Go for Kogei 2024

Go deeper and discover more with an interpreter-guided tour of artisanal and artistic exhibits in Toyama City and Kanazawa.

Overview
Go for Kogei serves as a spotlight to showcase artisanal crafts, or kogei, in the Hokuriku region. Unlike exhibitions held at museums, which generally aim to create a neutral, isolated environment for showing works, Go for Kogei instead deliberately engages directly with traditional neighborhoods as a way to provide fresh perspectives: exhibits are presented with their environments serving as a crucial form of supporting context. This event serves as a gathering of artisans, craftspeople, designers, and artists, providing an opportunity for locals and travelers to encounter the various materials, techniques, goals, and forms of expression involved in crafts and art, both traditional and contemporary. This year’s Go for Kogei is being held in two main areas: the Iwase area (Toyama City, Toyama) and the Higashiyama area (Kanazawa, Ishikawa), with works by a total of 37 professionals on display. Visitors can discover new contemporary craft items, made with a broad variety of innovative techniques, at exhibitions built on this year’s theme of “Craft and Art: Philosophies for Life.”

Iwase Area (Toyama City, Toyama)
Iwase, a fifteen-minute drive from Toyama Station, was once a flourishing port of call for the Kitamaebune trading ships that traveled along Japan’s coast, and the area still boasts an atmosphere full of beautiful old-fashioned architecture. In recent years, Masuda Sake Brewery has led efforts to revitalize the neighborhood through two elements of the local culture — food and traditional crafts — in a way that draws attention to Iwase while maintaining its distinct feel. The Iwase Area exhibition of Go for Kogei features engaging site-specific installations by artists and craft artisans, building on past initiatives and recontextualizing the historic local scenery and architecture. These multi-sensory experiences blend local food culture, traditional crafts, and contemporary art to achieve a unique expressiveness deeply rooted in the area.

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.

Tours
Go for Kogei tours are available in two main styles, to fit different travel plans.

Go for Kogei Day Tours
Travelers can be accompanied by an interpreter-guide as a way to better enjoy and appreciate Go for Kogei. These day tours last two hours, and are recommended for travelers interested in a deeper understanding of these local crafts and neighborhoods. Tours are adjustable to accommodate date and location preferences.

Customizable Comprehensive Tours
For an even more in-depth exploration of Go for Kogei and the cities the event takes place in, we offer customizable full-day tours. These tours are guided entirely in English, and are designed with Go for Kogei as a highlight. Travelers are also invited to choose from a variety of other destinations related to art and culture to visit, in and around the areas where the event is being held. Itineraries can be adjusted to take travelers’ interests and preferences into account, with plenty of flexibility.

Example Two-Day Itinerary:

Day One
10:00 — Meet guide at Toyama Station
10:00 to 11:00 — Luggage drop-off & travel time
11:00 to 13:00 — Lunch
13:30 to 15:00 — Go for Kogei in Iwase area
15:00 to 16:30 — Sightseeing in Toyama*¹
16:30 — End guided day

*¹ Select one: Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design, Kansui Park, Toyama Glass Art Museum, Shusui Museum of Art, or Toyama City Local History Museum (Toyama Castle)

*² Select two: Kanazawa Castle, Kenrokuen Garden, Omicho Market, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, D.T. Suzuki Museum, National Crafts Museum, Nagamachi Samurai District, hands-on gold leaf workshop, hands-on Kaga Yuzen silk dyeing workshop, or hands-on incense ceremony experience