Arita Porcelain Park, Saga | Japan is Nippon

On a hill in the pottery town of Arita, a replica of Dresden's Zwinger Palace and a Baroque garden, with Arita-ware painting and wheel-throwing classes.

The long baroque facade of the Zwinger Palace replica reflected in a moat in Arita — Photo: Butch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fountain in the formal baroque garden of Arita Porcelain Park with hills behind — Photo: STA3816, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Why is there a German palace in Arita?

Arita is a pottery town known as the place where Japanese porcelain making began. In the 17th century, Arita porcelain was shipped to Europe by the Dutch East India Company, where kings and nobles collected it as a treasure.

One of the greatest of those collectors was King August of Saxony in Germany. The Zwinger Palace he built in Dresden housed his collection of Asian ceramics. In 1970, people in Arita learned that many pieces of old Arita porcelain survived in Dresden's museums, and this started an exchange between the two places. In 1979 the town of Arita and the city of Dresden became sister cities.

Arita Porcelain Park opened in April 1993 as a symbol of that friendship. As the name says, it is a park devoted to porcelain.

Palace, garden and climbing kiln

The park's centrepiece is a reproduction of the Zwinger Palace, a piece of early 18th-century German Baroque architecture. Walk through the central entrance and a Baroque garden planted with flowers opens out in front of you.

On the hillside at the back stands a noborigama, a traditional climbing kiln with a series of chambers built up a slope. It is a reconstruction based on the old Tengudani kiln from the time of Ri Sampei, the "father of pottery" who is said to have been the first to fire porcelain in Arita.

The park also has Arita-gura, a brewery run by Munemasa Shuzo, where you can see the equipment used to make shochu (a distilled spirit) and sake. The souvenir shops sell Arita ware and other specialities from Kyushu.

Try making Arita ware yourself

The Arita ware workshop offers three hands-on experiences: etsuke (painting a design onto unglazed, once-fired pieces), tebineri (shaping clay by hand) and the potter's wheel. For painting, you can choose from items such as teacups and plates, and the basic style is sometsuke, painted in a single shade of indigo blue.

Staff help you on the potter's wheel, so it is easy to give it a go even if you have never tried before. Your piece is fired and delivered to you later. Check the official website for how to book, prices and which areas they deliver to.

Getting there and current status

It is about 10 minutes by car from JR Arita Station, or about 5 minutes by car from the Hasami-Arita Interchange. According to Saga Prefecture's tourism website, admission and parking are free.

As of September 2026, the exhibition hall inside the Zwinger Palace is closed, with no reopening date in sight. You are free to walk around the outside of the palace and the Baroque garden, but since January 2026, fences restricting access have been put up in part of the garden side of the palace.

Tips

You cannot go inside the palace, so go expecting to enjoy the exterior and the gardens.
According to the official website, anything beyond ordinary snapshots (commercial shoots, wedding photos, costume photography and so on) is charged for, and equipment brought in without permission will be turned away.
Private cars are not allowed inside the park. Leave your car in the car park and explore on foot.
It is also a well-known cherry blossom spot in spring; the official website announced that the blossoms reached their best at the end of March 2026.