Art Walk Tour

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Take Part in Art: Contemporary Craft Art Installations in Traditional Townscape

[Past Work] 《Tea Room of Wooden Bucket》 2024, cedar. Collection of the artist

[Past Work] Installation view from《Takuro Kuwata + KU: Kamaage Udon》Gallery & Restaurant Butaiura, 2025. Photo: Kumi Nishitani

In Hokuriku, a region where craftsmanship has been passed down through generations, the art festival GO FOR KOGEI comes to life. The event takes place in the historic districts of Iwase in Toyama and Higashiyama in Kanazawa. Exhibitions are thoughtfully integrated into local settings—old warehouses, sake breweries, and traditional machiya townhouses—blending seamlessly with the unique architectural and cultural character of each town. Visitors can enjoy this walking-style art event while exploring the charming streets. Unveil Japan offers guided tours in Higashiyama, led by expert guides with a deep appreciation for art. Rather than simply observing the works, you’ll gain insight into the stories, techniques, and intentions behind each piece. Through the artist’s perspective, the experience invites quiet moments of reflection and personal discovery. These guided interpretations not only deepen your understanding of the artwork, but may also open the door to new ways of seeing your own life and values.

Feel free to sign up for the tour by email (goforkogei@expressions.co.jp), or drop by Unveil—our hands-on experience studio just steps from the Higashi Chaya District.

Higashiyama Area (Kanazawa, Ishikawa)

Perhaps the best known part of the Higashiyama area of Kanazawa is the Higashi Chaya district, the city’s largest geisha district. Many of the old chaya “teahouses” where geisha would perform have since been converted to cafés and galleries — an echo, perhaps, of the countless craft artisans’ workshops that once filled the area. The Higashiyama Area exhibition for Go for Kogei is built around five main projects that aim to explore the relationship between objects and their contexts. Visitors are encouraged to consider various facets of the concept of value itself, as embodied through crafts: as physical objects for practical use or decoration, of course, but also as tangible extensions and expressions of a place’s history, culture, environment, and other forms of local context.

Highlights

Kuwata Takuro

Kuwata is a ceramic artist known for pushing the boundaries of traditional pottery to explore new forms of expression. His unique visual language combines pop colors and a colorful palette with excessive application of traditional ceramic techniques such as kairagi (a textured surface that resembles the granular texture of shark skin caused by glaze shrinkage), ishihaze (lit. “stone bursts,” referring to the irregularities or cracks on a ceramic surface caused by the expansion of small stones in the clay during firing), and tenteki (application of glaze in a dotted pattern). Recently, he returned to the theme of “food,” which spans from vessels for everyday use to extraordinary sculptural pieces. Oscillating between these extremes, he brings new perspectives and creativity to each realm.

Nakagawa Shuji

Nakagawa creates handmade wood products using the traditional bucket-making technique, which dates back to the 14th century. Various-sized wooden buckets were deeply rooted in Japanese culture, from bathtubs for newborns to barrel coffins. However, after the period of high economic growth from the mid-1950s to the 1970s, they were largely replaced by inexpensive, plastic, or mass-produced products. Against this backdrop, Nakagawa preserves the traditional woodworking technique and explores new possibilities for wooden buckets by collaborating with designers and artists in Japan and abroad. His first project, the Wooden Barrel Tearoom, capitalizes on the similarity between the arched structure of wooden buckets and architecture. This portable tearoom is crafted using the traditional hoop technique, enabling quick assembly and disassembly in any setting.

Higashiyama Tous

For a more in-depth way to discover Go for Kogei, we offer two-hour tours of the Higashiyama area specifically designed for visitors from overseas, guided in English. The tour starts at Unveil, a hands-on experience studio located just a one-minute walk from the Go for Kogei information center at Hatchi. During the tour, an experienced guide leads guests through the art installations in Higashiyama, with detailed explanations of the art on display. Learn about the background of each work, as well as the neighborhood’s rich local history and culture, for an even deeper appreciation of this unique event.

Sample Itinerary

10:00
Meet up at Unveil and see a couple of GO FOR KOGEI 2025 installations with our English guide

11:00
Stroll through the historic Higashi Chaya District

12:00
See the rest of the interesting installations in places normally inaccessible to public, before ending the tour!

Dates Tours Are Available

Saturday, September 13 to Saturday, October 19; Sunday, 2025

Closed Days

Every Wednesday

Length of Tour

Higashiyama, Kanazawa: 2 hours

If you are interested in an Iwase Area tour, please feel free to contact us. We would be happy to offer customizable tour options tailored to your interests.

Group Size

1 to 6 travelers

Price

Higashiyama, Kanazawa: 20,000 yen per tour session (up to six guests)

Included in Price

Go for Kogei tickets and English-speaking guide

Not Included in Price

Lunch costs, and transportation between locations are to be paid for on-site (all costs for the guide are also to be paid for on-site)

Cancellation Policy

• 30% cancellation fee for cancellations 10 days before the tour
• 50% cancellation fee for cancellations 2–9 days before the tour
• 100% cancellation fee for cancellations on the day before or the day of the tour

Contact Information

Tours are available by reservation only. If you would like to arrange a tour, please contact us at goforkogei@expressions.co.jp. Please include general information such as preferred date(s), as well as any relevant information about preferred destinations or other interests. You’re also welcome to sign up for the tour at Unveil, our hands-on experience studio just a short walk from the Higashi Chaya District.