Preparing for CROC – Episode 1: The First Shooting

Hi, it’s Mirjam from studio wani,

It’s April, and in Hasami the cherry blossoms are slowly turning into fresh green leaves. At the same time, we are getting ready to open applications for our first regular residency this autumn.

While working on the website, I also wanted to start sharing some of the story behind CROC — how and why we began this residency program.

February 2026

We had already launched our website and confirmed two participants for our trial residency in March. Still, we were very nervous.

The trial was not only about testing the program, but also about creating images to introduce CROC.

So we asked our friend Natsumi Fukuda to support us.

She suggested not to photograph during the residency itself — to avoid disrupting the experience for our guests. Instead, we organized photo shoots in advance.

First Shooting – Hasami

• Urabe Kiji (greenware factory)

• Takayama Factory

• Restaurant Midouya

Nakaoyama (historical pottery village)

At the family-run greenware factory “Urabe Kiji,” our friends Megumi and Saiko, together with their mother Masami, showed us how plates are made using pressure casting.

At “Takayama,” one of Hasami’s most modern factories, we explored pad printing, saw a glazing robot (on its break), and stood in front of a kiln as large as a two-car garage.

At 12 o’clock, it was finally time for lunch. At MIDOUYA, a buffet-style restaurant, we were determined to go back for seconds…but plates in Hasami are surprisingly large.

We hadn’t planned the rest of the afternoon. After lunch, we felt like we needed some exercise, so we headed to Nakaoyama — a mountain district of Hasami, where the local pottery industry first developed over 400 years ago.

Although it was still February, we hadn’t expected it to be so cold in the mountains.

After the shoot, everyone was ready for a hot coffee back at the studio.

This day was not only a lot of fun — the support of our friends and collaborators also gave us confidence for the upcoming trial residency.

Thank you, everyone.