A Range of Thoughtful Colours
Available in Two Sizes
CHIPS Japan
CHIPS Inc. is a small tableware maker from Takasaki, Japan, crafting Mino ware mugs, plates and bowls made to be used again and again. Browse the full Minimaru range across ten series, in stock in Melbourne and shipped Australia-wide.
Vessels you will want to use again
CHIPS Inc. was founded in July 2016 in Takasaki, Gunma, by Noboru Sakuma, with a single theme: また使いたくなる器 — vessels you will want to use again. Every piece is weighed against four things the brand refuses to compromise on: shape, colour, material and price.
Rather than decorating stock blanks, CHIPS develops its own moulds. The signature CHIPS mug was refined through repeated prototyping until it did three things at once — sat flush with an interior as an object, fitted the hand through its distinctive angular handle, and flattered the food and coffee served in it. The porcelain is fired in the Mino region of Gifu, Japan's largest ceramic-producing area with a history of more than a thousand years.
From that one mug the range has grown into ten series: stacking mugs, plates, bowls, drippers and glasses in matching glazes; Smith stacking tableware; Ancient Pottery stoneware with antique detailing; Heuge, built on the four classic Mino glazes; and Bread and Rice, a collaboration with registered dietitian Mio Hishinuma.
Minimaru imports the range directly from CHIPS in Japan. Everything below is held in our Melbourne warehouse and dispatched Australia-wide.
Ten series, one table
CHIPS Mug
The original. Matte, solid, splash and drop glazes on the shape that started the brand.
CHIPS Stack Mug
The same handle on a stackable body — a cupboard of colour in the footprint of one mug.
Toy Colour
Two-tone pastels inspired by childhood toys — each mug pairs two gentle glazes.
CHIPS Tableware
Serving plates in two sizes and a 450ml bowl, glazed to match the mugs.
CHIPS Dripper
A porcelain cone in ten glazes that sits straight onto the CHIPS mug.
CHIPS Glass
The mug silhouette translated into glass — solid tints and speckled splash finishes.
Smith
Footed mugs and oval plates that stack cleanly in vanilla, brown, green and navy.
Heuge
Matcha bowls in the four classic Mino glazes — Shino, Oribe, Kizeto and Setoguro.
Ancient Pottery
Antique and artist-piece detailing in durable modern stoneware, made with Mino potters.
Bread and Rice
Bowls, mugs and plates in four glossy glazes, designed with a registered dietitian.
Designed from the mould up
Most mugs are a printed pattern on a standard blank. CHIPS started with the clay instead: a body wide enough to read as an object on the shelf, a base that takes a second glaze cleanly, and the angular handle that gives every series its silhouette. The result holds 380ml without feeling heavy in the hand.
The stack mug repeats the trick at 280ml with a body that nests — four mugs store in the height of two. Both are microwave and dishwasher safe Mino ware porcelain, and every piece arrives in CHIPS' own branded box, which makes them one of our most-gifted lines.
Every CHIPS piece we stock
Mugs · 380ml
Stack Mugs · 280ml
Solid Colour Stack Mugeight nesting colours
Splash Black-Whitespeckled splash glaze
Splash Navy-Whitespeckled splash glaze
Splash White-Orangespeckled splash glaze
Premium White-Navy Dropdripped rim glaze
Outdoor Editionsand tan and khaki
Toy Colourfive pastel two-tones
Stack Mug Cup Pouch Lpadded travel carrier
Plates · Bowls · Drinkware
Serving Plate L · 24cmten matching glazes
Plate S · 15.8cmten matching glazes
Bowl 450mlten matching glazes
Coffee Drippersits on the CHIPS mug
Glass Mat Grey 400mlfrosted tint
Glass Mustard 400mlwarm tint
Glass Deep Green 400mldeep bottle tint
Glass Splash Black-Whitespeckled 400ml
Glass Splash Navy-Whitespeckled 400ml
Glass Splash White-Orangespeckled 400ml
Smith · Heuge · Studio Series
Smith Soup Mug 260mlstacking footed form
Smith Oval Platefour colours, stacks flat
Heuge Matcha Bowl Shinosoft white feldspar glaze
Heuge Matcha Bowl Oribecopper green glaze
Heuge Matcha Bowl Kizetowarm yellow Seto glaze
Heuge Matcha Bowl Setogurojet black Seto glaze
Bread and Rice Bowl Mfour glossy glazes
Bread and Rice Bowl Lfour glossy glazes
Bread and Rice Mugfour glossy glazes
Bread and Rice Plate Sfour glossy glazes
Ancient Pottery Bowl Lstoneware, antique detail
Ancient Pottery Plate 25.5cmstoneware dinner plate
Ancient Pottery Cup and Saucerbrass, grey or white
Ancient Pottery Potstoneware teapot
CHIPS Japan, answered
Are CHIPS mugs microwave and dishwasher safe?
Yes. The mug, stack mug, plate, bowl and dripper series are Mino ware porcelain and are microwave and dishwasher safe. They are not suited to ovens or direct flame. The CHIPS Glass tumblers are glassware — keep those out of the microwave.
What is the difference between the CHIPS mug and the stack mug?
The CHIPS mug is the full-size 380ml original. The stack mug holds 280ml on a nesting body, so several store in the height of one or two — the better pick for small kitchens or a mug for every member of the household. Both share the angular handle and come in matching glazes.
What is Mino ware?
Mino ware (Minoyaki) is pottery from the Mino region of Gifu prefecture, Japan's largest ceramic-producing area with more than a thousand years of history. CHIPS porcelain is fired there, and the Heuge series revives the region's four classic glazes: Shino, Oribe, Kizeto and Setoguro.
Which Heuge matcha bowl should I choose?
All four are the same generous bowl form — the difference is the glaze. Shino is a soft warm white, Oribe a deep copper green, Kizeto a warm yellow, and Setoguro a jet black. Glaze variation from bowl to bowl is characteristic of these traditional finishes — no two are quite alike.
Are CHIPS products made in Japan?
Yes. CHIPS Inc. is based in Takasaki, Gunma, and its ceramics are produced with potteries in the Mino region. Every piece we stock is made in Japan and arrives in CHIPS' branded packaging.
Keep exploring. The CHIPS range sits alongside our wider Japanese tableware collections — or jump straight to a CHIPS sub-collection below.
