners and experienced potters alike who want to slow down, focus on their craft, and live like a local in Japan’s pottery heartland.
4-week pottery retreat
Deepen your practice with four immersive weeks of Japanese pottery at Hanzougama Kiln, guided by master potter Ikuhiko Shibata in Tajimi’s historic Mino ware region. This extended course lets you move beyond basic forms into more refined, personal work, with time to experiment, prepare for firings, and absorb traditional Shino, Oribe and Ki-Seto aesthetics at a relaxed, sustainable pace. Convenient and spacious lodging is included just a short walk from the studio, so your days flow naturally between the wheel, home-cooked meals, hot springs, and unhurried walks through a ceramics town with over 1,300 years of history. Ideal for committed beginners and experienced potters alike, this month-long retreat offers a rare chance to live like a local, build lasting skills, and let Tajimi’s clay, kilns and culture leave a deep imprint on your work and life.
Zen experience
As an optional add-on to your pottery retreat, you can spend time at Gyokuryu-ji, an ancient Rinzai Zen temple in nearby Gero City, for a quiet immersion in traditional Zen practice and temple life. Under the guidance of experienced monks, you will join zazen meditation, simple chanting and temple routines while surrounded by cedar forests, dragon legends and historic Buddhist art. This gentle retreat offers space to reset, reflect on your creative journey, and experience the stillness at the heart of Japanese culture before returning refreshed to the kiln. For physical healing as well, Gero is one of Japan’s most celebrated hot spring towns, offering a rich variety of onsen baths to soak, relax, and restore your body.
Kiln building
As an optional hands-on add-on, you can join a kiln-building experience and help create the kind of wood-fired kiln that gives Japanese pottery its unique character. Under the guidance of an experienced potter, you will learn how a traditional kiln is designed, see how bricks and fireboxes are laid out, and take part in the physical work that makes a firing possible. It is a rare chance to feel the heat, clay and fire at the very source of the process, and to understand your own pieces in a entirely new way when they finally emerge from the flames.
Tea ceremony
As an optional hands-on add-on, you can join a kiln-building experience and help create the kind of wood-fired kiln that gives Japanese pottery its unique character. Under the guidance of an experienced potter, you will learn how a traditional kiln is designed, see how bricks and fireboxes are laid out, and take part in the physical work that makes a firing possible. It is a rare chance to feel the heat, clay and fire at the very source of the process, and to understand your own pieces in a entirely new way when they finally emerge from the flames.
Book a Consultation
Interested in non-standard pottery workshops? Commissioned pottery or art?