We have had a “grand” stay at Hotel Grand Amari. This older hotel has the charm, large spaces and lots of marble that newer hotels often lack. Best of all is the staff. Clearly they are a team that love what they do and they work together as a team to make guests feel welcome. Our trikes didn’t faze them…sure, bring them into the lobby. Trust us, that is not always the case.
We were amused and impressed by the English script they had for situations that might come up. Even though we were happy to muddle through in our English, limited Japanese and gestures, the woman at the front desk was determined to check us in with her script. Lots of laughter ensued. A nice welcome.
Breakfast was very good. The food was primarily Japanese with a few Western choices.
Barry has a new rubber duck to travel with him on his trike. His previous one had a mishap and is no longer with us..We saw some at the front desk and we asked if we could buy one. Not possible. But as we were leaving, the manager came running. She presented us with the duck as a gift from the hotel. Nice.
We wanted to check out the train station in Imari as it sounded interesting., Turns out this is not the train station…it is a hotel. Never did find the station.
The city of Imari is a charming place. Painted porcelain is what Imari is known for, and the tradition goes back to the 17th century. Incredible art pieces of porcelain are installed throughout the city… on bridges, on walls, in parks….it is incredible. We marvel that none of this has been vandalized.
Every bridge over the many river crossings in town begins and ends with a large piece like this. Large panels of ceramic art are featured below the railings as well.
We enjoyed our time here and treated ourselves to a small plate featuring cats…of course. It continues to boggle our minds that beautiful pieces like these on the exterior wall are freely hung without security.
Happy, colourful figures are a feature of Japan….where there is construction, street crossings near schools, pretty much anywhere. It makes people smile, including us.
A must see place to visit near Imari is Okawachiyama. 400 years ago, the town of Arita and the mountain village of Okawachiyama served as the two main sites of production, while Imari served as the port from where the finished products were shipped out. We have planned a route up the mountain to visit this renowned place.
Porcelain pieces along the way made our ride special. Despite the climb, the ride was magnificent with incredible scenery riding through forest sand farmland. We are so lucky to have timed our trip to be here in the autumn. The green of the conifers contrasting with the hues of red, orange and yellow gave us a ride we will remember fondly. And we aren’t even at Okawachiyama yet.
A gully by the road was very picturesque with with walking trails along the river, rock formations and this water feature which would crearpte a waterfall when filled.
The process was very entertaining. As the wooden panel filled with water, the sound effects would grow. It was a ponderous groaning sound which would get louder until the climax, when it would release the water.
We sometimes see this in which a daughter is being photographed to commemorate a special birthday or achievement. The parents and a photographer were capturing this moment. This young woman is attired in a beautiful kimono.
There are so many potters who live and work in this village honouring the history of their craft. The shops are lovely and too numerous to mention. To reach some of them you continue up on side streets. It is an impressive place.
This shrine is perched on a steep piece of land and the Tori gates are directly on the road. I’ll admit we didn’t visit this one…it is easier to climb on our bikes than on foot!
As you can imagine, we spent more time at this mountain village than planned. If we had realized how extraordinary it is, we would have stayed a second night in Imari. Oh dear, we have some distance to ride to reach our destination and of course there will be hills to climb. We are staying in a hot springs village at Hotel Bliss in Hasami.
Passing through Arita. We will return here tomorrow.
We both look pretty rugged from our big day of riding and sightseeing and the woman who performed our tea service was dressed immaculately. We each chose a pottery cup,and she made matcha tea for us.
