Japan, it starts with you

You have a dream to travel the whole world

But I just want to embark on a tea journey around the world

Fortunately, everything is progressing step by step

First stop - Japan

Today, let's start this tea journey together

Learn about the production process of Japanese matcha

Visit the famous traditional Japanese kiln, Tokoname

Deeply explore the standardized and procedural tea gardens in Shizuoka

Visit Japan's oldest tea research center

Participate in the triennial 'World Tea Festival'

--Aichi Prefecture--

Upon arriving in Japan, the first thing to see is definitely matcha, and we chose the Nishio Matcha Garden in Aichi Prefecture. This place is as famous as Uji matcha and has been thriving since the Meiji era, now ranking first in matcha production in Japan, with a faint aroma of tea in the air.

Unfortunately, we came at the wrong season and missed the bustling tea picking season, but we did see the beautiful tea flowers in full bloom and witnessed the standardized covered tea gardens resembling greenhouse vegetables. The Nishio Matcha Factory perfectly combines tea garden cultivation, factory production, retail sales, tourism, and cultural display. The entire factory is clearly marked, with a compact and reasonable layout, highly mechanized while retaining the traditional stone grinding production process.

Walking into the tea room, I was attracted by the flower arrangements everywhere, and here, not only can you personally experience the fun of grinding tea, but you can also formally feel the Japanese matcha way, tasting various exquisite tea snacks they prepared - matcha ice cream, matcha cake, matcha melon seeds, matcha tofu, matcha noodles, matcha lovers will definitely enjoy it! Of course, before leaving, I also had to take a few boxes of matcha masks ^_^

Aichi Prefecture also has another place that attracts tea enthusiasts, which is Tokoname, one of Japan's six ancient famous kilns. The vessels made in Tokoname are known as Tokoname ware, with a history of about a thousand years. The 'Kyusu' is a representative work of Tokoname ware, which in Japanese generally refers to teapots, but specifically refers to side-handled teapots with a right angle between the handle and spout, written in Japanese as 'Yokote Kyusu'. In fact, 'Kyusu' was also brought back by the Japanese envoys to Tang Dynasty, and while absorbing the essence of Chinese purple clay art, Tokoname potters integrated traditional Japanese aesthetic consciousness, creating artistic shapes suitable for Japanese tea culture, such as luxurious gold leaf and paintings of Japanese ukiyo-e, etc. The teapot works are exquisite and worth collecting and playing with.

--Shizuoka Prefecture--

Shizuoka has become a famous county because of Mount Fuji, but the tea it produces is also unparalleled in Japan, not only in sales but also in variety, how can we not go?

Shizuoka Makinohara Tea Factory, this is the main production area for sencha and deep-steamed green tea, especially the origin of deep-steamed green tea. The tall electric fans set up by the tea gardens aroused everyone's curiosity, and upon understanding, we learned that these fans automatically start when the temperature drops to 3°C to prevent frost damage to the tea trees, promoting air circulation. This gives a glimpse into the Japanese tea industry. Here, you can also fully understand the production process of steamed green tea - one steaming, four kneadings, and one drying, and see the highly automated and standardized refining process in Japan, as well as their protection of hand-made tea.

At the Shizuoka Tea Research Institute, one can feel Japan's continuous innovation and practical application awareness regarding tea, and see various tea machines and tea tree varieties from different tea-producing regions around the world, such as Indian CTC equipment, Taiwanese Wangyue kneading machines, etc.

Finally, amidst various learning and visits, we welcomed the triennial World Tea Festival in Japan! In this tea festival themed 'Enjoying the Fun of Tea', we not only experienced their grand opening ceremony and saw the world green tea competition, but also appreciated diverse drinking methods, such as Chinese tea art, Japanese tea ceremony, and Korean tea etiquette. This green tea competition evaluated not only the quality of tea but also creativity, clarity of concept, functionality, etc., providing us with many novel ideas. Of course, there were also product culture displays from some local enterprises, whether in business philosophy, packaging forms, or tea application, there are many valuable lessons to learn!

--Tokyo--

The last day was reserved for Japan's political, economic, and cultural center - Tokyo! I had planned to shop and explore, but I was still captivated by the omnipresent manga culture, truly the birthplace of the animated series that has accompanied me for many years! With not enough time for shopping, I had to switch to foodie mode; this place is truly a paradise for dessert lovers, with various sweets, bracken cakes, yokan, and chestnut cakes, just thinking about it makes my mouth water, especially the various matcha desserts, I only remember that what I brought back was quickly devoured by my friends~~

This is Japan; although I did not see the cherry blossoms in spring or step on the snow in winter, thank you, I am now closer to tea!