Help Center

Return request must be made via email within 7 days of the delivery or in-store pick-up date of your order. We will refund the full price, less shipping cost & restocking fee ($5 for every item priced up to $15, $10 for every item priced above $15 up to $100, $20 for every item priced above $100 up to $250, $30 for every item priced above $250), for the return of every unused item, if the return is safely completed (i.e. received by us) within the timely manner. Refund will be issued to the original form of payment. All items returned must be unused and in its original condition with the original packaging. 

• Shipping and handling costs, gift box, and other charges are non-refundable.
• For any free shipping items, we also subtract our shipping cost from the refund total. 
• Please note that you will be responsible for any return shipping fees. Refunds will be given in the original form of payment.

 If the item is returned with damage, we are unable to give you refund. For any damage occurred during return shipping, customer is responsible for settling with the shipping carrier by filing a claim with them.

We are unable to accept return for the following products: food items, books, and gift cards

We are unable to accept gift returns.

We are unable to accept any return for international orders.

To return an item, please contact us using the contact form with your order details and the reason for the return. We will get back to you with the instructions within the 48 hours of the receipt of the email. Please note we are unable to take any return request by phone. Return package can be shipped by your preferred shipping carrier which can provide a tracking number. You are responsible for creating a return shipping label(s) and covering the return shipment cost. Your return package must ship out to the following address within 48 hours after our instruction email is sent.

TOIRO  | 1257 N La Brea Ave., West Hollywood, CA 90038  |  Ph. 323.380.5052

You must notify us immediately once the return package is shipped out with the tracking information (tracking # and the name of the shipping carrier.) We highly recommend that you use extra packing materials and/or even a new outer box to ensure the secure packing of the return item.

Each item is carefully inspected by us and we make sure the packaging is secure before shipping. If you receive a damaged item, please report the damage to us as well as the shipping carrier immediately in order to start the claim filing process. The damaged item must be kept in the original packaging and packing materials and the damage report must be made to us within 2 days of the delivery date. We are unable to take any responsibility for the damaged product if the damage report is made thereafter. Please also note we are unable to take any damage report for exchange/ refund if the item is already used. (Please see Section 3.)

Please also scroll down to see "Section 9. About Iga-yaki Pottery"

Each item is carefully inspected by us and we make sure the packaging is secure before shipping. However, if you receive a damaged item, please report the damage to us by email ( send to info@toirokitchen.com ) immediately in order for us to start the claim filing process with a shipping carrier in a timely manner. Please note we are unable to take any damage report by phone. Please also keep all the package and damaged item(s) in the original forms until further notice, as the shipping carrier might request to submit them for further inspection. If either the item or packing materials are thrown away without a shipping carrier’s permission and claim is denied subsequently, we are unable to take any responsibility for the damaged product. The damage report must be made to us within 7 days of the delivery date. We will ask for you to submit the photos and descriptions of the damaged item and packaging, plus the verification of the claim with the shipping insurance company. Upon the completion of the process, we will send a replacement or issue full refund if the item is already out of stock. We are unable to take any responsibility for the damaged product if the damage report is made thereafter. Please also note we are unable to take any damage report for exchange/ refund if the item is already used.

We are unable to do exchanges, but we can take a return for refund (please read the return policy above), and please place a new order for the replacement item.

Please also scroll down to see "Section 9. About Iga-yaki Pottery"

Shipout Timing

If items are in-stock, your order will normally ship within 3 business days (please note we are closed Mondays, so Mondays' are not counted as a business day) from the date of your order (within 5 business days for international destinations). However, please note that during the busy time, it could take up to 14 days to fulfill your order. You can find the link to the update information by clicking the top bar of the website (can be accessed from any page). A street address is required for all deliveries. In the event we have extremely high volume of orders at a time, please note there might be a delay in the shipout timing. If the item is out-of-stock, we will notify you the estimated shipping date via e-mail. 

Undeliverable Shipment/ Resend or Redirect/ Change of Address Request

If the address results in undeliverable (including "recipient's unavailable") and the order needs to be resend or redirected, the charge of reshipment will be applied (this will apply to free shipping items, too). If a reshipment request and payment for the reshipment charge is not made within 30 days of a package's return to us, we are unable to reship your order or refund your payment.

Delivery Timing/ Tracking Order

Your order is shipped via FedEx Ground or USPS Priority Mail/ First Class/ Media Mail depending on the items. You will be informed of the tracking #, so you can track your package directly with the respective carrier. You can find the average delivery duration directly with the respective shipping company. Please note that we are unable to guarantee any delivery timing, while we try our best to ship your order as soon as we can. 

Lost/ Misplaced/ Stolen Package or Delay

We are not responsible for any lost/ misplaced/ stolen package or delay after the order ships out. Once a package ships out and tracking # is given to a customer, it's the customer's responsibility to track the package. For any issues regarding the shipping, or any instructions regarding the shipment after the order is fulfilled and shipped out, please contact directly with the respective shipping companies in a timely manner. For lost package, if a shipping company is unable to locate your package and a claim needs to be filed, please notify us within 14 days (28 days for international shipment) of the shipping date. We will file a claim for your lost package. We can send you a replacement with no additional charge only if the claim is accepted and refund is made in full to us from the respective carrier.

Holiday Shipping Guidelines

Please note that during the holidays due to increased volume, delivery dates are subject to freight carrier's delivery times. So, please kindly note that we are unable to guarantee the delivery date (there is always a possibility of unexpected delay caused by a carrier). Most orders are shipped via FedEx Ground or USPS Priority Mail/ First Class, depending on the size of your order's package(s)

For our LA residents, you can shop at our physical location in West Hollywood, or you are also welcome to order from our website and pick-up at our store location as a fast and free alternative!

We ship both United States and International, and you can order from our website for international destinations, too. If items are in-stock, your order will normally ship within 5 business days from the date of your order. We use either FedEx International or USPS Priority Mail for international shipping, unless otherwise informed upon the shipping notice, for international shipment and it takes average 7 - 14 business days for delivery depending on destination.

If you order multiple items in different sizes (for example, one large donabe and 1 set of chopsticks), the online shop's system might calculate the shipping charges separately while there might be items that can be combined in the same box. In that case, we will contact the customer and issue refund for the shipping charge difference. If you find the shipping charge might be unusually high for your selected items before you place your order, please contact us, then we will find out if the shipping charge can be reduced by combining the items in the same packaging.

Depending on the destinations, additional duties and taxes might occur. Any charges which could incur after the package lands in the destination country, including VAT and other duties, must be paid by a recipient. We are not responsible for any process fee (including customs clearance) or cost which could incur after arriving in destinations. Please contact your local authorities for any specific information including any possible cost after the package lands in the destination country. We are also not responsible for any decisions (including but not limited to holding the package for inspection or confiscation) made at the customs. Please contact your local authorities directly for any customs clearance information. 

We are also not responsible for any lost package, delay, or returning package to us ("sender") for any reasons after the order ships out. We are unable to guarantee any delivery date. For any issues regarding the shipping and delivery, or any instructions regarding the shipment after the order is fulfilled and shipped out, please contact directly with your local carrier/ post office/ authorities. We are unable to accept any return/ exchange/ refund request for international order. For any damage/ lost package/ returned package, please note we are unable to cover any cost for replacement product or shipment. We can only send you replacement (or resend) if the item is in stock and the cost is covered by insurance after filing a claim or by you ("recipient"). Any additional cost for sending a replacement must be covered by the recipient.

For the minimum cooking amount for different sizes of Kamado-san, please see Kamado-san cooking chart linked here.

Yes, you can make the delicious brown rice with Kamado-san. You can find the recipe for plain (whole grain) brown rice on our recipe page linked here.

Some types of brown rice such as partially-polished brown rice do not require additional soaking or cooking time. For such types of brown rice, you can simply follow the same recipe as cooking the regular white rice. You can find information in a package.

The inner lid itself doesn't make good rice, but it's the entire design of Kamado-san (including the shape, thickness of the clay, etc.) and the inner lid is the important part of it to complete the perfect rice cooking design. So, the inner lid can only work with Kamado-san.

Mushi Nabe steam grates are not sold separately. The steam grate is designed to fit just with the Mushi Nabe, and Mushi Nabe’s shape is designed to give the best steaming effect.

These Iga-yaki doanbe, made by Nagatani-en, are made from special Iga clay from the region. Iga clay is naturally extremely porous and therefore known for its remarkable heat retention ability and durability. Because of the porous clay, the surface of the donabe generally looks rough. Especially in the bottom part, which is shaved by hand to even increase its surface area for the heat, you find many tiny rough dents/ holes which could look like cracks sometimes.

Each Iga-yaki donabe, made by Nagatani-en, is hand-crafted by skilled craftsmen and it takes about 2 weeks to produce it. Glaze is applied by hand and handles are attached by hand also. The shape, color, patterns are slightly different from one another and could look uneven or unfinished with tiny bumps and holes, if your eyes are not very familiar with Japanese artisan pottery. This so called "uneven" or "unfinished" character is only achieved as a result of the special clay and the work skilled artisans. And, that's exactly the beauty of Iga-yaki's wabi sabi and have been appreciated by Japanese people for centuries. That's the sign of artisan product. Also, each piece of Nagatani-en's donabe and Iga-yaki products go through multiple strict inspections at the property before they release it to the market, so the quality is assured. After Nagatani-en's products arrive in our shop from Iga, Japan, we also inspect each piece here at TOIRO before we offer to our customers.

If what you look for is "uniformity" or smooth surface pottery, we would suggest you search for machine made inexpensive kinds. Iga-yaki pottery is made for those who appreciate the wabi sabi beauty and its functions.

Important: Any type of donabe must NEVER be used for deep-frying.

Donabe (such as classic-style donabe), in general, must not be heated while it's empty, as it could cause cracking. However, sautéing over moderate heat (with a small amount of oil) is okay. 

Certain types of donabe, including tagine-style donabe, Fukkura-san, and donabe skillet, Toban, and some of classic-style donabe are capable of dry-heating, i.e. they are okay to be heated empty and can be used for dry-roasting, stir-frying or pan-frying to even cook a steak with small amount of oil over higher heat level. Please check the indication on each product page's "General Product Information" to find if the donabe can be heated empty or not. These donabe are made with different kinds of Iga clay and glaze to make them more durable for dry-heating.

Dry-Heating Capable Donabe are found here.

In any case, over-heating donabe could be dangerous. Oil must not be added to very hot donabe. Always be cautious with the heat.

Can I use Kamado-san for cooking other than rice? Or, can you use other donabe for cooking rice or different purposes? Any advise on how to choose the best donabe(s) for my needs?

While most of our "unique-style" donabe pots are designed for specific modes of cooking and best used for particular purpose(s), you could use them for other cooking methods. Kamado-san can be used for making soup/ stew. You can also use a classic-style donabe or Mushi Nabe (without the steam grate) for cooking rice by applying your choice of rice making method (there are so many different ways, so you can do your own research if you don't have a specific rice cooking method of your own). However, if your focus is to cook premium quality rice, we recommend you choose Kamado-san. Making rice with Kamado-san is also very easy, as you don't have to change the heat level or watch the pot to make sure the contents won't boil over during cooking. If you like making soup/ stew, Miso-shiru Nabe would be your best choice, because of its remarkable braising and extra heat-retention abilities. For steaming, we offer wonderful Mushi Nabe, and if you are looking for a donabe to use for a hot-pot style dish, classic-style donabe pots are highly recommended. For smoking, you would like the donabe smoker, Ibushi Gin. However, it's suggested to be used solely for the smoke cooking purposes.

Also, many customers choose donabe pots based on the aesthetic design and size/ capacity of each product to best serve their needs.

Out authentic Iga-yaki donabe products are not suitable for electric stove (including glass top) or induction (IH) cooktop. You can still heat donabe on electric stove, but for the best effect of heat distribution, flame is traditionally essential for cooking with donabe. Therefore, heat diffuser is not recommended, either. Please refer to each product page for suitable heat source.

We now offer induction (IH) and electric stove capable donabe and other cookware. Please find the lineup here.

As an easy and convenient solution, we suggest you get a portable butane gas burner and butane cartridges. We offer premium quality portable burner by IWATANI at our shop (linked here). Whether your kitchen is equipped with gas stove or not, it's really convenient to have at least 1 portable gas burner at home for table-top communal style dining (like hot pot) or outdoor cooking. We use our IWATANI portable burner at home all the time. One Naoko use at home is over 20 years old (!) and it's still working perfectly. Butane fuel cartridges are sold separately. Iwatani butane fuel cartridges can be found at various online stores or Japanese/ Asian markets.

Our donabe and Iga-yaki products (made by Nagatani-en of Iga, Japan) are proven to be safe and the glaze is lead-free and cadmium-free. The glaze can be made of a wide variety of ingredients such as minerals and clay. Each of Nagatani-en's pottery products are made with care by the skilled craftsmen. Nagatani-en is one of the leading and most trusted donabe and pottery producers in Japan.

Yes, it's an easy and important step you need to do before the very first use of a new donabe. Because Iga-style donabe is made of porus type clay, without seasoning the donabe, it might cause leaking or cracking. Therefore, we suggest that you season your donabe by making porridge in it. It might sound like an extra step, but it's just a simple procedure in order for the donabe to last for many, many years. You can find the process in How to season donabe page.**There are certain types of donabe, such as Ibushi Gin and Fukkura-san which don't need to be seasoned before the first use, and they are noted so in their instruction sheets. These donabe are designed for extra high-heat dry cooking and special types of Iga clay and glaze are used.

Before seasoning, we suggest you quickly rinse the inside of a donabe to remove any dust. But, please make sure the outer bottom of the donabe is dry before setting on a stove.

As you use your donabe over and over, it develops the nice used "wabi-sabi" character and that's something to be welcomed.

The small cracks could appear on the surface (glaze) of the donabe. It's called "kannyu" in Japanese and the cracks run like veins. They are the naturally developed cracks on the glaze and won't affect the function of the donabe. They are rather the good welcome sign of authentic donabe.

Unfortunately, we are not in the position to determine whether the donabe is still okay to use or not, because we cannot know the actual degree of the damage caused by the impact. We ask you to use your own judgement and responsibility (and common sense). If you are not sure, you shouldn’t use it. Even if the damage looks to be just a tiny chipped part, there might be invisible tiny crack(s) inside and which might cause unexpected breaking of the donabe during cooking. That being said, if the damage is solely a small chipped part(s), and if it won’t affect the usage, it’s normally okay to use. My Kamado-san donabe has many chipped parts here and there after cooking almost every day past 10+ years, and I consider them part of my donabe’s “characters”.

With regard to repairing a broken part of donabe, because it’s a cookware and can be used at a very high temperature, we would not suggest a regular super glue. We suggest you consult with a professional repairman with knowledge of repairing pottery cookware. Please also note that depending on the size/ type of damage, the repaired part can be more fragile and cause further damage.

If you store your donabe without drying it completely, or if it's left in the humid environment for days, the mold might grow in the donabe as it's earthenware. If you are worried about it to happen, we suggest you check your donabe sometimes to make sure it's very dry and no mold is growing inside. Please see our How To Take Care of Your Donabe page for the tip to remove any moldy smell from the donabe. The stain might stay, but after it's treated, it's safe to use again.

Yes, for your donabe order, a package includes English instruction sheet which contains the basic usage instructions. The enclosed free booklet is part of the original Japanese package and it's originally made for audience in Japan. We decided to keep it inside of the box, because some people appreciate the original look of it anyway. We don't have the exact English version of the booklet, but the English instruction sheet is made instead and all the essential information is there. Also, we offer a wide variety of original recipes in our website to help our customers with cooking inspirations.

The lid on most of classic-style donabe is supposed to be a little loose fit, and that's what makes donabe work great. The idea is to leave room for more breathing by adjusting the lid's position when you desire, and that makes it harder for the contents to boil over.

The price difference is caused by many different factors, including but not limited to the material cost, design cost, level of detailed artisanship required, capable production quantity, etc. More expensive donabe doesn't mean the function is better. All donabe made by Nagatani-en are equally wonderful and functional. So, you can choose what you like for your purpose and eyes.

We are unable to answer to any questions about recipes or ingredients, but we do offer recipes in our website (you can also find many recipes in DONABE Cookbook!), as a guidelines/ inspirations for cooking variations as much as possible. Please also know, recipes are just the guidelines, so please play around to find what ways work best for you. Feel free to substitute the ingredients or modify the recipe amounts. Sometimes you might make mistakes, and we can all learn from mistakes:-)

Yes, dashi is easy to make at home. Dashi is a Japanese soup stock and it's essential in many Japanese dishes. Making your own dashi is easy and fun.

The basic Kombu and Bonito Dashi ("Awase-dashi") recipe along with some tips can be found in our Classic Donabe recipe page here. For busy people who just don't have time to prepare homemade dashi, we recommend premium-quality dashi bags (like tea bags) Jin by Uneno from Kyoto, Japan. Each bag contains a blend of dried bonito flakes, kombu, and shiitake mushrooms. These are all natural ingredients with no additives. It's very easy to use as you simply need to put the bag with water in a pot and heat to infuse. 

Or, different brands of dashi bags can be found at Japanese grocery stores. Depending on the brand, the ingredients are different. We suggest you make sure to choose the high-quality natural kind without additives.

Yes, our shop is located at 1257 N La Brea Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90038. Please see About TOIRO page for business hours.

TOIRO is a Japanese word which literally means, "ten colors". The word is used in an expression "junin toiro (ten people, ten colors)", which is similar to the expression, "different strokes for different folks". We named our company TOIRO, because we wish many different people to enjoy the products we introduce in many different ways.

"Everyday People" by Sly & The Family Stone

Our Iga-yaki donabe and pottery products are hand-crafted by skilled craftsmen and as a result, the shape, color, and patterns are slightly different from one another. These nuances are what we love most about our products because it's what sets it apart from those made by a machine. This is the beauty of Iga-yaki's wabi-sabi. Wabi-sabi aesthetic acknowledges and appreciates the natural imperfections inherent in our universe. Among the typical characteristics of Iga-yaki pottery, you might find small bumps, crackles, dips, and/ or unglazed spots. They are the typical and historic characteristics of authentic Iga-yaki pottery as a result of the interactions between the very coarse Iga clay and glaze in the extremely high heat (about 2,000F degrees) kiln. These characteristics are the carefully calculated natural results which can only be achieved by the masterful craftsmen. It serves as proof that each piece has its own character, its own story, and its own place in the world. Just as no two people are the same - no two donabe, cups, plates, or bowls will be identical.