Wender·Vista
Sagamihara
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileJapan
west of Tokyo, where the Tanzawa hills begin

Sagamihara

— — the suburb that quietly sends spacecraft home.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A designated city of roughly 720,000 in Kanagawa, sitting between the Tama River and the Tanzawa range. Lake Sagami holds the western edge; cherry trees line the long path through Sagamihara Park each April. On a campus at the south end, JAXA's engineers track the returning capsules of the Hayabusa missions. A quiet place that has, more than once, caught something thrown back from deep space. from the studio

from the studio
Sagamihara
— bring it home

Sagamihara, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Sagamihara

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Sagamihara is the third-largest city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a population near 720,000. It was promoted to designated-city status in April 2010, giving it the same administrative footing as Yokohama and Kawasaki. The city stretches from the Sagami River plain west into the foothills of the Tanzawa Mountains, with Lake Sagami (Sagami-ko), a reservoir completed in 1947, anchoring its western half. The Keio and JR Yokohama lines connect it to central Tokyo in under an hour.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the year

Two seasons mark the calendar. In early April the cherry avenue at Sagamihara Park along Prefectural Route 506 turns into a slow tunnel of pink. In August, Sagamihara hosts one of the largest fireworks festivals in the Kanto region above the Sagami River. The city's third anchor is the JAXA Sagamihara Campus, home of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, where the Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 return capsules were received in 2010 and 2020.

— informed by JAXA ISAS
— the visit

Reachable from Shinjuku in about forty minutes on the Keio Sagamihara Line to Hashimoto, or via JR Yokohama Line to Sagamihara Station. Lake Sagami's pleasure park sits at the western terminus and runs ropeway, swan-boats, and an illumination event each winter. The JAXA campus museum is free and open most weekdays; the returned Hayabusa heat shield is on display. Tanzawa-Oyama Quasi-National Park begins a short bus ride west.

— informed by Sagamihara City Tourism
— where
Japan · Sagamihara, Kanagawa
— position
35.5714° N · 139.3733° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
12 km W
Lake Sagami
reservoir
25 km W
Mount Tanzawa
mountain range
5 km N
Hashimoto
transit hub
N
Sagamihara
Lake Sagami
Mount Tanzawa
Hashimoto
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Sagamihara — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Sagamihara is a designated city in northern Kanagawa Prefecture, about 40 kilometres west of central Tokyo, stretching from the Sagami River plain into the eastern foothills of the Tanzawa Mountains.

The city has a population of roughly 720,000, making it the third-largest in Kanagawa after Yokohama and Kawasaki. It became a designated city, Japan's highest municipal rank, in April 2010.

The campus houses the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science. It is the operations centre that received the Hayabusa asteroid sample-return capsule in 2010 and the Hayabusa2 capsule in 2020.

The avenue at Sagamihara Park typically peaks in the first week of April. The path along Prefectural Route 506 is one of the longest continuous cherry tunnels in Kanagawa.

Lake Sagami is a reservoir on the Sagami River completed in 1947, the first multi-purpose dam built in postwar Japan. Its western shore is now a pleasure park with a ropeway and a winter illumination.

The Keio Sagamihara Line reaches Hashimoto in about 40 minutes from Shinjuku. JR Yokohama Line trains stop at Sagamihara Station, around 50 minutes from Tokyo Station via Yokohama.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for residents and for families who studied or worked at the JAXA campus. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio is the usual choice.

The cool blue-green palette sits comfortably in Japandi, Minimalist Asian, and quiet-modern interiors. It also pairs with mid-century walnut and pale oak shelving.

Yes. The restrained palette and the stained-glass linework give a hand-made counterweight to the cleaner surfaces a Japandi room is built on, without competing with them.

A single Large reads from across a room. A four-tile Mural anchors a long sofa wall, and a nine-tile Mural fills a full feature wall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and suited to backsplashes, showers, and other vertical wet installations.

A microfibre cloth and water. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, beneath a thin glossy finish, so no special care is needed.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made in our Knoxville studio under Reid Wender's curation. The work is not licensed and is not sold through any other outlet.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.