Things to Do Near Chubu Centrair Airport: Tokoname Pottery Footpath, Lucky Cats and Flight of Dreams

The best side trip from Chubu Centrair Airport is Tokoname, the pottery town just across the water. The Meitetsu train from Central Japan International Airport Station takes 3–5 minutes and costs ¥330 to Tokoname Station, and the start of the Pottery Footpath is a 5-minute walk away. Course A is 1.6 km and takes about an hour, past clay-pipe walls, brick chimneys and Tokonyan, a 3.8 m lucky cat. If you'd rather stay on the airport island, Flight of Dreams next to the terminal is free and lets you walk around the very first Boeing 787. The only real problem is luggage: the footpath is a maze of narrow, sloping lanes.

A travel enclave is LuggAgent's name for a town right next to an airport that most travellers pass straight through. Hand your luggage to LuggAgent on arrival or departure day and you can explore it hands-free for half a day — an airport side trip.

Key takeaways

• Central Japan International Airport Station to Tokoname Station takes about 3 minutes by Meitetsu Limited Express or 5 minutes by Semi-Express, for ¥330. Tokoname to Meitetsu Nagoya is about 34 minutes by Limited Express, for ¥750.
• Tokoname's Pottery Footpath has two official courses: Course A (1.6 km, about 1 hour) and Course B (4 km, about 2.5 hours). Both start at the Tokoname City Ceramics Hall.
• Tokoname is the oldest of Japan's Six Ancient Kilns and a major maker of ceramic lucky cats. By around 1950 it produced more of them than anywhere else in Japan.
• Flight of Dreams is free and open every day: Flight Park 10:00–17:00, Seattle Terrace 10:00–18:30. It's about a 5-minute walk from Central Japan International Airport Station.
• The Noborigama Square exhibition workshop and the INAX Live Museum on the footpath both close on Wednesdays, so plan around that.

What is there to do near Chubu Centrair Airport? 3 side trips compared

The three side trips differ in how far you go: Flight of Dreams is on the airport island, the Pottery Footpath is a short train ride away, and the INAX Live Museum is on footpath Course B.

Place	From the airport	Time to allow	Best for
Flight of Dreams	About 5 min on foot from Central Japan International Airport Station	1–2 hours	Families and aviation fans
Tokoname Pottery Footpath (Course A)	Meitetsu 3–5 min to Tokoname Station, then about 5 min on foot	1.5–2.5 hours	Old lanes, pottery and photography
INAX Live Museum	On footpath Course B; buses run from Tokoname Station	1.5–2 hours	Anyone interested in tiles and architectural ceramics

How do you get from Chubu Centrair Airport to Tokoname?

The simplest way from Chubu Centrair Airport to Tokoname is Meitetsu. At Central Japan International Airport Station, take a Limited Express or Semi-Express towards Nagoya. Tokoname is about 3 minutes away by Limited Express, or 5 minutes by Semi-Express (which also stops at Rinku Tokoname), and the fare is ¥330. Note that the all-premium μSKY does not stop at Tokoname, so take a different train (Tokoname tourism association).

Section	How	Time	Adult one-way fare
Central Japan International Airport → Tokoname	Meitetsu Limited Express or Semi-Express	About 3–5 min	¥330
Tokoname → Meitetsu Nagoya	Meitetsu Limited Express	About 34 min	¥750
Central Japan International Airport → Meitetsu Nagoya	Meitetsu μSKY	About 29 min	¥980 + ¥450 μticket
Central Japan International Airport → Kyoto	Meitetsu μSKY + Tokaido Shinkansen Nozomi	About 1.5 hours including the change	About ¥6,600 (unreserved seat)

Fares and times were checked on a route-search site in October 2026. The ¥450 μticket (premium-car ticket) is from Meitetsu.

How do you walk the Tokoname Pottery Footpath? Courses A and B and the highlights

The Tokoname Pottery Footpath (Yakimono Sanpomichi) has two official courses, both starting at the Tokoname City Ceramics Hall, about 5 minutes on foot from Tokoname Station. On a first visit, Course A is the one to walk. Pottery has been made here for about 1,000 years. The lanes are lined with black-boarded workshops, kilns and brick chimneys, and many empty houses are now studios and cafés (Tokoname tourism association).

Course	Length	Time	Main sights
Course A	1.6 km	About 1 hour	Dokan-zaka, Noborigama (Toei kiln), Noborigama Square, brick chimneys, the Takita family merchant house
Course B	4 km	About 2.5 hours	The Course A sights plus the INAX Live Museum and Tokoname Tounomori

The footpath is where people live and work, so don't peer into homes or wander onto private land. The paving gets slippery in the rain.

Dokan-zaka: a slope built from clay pipes and shochu bottles

Dokan-zaka is the footpath's best-known photo spot. One wall of the slope is made of railway clay pipes from the late Meiji era, the other of early-Showa shochu bottles. Clay rings left over from pipe-making are set into the pavement to stop you slipping.

Dokan-zaka on the Tokoname Pottery Footpath. Photo: Bariston / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Noborigama (Toei kiln) and the brick chimneys

The Noborigama (Toei kiln) is Tokoname's last surviving climbing kiln. Built on a slope, it has eight firing chambers and ten chimneys, was used from 1887 to 1974, and is an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property. In the 1950s Tokoname had more than 300 brick chimneys; about 70 survive. The Noborigama Square exhibition workshop next door (10:00–16:00, closed Wednesdays) offers paid painting sessions, but finished pieces are posted weeks later and only within Japan, so short-stay visitors should bear that in mind.

The Noborigama (Toei kiln) on the Tokoname Pottery Footpath. Photo: Gryffindor / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

More time: the INAX Live Museum

The INAX Live Museum on Course B includes a preserved 1921 clay-pipe factory and the Tile Museum. It's open 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30), closed on Wednesdays, and adult admission is ¥1,000 (INAX Live Museum).

Tokoname's lucky cats: Maneki-neko Street and the giant Tokonyan

Tokoname is one of Japan's main producers of ceramic lucky cats (maneki-neko). Production started in the late 1930s, and by around 1950 Tokoname made more than anywhere else in Japan. The big-headed, big-eyed "Tokoname style" comes from here.

The walk from Tokoname Station to the Ceramics Hall runs along Tokoname Maneki-neko Street, where a wall displays 39 lucky cats by local potters, each bringing a different kind of luck, such as love or good health. Halfway along, peering over a wall, is Tokonyan, a giant lucky cat added in 2007. It's 3.8 m high and 6.3 m wide, about 10 minutes' walk from Tokoname Station (Japan Tourism Agency multilingual text).

Tokonyan, Tokoname's giant lucky cat. Photo: Asturio Cantabrio / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

How do you get to Flight of Dreams? The first Boeing 787 on the airport island

Flight of Dreams is on Chubu Centrair's airport island, about a 5-minute walk from Central Japan International Airport Station. Admission is free and it's open every day. The star is the first Boeing 787 test aircraft (ZA001): you can walk around it and look into the cockpit. On the ground floor, Flight Park has a children's play area and exhibits; on the second and third floors, Seattle Terrace is a Seattle-themed food area with a view of the 787 (Chubu Centrair International Airport).

Item	Details
Flight Park	10:00–17:00, free (some attractions are paid)
Seattle Terrace	10:00–18:30; hours vary by restaurant
Closed	Open every day
Paid extras (examples)	Net trampoline "Mokumo Cloud" day pass ¥500 (ages 3 to primary school, one guardian free); flight simulator charged separately

These are the official 2026 details; hours may change during events, so check the official page before you go.

The first Boeing 787 (ZA001) at Flight of Dreams. Photo: Bariston / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

How should you plan arrival and departure days? Tokoname half-day itineraries

Allow 3–5 hours including travel: on arrival day, see Tokoname first and reach Nagoya by evening; on departure day, start from Nagoya and see Tokoname on the way to the airport. Avoid Wednesdays if you want more of the footpath's exhibition spaces open.

Arrival day: land in the morning, see Tokoname, then go to Nagoya

1. After baggage claim, deal with your luggage first (hand it to a delivery service for your Nagoya hotel, or store it at the airport).
2. Take Meitetsu to Tokoname Station (3–5 minutes), walk along Maneki-neko Street to the Ceramics Hall, then walk Course A (about an hour).
3. Head back to Tokoname Station and take a Meitetsu Limited Express to Meitetsu Nagoya, about 34 minutes.

Departure day: leave Nagoya, see Tokoname, then fly

1. Check out of your Nagoya hotel in the morning and hand your bags to the front desk or a delivery service to go straight to Chubu Centrair.
2. Ride a Meitetsu Limited Express hands-free to Tokoname Station (about 34 minutes). Walk the footpath, have lunch, and shop for a Tokoname teapot or a lucky cat.
3. Take Meitetsu back to the airport (3–5 minutes) and, if there's time, see the 787 at Flight of Dreams.
4. Arrive at the airport by the time your airline recommends. From November 1, 2026, Japan refunds consumption tax at departure, and you must take the goods to a customs terminal at the airport before bag drop (Japan Tourism Agency), so allow extra time.

What to do with luggage in Tokoname: 3 options compared

Exploring Tokoname with big luggage is the hardest part. Dokan-zaka is a steep, narrow slope, most of the footpath is stone-paved lanes, and the free trial shuttle bus, the Tokoname Shuttle, only takes carry-on cases up to 115 cm in combined dimensions (Tokoname tourism association). There are three common options, and the right one depends on whether you're going back to the airport or on to Nagoya or Kyoto afterwards.

Option	How your bags travel	Best for	Watch out for
Store them at a locker or storage counter at Chubu Centrair	Left at the terminal and collected when you return	Transit passengers, or anyone flying out after the trip	Hours and fees vary by operator; on arrival day you'd have to go back to the airport before heading to Nagoya
Carry them or find a station locker	Wheel them with you, or look for a locker at Tokoname Station	Travellers with small bags only	Large lockers aren't always free, and slopes and stone lanes are hard going
Send them straight to your hotel or the airport	Handed over at the airport or hotel, delivered to your next stop	Arrival day ending in Nagoya or Kyoto, or departure day starting from Nagoya	Book in advance and note the handover and delivery times

LuggAgent takes your bags straight to your next stop. On arrival day, between 09:00 and 18:00, hand them to an agent holding a LuggAgent sign in the Chubu Centrair arrivals hall and head to Tokoname hands-free. They'll reach the front desk of your Nagoya hotel by 21:00 the same day (or by 18:00 with priority delivery). On departure day, hand them over at your hotel and they'll be delivered to Chubu Centrair (we recommend a delivery time at least 2 hours before your flight departs), with photos taken at both pickup and delivery. Most services need to be booked at least 24–72 hours in advance; the exact cutoff is shown on the booking page. If you're picked up at a guesthouse or Airbnb, meet the driver in person at the pickup time you chose (09:00–11:00) with your bags; if your bags are delivered to one (you don't need to be there), send the full address and entry details (door code, key box or building access) by 13:00 local time on the service day. Allow at least three hours between pickup and delivery; long routes such as Kyoto take longer (shown when you book). The service area covers Nagoya and the Chubu Centrair airport area; see Nagoya luggage delivery.

If you want to visit Tokoname or Flight of Dreams on arrival day and reach Nagoya in the evening, hand your bags over in the arrivals hall and they'll go ahead to your Nagoya hotel:

If you want to see Tokoname before your flight home, hand your bags over when you check out of your Nagoya hotel and they'll go straight to Chubu Centrair:

If you're going straight on to Kyoto after Tokoname, your bags can go from the airport directly to your Kyoto hotel, so you don't have to manage a big suitcase on the Meitetsu and the Shinkansen:

Book luggage delivery

FAQ

What is a travel enclave?

A travel enclave is LuggAgent's name for a town right next to an airport that most travellers pass straight through. Hand your luggage to LuggAgent on arrival or departure day and you can explore it hands-free for half a day — an airport side trip. Tokoname, just across the water from Chubu Centrair Airport, is a textbook example.

How long does it take from Chubu Centrair Airport to Tokoname?

A Meitetsu Limited Express from Central Japan International Airport Station to Tokoname takes about 3 minutes (5 minutes by Semi-Express) and costs ¥330. The Ceramics Hall, where the Pottery Footpath starts, is about a 5-minute walk from the station. The μSKY doesn't stop at Tokoname, so take another train.

Do you need a ticket for Flight of Dreams?

No. Flight of Dreams is free and open every day; Flight Park is open until 17:00 and Seattle Terrace until 18:30. Only some attractions are paid, such as the ¥500 day pass for the children's net trampoline, with the flight simulator charged separately.

What do I do with my luggage if I see Tokoname and then go on to Kyoto?

Chubu Centrair to Kyoto is about 1.5 hours by Meitetsu μSKY and Shinkansen Nozomi. You can hand your bags to a delivery service in the arrivals hall and have them sent straight to your Kyoto hotel. If you carry them, bags over 160 cm in combined dimensions need an oversized-baggage seat reservation on the Shinkansen.

Cover photo: Asturio Cantabrio / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0