Arita Ceramics Fair - The Real Deal

True, we had a satisfying shopping session the day before at China on the Park, but as we realized later, nothing compared to the real Arita Ceramics Fair (有田陶器市), held for the entire week starting on April 29 until May 5 this year. It’s the biggest of its kind in Japan, if not the world, with over a million visitors each year. We thought we were early enough to arrive in the town center slightly after 9 before everyone else, but most of the closer parking spaces were gone by the time we got there! Just don't under-estimate the will of eager shoppers to fetch an early bargain!

China on the Park

One of the main reasons we wanted to travel to Kyushu at this time of the year was to attend the Arita Ceramics Fair, held once a year during the Japanese Golden Week long holiday, at Arita, a town in Saga Prefecture most famous for being the birthplace of modern Japanese porcelain industry, with history dated all the way back to centuries ago. In fact, this year they happened to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of Arita Ceramics  – what a great opportunity to visit the town and the fair on this special occasion.

A Sunday of Tennis, and mainly Food

It must have been over 20 years since I last watched a professional tennis match in Hong Kong, and even further back if you count only the competitive ones. So I think I should give my support to the inaugural/reborn of Hong Kong Tennis Open by getting tickets to catch this year's final.

Well this women's tennis tournament didn't get off to a good start (and to my great dissappointment) with two of the original top draws Genie Bouchard and Peng Shuai pulled out of the tournament at the last minute citing fatique and injuries, but at least the week was blessed by great weather except one afternoon, which could have been much worse given the unpredictability of weather at this time of year. And the final day, which was on a Sunday, was as gorgeous as you could ever imagine with beautiful, sunny sky and a bit of a breeze. Still hot, but okay comfortable from a spectator point of view.