Nov 9 2026
Where to Buy Ceramics in Kyoto: Areas, Markets & Souvenir Ideas
Kyoto offers more ways to buy ceramics than most visitors expect: a historic street lined with kilns and shops, a sprawling monthly flea market, and machiya-style galleries that double as a place to sit down for tea. This guide covers where to go by area, which market is worth a visit, a specific shop that makes the whole experience easier, and which items make the best souvenirs.
A Quick Note on Kyo-yaki and Kiyomizu-yaki
Ceramics made in Kyoto are generally referred to as kyo-yaki, or kyo-yaki/kiyomizu-yaki together. Historically, “kyo-yaki” referred to pottery made across the Higashiyama foothills, while “kiyomizu-yaki” specifically meant pottery made along the approach to Kiyomizu-dera Temple; today, the two terms are commonly used together as a general label for ceramics made in Kyoto. It isn’t tied to one specific technique or style of glazing, so the look of a given piece can vary enormously depending on the maker.else.
Where to Go: Gojozaka and Chawanzaka
Gojozaka, the sloped street leading up toward Kiyomizu-dera, and Chawanzaka, which continues from it, are generally considered the birthplace of kiyomizu-yaki. Potters have lived and worked along these streets since the Edo period, and shops selling ceramics still line both slopes today, alongside the Kyoto Ceramic Center, a small exhibition space dedicated to kyo-yaki and kiyomizu-yaki.
Worth knowing, though: starting in the 1960s, many working kilns relocated away from this area, largely due to pollution regulations and limited space, moving to places like the Kiyomizu-yaki Danchi, a dedicated pottery production complex in Kyoto’s Yamashina ward. So while Gojozaka and Chawanzaka remain the historical heart of the craft, you’re less likely to see an actual working kiln along the slope today than you might expect; what remains is primarily retail shops and galleries. Today, the area is home to many pottery shops and galleries, making it a great place to explore Kyoto ceramics while visiting nearby Kiyomizu-dera Temple, and a pottery festival is sometimes held here in summer.one.
＞＞Explore Gojozaka & Chawanzaka
Where to Browse: The Toji Flea Market
If you enjoy hunting for a good find, the Kobo-ichi flea market, held on the grounds of Toji Temple on the 21st of every month, is worth the trip. The market is tied to the monthly memorial day of the priest Kukai (Kobo Daishi) and is generally said to date back to around the Kamakura period, drawing somewhere between 1,000 and 1,300 stalls on a typical day.
Part of the appeal is just how much variety is packed into one market: alongside antiques and ceramics, you’ll find kimono, secondhand clothing, plants, and street food, so a trip here works just as well as a broader half-day outing as it does a dedicated pottery hunt. Many of the dealers are said to be professional antique sellers with their own regular shops elsewhere, which adds
to the chances of turning up something worth taking home. The market is especially lively around the New Year (the first and last sessions of the year).
＞＞Plan Your Visit to Toji Temple
Where to Shop With Ease: Ninshu
If walking between multiple shops along a slope, or timing a visit around a monthly market, sounds like more than you want to manage, Ninshu Pottery Gallery & Matcha, in Kyoto’s Nakagyo ward, is worth considering as a single, easier stop.
Ninshu is an official purveyor to Ninna-ji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Kyoto, and is authorized to use the temple’s chrysanthemum crest (the same pattern used by Japan’s Imperial family) on its work. What stands out most for visitors, though, is that its handmade, traditional ceramics are explicitly made to be microwave- and dishwasher-safe. It’s a common problem with bringing ceramics home from Japan: a beautiful piece that turns out to be impractical for everyday use once you’re back home, which Ninshu’s pieces are specifically designed to avoid.
extra time to travel between them.
The shop itself occupies a machiya (traditional Kyoto townhouse) more than a century old, with a small courtyard garden in back where visitors can try “utsuwa-sansui,” Ninshu’s own take on a dry rock garden, arranging pieces of pottery and raking patterns into the gravel themselves. Matcha from the well-known Kyoto tea shop Ippodo, and wagashi from Senbon Tamajuken (also an official purveyor to Ninna-ji), are served looking out over the garden.
Despite being handmade, one-of-a-kind pieces, prices stay fairly accessible — small dishes start in the ¥1,000 range, with most matcha bowls and sake cups in the low thousands of yen. The shop is roughly a 10-minute walk from either Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae or Jingu-Marutamachi Station, making it an easy stop to fit into a day of sightseeing.
Note that Ninshu is located in Nakagyo ward, not along Gojozaka or Chawanzaka, so if you’re hoping to visit both in one day, it’s worth allowing extra time to travel between them.
What to Buy: Good Souvenir Ideas
A few categories of ceramics tend to make particularly good souvenirs from Kyoto:
•
Matcha bowls (chawan): Used for whisking matcha, these work equally well as a display piece or as a genuine tool for making tea at home.
•
Sake cups (ochoko): Small cups for drinking sake, available in a wide range of designs and colors, generally at an accessible price point that makes them easy to pick up without much deliberation.
•
Small plates (mamezara): A few centimeters across, these work as a soy sauce or condiment dish, a small accessory tray, or simply a decorative object — and take up very little space in a suitcase.
•
Incense holders and dishes: A natural pairing if you’re also buying incense, and a thoughtful gift when given together.
Whatever you choose, remember it’s still breakable: carrying it home in your carry-on luggage, or asking a shop about shipping if they offer it, is generally the safer option over checked baggage.