Chapter 03 · Experiences
No. 16
Mt. Fuji and tea country
Tea country, field to cup
茶どころ紀行、畑から一杯まで
Morning at Obuchi Sasaba, where tea climbs toward Fuji in green waves, then gyokuro in a quiet tea room, in Japan's biggest tea country.
時刻表Timetable
- 所要Duration
- About 8 hours
- 季節Season
- All year; first flush from late April into May. The museum closes on Tuesdays.
- 人数Group
- 1–12 guests
- 移動Getting there
- Transportation by car and a bilingual guide will be arrangedCome in your own carBy trainThe hire company bills you directly; our fee is for the guiding.Travel by train or in your own car. If you'd rather be driven, we book a private car with a licensed driver, and the hire company bills you directly.
- 集合Meeting point
- The house or Mishima Station.
- 料金Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
Add a paid tour and the stay is 10% less; discounts don't combine
Reserve
Choose a day, and book it
Finding the open days…
The story
Morning at Obuchi Sasaba, where rows of tea climb toward Fuji like green waves. Then a cup of gyokuro in a quiet tea room, or the tea museum at Shimada, depending on the day. Shizuoka grows more tea than anywhere in Japan, and this is where you taste why.
We start early at Obuchi Sasaba, where the tea fields climb towards Fuji with no power lines in the way. The fields are working farms, so we watch from the road.
Then west along the coast to choose your afternoon. At Fujinokuni Cha no Miyako Museum in Shimada you can learn how tea is grown and made, and sit in its tea room and garden. In the hills of Asahina, counted with Uji and Yame among Japan's three great gyokuro districts, a quiet tea room serves gyokuro or matcha with a sweet. First flush comes in late April and May.
Your host's Shizuoka tea day: Obuchi Sasaba, then a museum of tea in Shimada or the gyokuro hills of Asahina in Fujieda.
路線図
The route
Times are a guide; the day bends to the weather.
Start
Obuchi Sasaba
大淵笹場
45 min
Fuji over the tea rows, from the road.
+0:45
Cha no Miyako Museum, Shimada
島田・茶の都ミュージアム
1 h 30 min
Tea's history and craft, a tea room and a garden.
+2:15Finish
Or: Gyokuro no Sato, Fujieda
または藤枝・玉露の里
1 h
Gyokuro or matcha with a sweet in the Hyogetsu-tei tea room.
Good to know
Included
- Your host as guide, in English or Japanese
- A route planned around your group and the weather
- Help booking tickets and restaurant tables
Not included
- Travel: train fares, fuel and tolls for your own car, or the hire car
- Admissions, boats and workshops, paid on the day
- Meals and drinks
- Price
- Guide fee per person, tax included. With your stay: ¥10,000 for one guest, ¥7,500 each for two, ¥5,000 each for three to twelve. Tour only: ¥10,000 each, for two guests or more. Admissions, partner fees, meals and travel are paid on the day. Book a paid tour with your stay and the stay itself is 10% less (you always get the single best discount). Groups of seven or more, please book 10 days ahead.
- Meeting point
- The house or Mishima Station.
- Weather
- Fuji, the stars and the fireworks depend on the sky; we tell you the evening before if it's worth going.
- Cancellation
- Guide fees follow the stay's cancellation tiers. Partners' own terms apply to theirs.
On the mapD2
Obuchi Sasaba, Shimada and Fujieda · About 39 km from the house
Sources
- 01
Obuchi Sasaba in Fuji City is one of the few places to photograph Mt. Fuji over tea fields without power lines; visitors are asked not to enter the fields.
Source: city.fuji.shizuoka.jp (opens in a new tab) - 02
Fujinokuni Cha no Miyako Museum in Shimada covers the history, culture and industry of tea, with a tea room and garden; museum 9:00–17:00, tea room 9:30–16:00, closed Tuesdays.
Source: pref.shizuoka.jp (opens in a new tab) - 03
Asahina in Fujieda is counted with Uji and Yame among Japan's three great gyokuro districts; at Gyokuro no Sato the tea room Hyogetsu-tei serves gyokuro or matcha with a sweet.
Source: city.fujieda.shizuoka.jp (opens in a new tab)
Ask us about a date.
Tell us the day, who's coming and what you'd like to see. Your host replies within a few hours, in English or Japanese.
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