I went to the tableware festival held from January 29th to February 6th at the Tokyo Dome Hotel.
This is the second part of my report.


Shota Shinohara is also the chairman of the Arita porcelain wholesale complex cooperative youth department.
I learned a lot from Mr. Shinohara`s talk about SDGs x Arita porcelain on a program called "Den Talk" aired on the homepage of the Arita Tourism Association, so I wanted to meet him someday.


At Marubun I bought the "Ultimate Ramen Bowl and Ultimate Chinese soup spoon" because I love ramen.

The ultimate ramen bowl
He took it to a food maker many times to make this ramen bowl, and tried to complete it by making an even better one.
What is the ultimate ramen bowl?
It seems that there are seven secrets to that.


My problem was that while I was eating ramen, the Chinese soup spoon sank into the soup and went missing. However, this ramen bowl has a hook on the spoon so it can be hung on the edge. This great idea solves a certain problem of ramen for people like me.

I heard that eating instant noodles in the ultimate ramen bowl would make the taste even better, so I immediately tried it.
Super delicious even though the ramen itself hasn't changed. It's magical! Please try the experience that makes the taste of ramen a lot more delicious.
There are a total of 300 types of ramen bowl designs and nearly 120 types are currently on sale.
Among them, I chose the penguin pattern recommended by Mr. Shinohara. It is very cute because it captures the detailed features of the Gentoo Penguin.

Through the experience of purchasing the products Shomido and Marubun, I was able to realize that Arita porcelain is produced reflecting the tastes and conveniences of consumers in every aspect of life.
detail.

At the venue, many Arita porcelain, which are combination of tradition and modernity, were exhibited as the theme of this time. By making meals more fulfilling, everyday life becomes more colorful.Consequently it was an opportunity for me to feel again that tableware has various charms.
  

This time, I went to the tableware festival held from January 29th to February 6th at the Tokyo Dome Hotel.
It was my first time, so I was really looking forward to it.


It is one of the largest "festivals of vessels to decorate the dining table" in Japan, where you can see Japanese and Western tableware at the same venue.
About 250 famous Japanese tableware shops and kilns from all over Japan participated.
It was fun to see each pottery area in Japan and thanks to the opportunity to see tableware from all over the country at once in Tokyo, it became a very meaningful experience.



Among them, there were 8 stalls at the Arita porcelain booth and 6 trading companies and kilns were present at the same venue.
Surrounded by a lot of wonderful Arita porcelain, it almost felt like being in Arita Town.



I was able to talk to Yuma Kamachi of "Shobido Honten" and Shota Shinohara of "Marubun "during the busy period of customer service. I would like to talk about this meeting in the first part and the second part of this blog article.

Yuma Kamachi of Shobido introduced us to the dishes that young people often pick up and buy.


Example of Arita porcelain popular with young people

I was surprised because it was a traditional pattern full of elements of Arita porcelain. I thought that young people would prefer a simple white plate, but I think that it is commonplace and on the contrary, they will be attracted by this pattern typical for Arita porcelain.
Of course, simple items are nice, but I'm glad that young people would also choose plates that are completed one by one by a craftsman with a brush.


A plate that is perfect for dishes such as hotpot.
And this is a picture of a plate that fits well in cold seasons.

What kind of place fits the pot? Why is this plate suitable for the dish?
The people of Kyushu have adopted the custom of using condiments in hot pots, and have created a place to put yuzu pepper etc. on the plate.
The fact that such ingenuity has been applied conveys the feelings of the creator who are close to the feelings of the user.
I also bought this plate. When I eat oden, the mustard that I always put on the edge of the plate fell off into the soup.
I have had many experiences of falling and dissolving in soup, so if you use this plate, you can eat it without stress.



Shobido honten sells a book that summarizes tableware, which suggests what kind of dishes and plates should be combined for young people to use Arita porcelain.
  

Hello.
This time, I went to Tomigaya in Oku-Shibuya near Shibuya, which is often the first location that comes to mind when whinking about places where many young people gather. "KIHARA TOKYO" set up a shop in the more “mature” part where many fashionable and hideaway shops are gathered near Yoyogi Park and the NHK studios, which is also called Okushibu.



This shop, which was introduced on Fuji TV's "Going for a walk with a comedian" in January 2021 last year, is located on the second floor. Inside, you can find tableware for the daily use and also pieces that people would certainly appreciate as presents. There are a lot of pieces of Arita Ware such as wonderful plates.

Despite my sudden visit, the shop staffs were very kind to me, and I was able to meet Mr. Taro Kihara, the manager of the shop, and talked with him about various things.
What was particularly impressive was that most of the customers who came to the store were young people in their 20s and 30s.
For me, who aims to let young people know more about the charm of Arita Ware, which has a history of more than 400 years, I learned many things while reporting about Arita Ware at such a place where many people with high interest in Arita Ware gather.


I took a picture with him in front of the plate that was a collaboration piece with Mr. Kashiwa Sato, who is a very famous art director.


As a correspondent in Tokyo, I would like to continue to blog about this shop that even though located in the center of Tokyo, gives you the feeling of being in Arita.

  

Nice to meet you.
I want more people to know about the traditional Arita porcelain, so
I am posting it on Instagram under the name arita & yaki.



From 2022, I will participate in the blog of Arita Tourism Association.
I will be grateful if you enjoy reading this blog.

According to the words of Ieyasu Tokugawa, the founder of the Edo
Shogunate, I would like to say hello to the beginning of the year with
best New Year’s wishes.
"From New Year's Eve, to know that New Year's Eve"
This seems to indicate that the countdown to New Year's Eve has
begun as soon as the New Year begins.
By the way, what does it mean to you symbolize the beginning of the
year?


I always remember this word by putting Kagami mochi a traditional
Japanese rice cake made of Arita porcelain in a fixed place every
year recalls me to.

Ieyasu Tokugawa, who represents the Warring States period, is sure
to remind me that he must have live hard day by day because he did
not know when his life would end.
As an aside, the reason why Ieyasu Tokugawa used the words left is
that he died in 1616, the year when Arita porcelain was made by Mr.
Yi Sam-pyeong for the first time in Arita Town is.
In other words, Arita porcelain was born at about the same time as
the Edo Shogunate, which was founded before Ieyasu died.
Even though the strong mechanism of the Edo Shogunate, which was
created mainly by the 15th Shogun including Ieyasu Tokugawa,
collapsed in 260 years, but the industrial mechanism related to Arita
porcelain is still alive.
There for this I think we should continue to protect mechanism and
heritage beyond the Edo Shogunate.

By the way, I have appointed a correspondent of the Arita Tourism
Association in Tokyo.
We will do our best to contribute to the further development of Arita
Town and Arita porcelain, so we look forward to your continued
support!

Tokyo correspondent Yotaro Kamachi (17-year-old high school boy)