Special Focus on Shizuoka: Traditional hand-rolling experience at a tea farm

Before the advent of tea-making machineries, sencha was hand-rolled. This manual method known as temomi was invented in 1738 by Nagatani Souen. The method resulted in high quality and refined green tea with leaves that are bright and needle-like in shape. Today, temomi is no longer widely practised in Japan, but are preserved as a …

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Special Focus on Shizuoka: Enjoy teatime at a farm with superb views of Mt Fuji

Many tea farms on the elevated parts of central Shizuoka offer glimpses of the distant Mt Fuji, located on the prefecture's east. On certain elevations, when the weather conditions permit, one will not only have a superb view of Mt Fuji but also a sea of clouds that appear to suspend over the lush green …

Special Focus on Shizuoka: A tea farmers’ cafe specialising in wakoucha

The mountains of Ryogouchi in Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City are home to many tea plantations. Green Eight Cafe is one of the hidden gems here, a farmers' cafe that offers a unique experience for tea lovers. It specialises in Japanese black tea or wakoucha. In their own words, "nigakunai koucha" (black tea that's not bitter). …

Special Focus on Shizuoka: Tea production

As a tea lover, I find myself drawn to Shizuoka again and again. After all, it is the prefecture that contributes to some 40 per cent of Japan’s overall tea production. According to the 2019 tea production statistics released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries earlier this year, nationwide crude tea production last …

Tea tasting: Houkouen’s kabusecha

Located in the mountainous countryside of Shimizu Ward in Shizuoka City, Houkouen is known as the ‘tea fields of sea clouds’, for it is on an elevation of 350 metres above sea level. When conditions are right, especially in the early mornings, a sweeping panoramic view of unkai or sea of clouds can be seen …