Japan’s Tea Country
Japan produces approximately 80,000 tonnes of green tea annually, with Shizuoka Prefecture accounting for roughly 40% of national production — the most visible of which is the terraced tea gardens on the slopes of the Makinohara plateau and the hillsides of the Fujieda and Shimada areas, where rows of clipped tea bushes run in precise lines down south-facing slopes with Mount Fuji visible on clear days to the north. Japan’s green tea tradition produces a range of varieties — sencha, gyokuro, matcha, hojicha, genmaicha — each requiring specific cultivation and processing methods, creating a production landscape of great technical complexity and visual character.
Shizuoka’s Tea Landscape
The Makinohara plateau in central Shizuoka is Japan’s largest tea-growing area — a broad hilltop plateau developed for tea cultivation after the Meiji Restoration by unemployed samurai who were resettled with cultivable land. The drive or cycle through the plateau’s tea fields in the first flush season (April–May) is one of Japan’s most specifically agricultural tourism experiences: the bright yellow-green of the new growth against the darker established leaves, the mechanical pickers working the rows, and the unmistakable fresh-cut-grass fragrance of tea leaves just harvested. Many tea farms in the area offer paid harvesting experiences and factory tours during the first flush.
The Tea Varieties
Sencha: Japan’s standard green tea — steamed immediately after picking to halt oxidation, then rolled and dried. The most widely consumed tea, ranging from everyday bancha to premium single-garden sencha. Shizuoka’s deep-steamed variety (fukamushi sencha) produces a richer, cloudier cup from leaves steamed longer than the standard.
Gyokuro: The highest-grade loose-leaf green tea — shade-grown for 20–30 days before harvest, which increases chlorophyll and amino acid (L-theanine) content at the expense of catechins. Produces a sweet, umami-rich cup when brewed at low temperature (50–60°C). The finest gyokuro comes from Uji (Kyoto), Yame (Fukuoka), and Okabe (Shizuoka).
Matcha: Shade-grown tencha leaves stone-ground to a fine powder — the form used in tea ceremony and increasingly in culinary applications. Uji in Kyoto remains the prestige matcha origin; the finest ceremonial matcha (joto matcha) from established tea houses commands extraordinary prices.
Hojicha: Roasted green tea — the dark brown, low-caffeine tea produced by roasting sencha or bancha at high temperature, producing a toasty, caramel-forward flavour entirely different from unroasted green tea.
Tea Farm Visits and Experiences
Shizuoka’s tea farms in the Makinohara, Kanaya, and Kawanehon areas offer visitor experiences ranging from plantation walks and tea picking (April–May first flush, ¥1,000–¥2,500) to processing factory tours and multi-variety tasting sessions. The Kakegawa Tea Museum in Kakegawa provides the best contextual overview of Shizuoka’s tea industry history and cultivation methods. The Ochazuke Salon at Maruzen Tea in Shizuoka City combines tea tasting with the regional dish of ochazuke (hot tea poured over rice with toppings) using premium Shizuoka sencha. For matcha experiences, Uji in Kyoto offers the most concentrated environment — tea house tasting rooms, matcha-making experiences, and the Uji River garden of the Uji Kisen tea house are within 10 minutes of Uji Station.