Shisa are the lion-dog guardian figures you see perched on rooftops and gates across Okinawa — half lion, half dog, traditionally placed in pairs (one open-mouthed to let in good fortune, one closed-mouthed to keep it in). The Yonekoyaki craft center has turned its roadside grounds into an open-air gallery of these figures, with several hundred examples ranging from thumb-sized to human-height, in styles from traditional to wildly experimental.
It's an odd and charming stop along the main road between Ishigaki town and Kabira Bay. The workshop inside lets you paint your own shisa to take home, which is a popular activity with children and adults alike. The figures are made using a local pottery tradition specific to the Yaeyama Islands — slightly different in style from the better-known Naha shisa of Okinawa's main island.