Tokoname

Tokoname is located on the western coast of the Chita Peninsula, facing Ise Bay. The city has been famous for its pottery of Tokoname-Yaki (常滑焼), which is one of the oldest ceramic kiln industries among six cities in Japan (六古窯, rokkoyō).

After the establishment of Chubu Centrair International Airport in 2005, the city's transportation has been improved to serve the airport and other cities well. It has some large shopping malls and tourist sites. You can have some fun and kill some time before going to the Chubu airport.

Tourist information site:

The local tourist association provides a multilingual guide site. If you wonder, the cat at the top-left corner is maneki-neko (招き猫), a figurine that serves as a mascot for attracting customers in stores throughout Japan. You will see this cute little thing in almost every store in Japan. Most maneki-neko in Japan are made in Tokoname, so it has become the city's mascot. In fact, you can see some maneki-neko that are really big.

Tokoname City government website

As the city hosts Chubu Centrair International Airport, one of the most important airports in Japan, it is very easy to access the city by any means.

By plane:

Everyone arriving at 1 Chubu Centrair International Airport (中部国際空港 セントレア). (NGO IATA) will arrive Tokoname if they aren't going to transfer or using ferries. The fastest option to/from the airport is the airport line of Meitetsu - You can stop at either Rinku Tokoname (りんくう常滑) or Tokoname (常滑) station.

By train:

As mentioned above, stop at either 2 Rinku Tokoname Station (りんくう常滑). or 3 Tokoname Station (常滑駅). of the Meitetsu airport line. It's just that Rinku Tokoname is closer to the city's large shopping malls while Tokoname station is closer to the downtown. If you are from Nagoya by Shinkansen, ride the line from Meitetsu Nagoya Station (名鉄名古屋). You cost JPY 980 and around 30~50 minutes, depending on the train you ride.

By car:

If you are from the airport side because you rent a car from the airport (except for Budget, which will explain below), the Rinku Interchange (りんくうインターチェンジ) is the obvious choice for arriving city. If you are from the Nagoya end, take Chitahanto Road (知多半島道路, E87), go Chitaodan Road (知多横断道路, E87) through the Handa-chuo junction (半田中央ジャンクション), and leave at Rinku Interchange. While Tokoname Interchange (常滑インターチェンジ) sounds like the place you want to leave, it is a little further from downtown than Rinku Interchange.

If you are using national routes, take the National Route 155/247 from the north/south end. For those from the east end, take Aichi Prefectural Road Route 265.