I’m lucky to live in a city with a fair number of specialty Japanese ceramic stores. Here are a few of my favorite shops in Manhattan - if you’re planning a visit to NYC and love handmade Japanese pottery, check them out!
Handmade, artistic, one-of-a-kind ceramics from Japan
Sara Japanese Pottery (Upper East Side)
One of New York City’s cornerstone spots for beautiful Japanese pottery with a history dating to1989, Sara puts on focused exhibitions featuring ceramic artists from Japan. Their collection usually lean toward functional ceramics (sake cups, bowls, plates, teapots, etc.), but they also have sculptural, decorative ceramics, as well as related items like lacquerware, glassware and so on.
I tend to stop by Sara, a small, beautifully curated artisan ceramic shop on Lexington Avenue, when I happen to be in Upper East Side to visit the Met, but it’s absolutely worth making this little shop a destination. Everything I’ve seen at Sara, which means “dish” or “plate” in Japanese, has been made with amazing craftsmanship and aesthetics.
950 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10021
Closed on Sundays
Tea Dealers (TriBeCa)
Though this combination tea shop and ceramics store has been in business since 2015, Tea Dealers is a recent find for me, and what a find it’s been! As the name suggests, Tea Dealers specialize in high-grade teas from small farms in China, Japan, India etc., but their spacious, light-filled TriBeCa store also carries a sizable but well-curated selection of ceramics and other teaware from East Asia, including Japan.
A tiny Bizen-style ceramic tea pot, on display at Tea Dealers in NYC
What I love about Tea Dealers: the owners are ready to share their passion and stories about each ceramic artist, whether it’s something unique about the making process, the artist’s approach to the craft, or the traditions that culminated in a particular piece. To me, this makes a huge difference in how I see and appreciate the pieces on display. So, if you visit Tea Dealers, I highly recommend chatting with the owners!
Tea Dealers’ selection lean toward functional, but that’s not to say the tea cups, teapots, sake cups, etc. they carry aren’t artistic or sculptural - they absolutely are!
90 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10013
Closed on Sundays
Makari (East Village)
Sadly, this East Village gem of a store that carried handmade, artisan Japanese ceramics - a mix of antique finds and contemporary artist pieces - closed its doors in 2026. All through my time in NYC, Makari wasn’t just a fun store to pop in and browse - with an understated, calm, truly Japanese atmosphere, it felt comfortable and stabilizing in this always-changing city. I miss them, and hope the owner is doing well back in Japan.
Japanese ceramics with modern, clean aesthetics
Kinto (SoHo)
An outpost of a Japanese ceramic tableware company from Shiga, Kinto is a haven for lovers of clean lines, simplicity and functional beauty. Their SoHo store carries a mix of Japanese ceramics, glassware and metal tableware in a clean, Scandinavian-feeling space full of contemporary flower arrangements.
A huge bonus: their everyday tableware is actually priced at everyday prices. A glass coffee cup might be $15; a large 30-oz ceramic bowl might be under $20. I found myself doing double-takes several times, as the pieces could easily fetch double or triple the prices. There’s something to be said about efficient design and precise, industrial production that makes beautiful tableware accessible to more people - and Kinto nails that.
Cups and plates on display at Kinto in NYC
Kinto is a great stop if you’re looking for modern, well-made Japanese tableware designed to let whatever you put in it shine, rather than be the center of attention.
211 Elizabeth Street
New York, NY, 10012
Open every day, yay!
Nalata Nalata (East Village)
Nalata Nalata, a design-forward lifestyle store tucked away in a little courtyard-like space between busy avenues, feels more like a secret gallery than a shop. And that’s not a surprise - this tightly curated store puts on frequent exhibitions of furniture, home decor, tableware, textiles, etc., made by mostly (but not only) Japanese artisans.
Clean, refined, delicate, sophisticated - those are the few words that come to my mind when I visit Nalata Nalata and see the pieces on display in their almost austere, but still warm and serene gallery space. Even pieces with an element of rustic charm are still sophisticated, supported by the mind-boggling craftsmanship. Their open hours are a bit funky, but it’s worth a stop, a respite from the noise and pace of the giant megalopolis around it.
2 Extra Place
New York, NY 10003
Closed Monday, Tuesday & Thursday
Limited PM hours
Cute & cozy contemporary tableware
Mogutable (East Village)
The birthplace of the “kawaii” aesthetic, Japan has a side that’s whimsical, playful and unabashedly cute. (As you know.) It’s surprisingly hard to find Japanese ceramics shops in NYC that lean into this side of Japanese culture and still commit to quality, but Mogutable in East Village is a solid one. A teeny tiny store on a classic NYC side street, Mogutable carries a surprisingly wide range of cute ceramic pieces for everyday use. Think chopstick rests shaped like mushrooms, fish or Kewpie mayo bottle; or little sauce dishes sporting adorable cats in various poses (sleeping, stretching, poufed up).
Mogutable storefront (left) and tiny Korean ceramic dishes on display (right)
Along with those delightfully whimsical pieces, Mogutable also carries solid, functional pieces, ranging from simple Hasami tableware to stainless steel tumblers, glass coffee pots and more. It’s a fun store to squeeze through and browse not just Japanese pottery, but also incense, stationary, art posters, etc. - it’s amazing how much they manage to cram into the tiny shop.
428 E 9th Street
New York, NY 10009
Open every day, yay!
Quick, honorable mentions
Korin (TriBeCa) seems to mainly target Japanese restaurants and businesses, but are open to non-business visitors as well. They carry (in addition to very sharp-looking Japanese knives) some artisan Japanese tableware.
MUJI (multiple locations) is a solid place to find truly everyday tableware, especially if you’re looking for versatile tableware sets that go with everything. Recently, MUJI has expanded their Japanese ceramic selection a bit to include more designed bowls, plates and cups, which has been fun to watch.
I’m planning to create a similar list for Brooklyn, so stay tuned!
