Farm Stay & Tea Experience w/ Dinner & Breakfast (Shizuoka)
Enjoy a relaxing farm stay near a tea farm in Shizuoka! Pick tea leaves with local farmers, roast tea the traditional way, and learn to make a local dish for dinner. Breakfast is included.
Highlights
Experience a farm stay in a restored traditional farmhouse in a tea plantation near Mt Fuji. Enjoy a guided tour of the tea farm, and learn to prepare tea using local traditional methods!
During harvesting season, you’ll pick tea leaves with farmers to make your own tea. Outside of the season, you will prepare tea the traditional way with already-picked leaves.
Meet local farmers and learn about their sustainable tea farming practices for which their fields have been designated an Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
Prepare a regional dish for dinner and enjoy a relaxing stay overnight at a traditional inn where you can experience lifestyle in rural Japan. Traditional Japanese breakfast is also included.
10 meals
Experience Details
Trade the bustle of Tokyo for the terraced green tea farms of Shizuoka, Japan's tea capital. Taste rural life as you tour a tea farm, pick tea leaves with local farmers, roast the leaves on an iron kettle (a traditional method known as kama-yaki) to prepare tea, prepare a local specialty with local ingredients, relax overnight in a rural inn, and, of course, sip on lots of fresh tea!
No two days are the same in the fields, nor in this experience, the contents of which vary depending on the season in the tea-production calendar.
During the four harvesting seasons in the year, you will tour the tea fields and pick leaves with help from local farmers. You'll prepare tea the traditional way by roasting the leaves in an iron kettle (a process known as kama-yaki) and enjoy a refreshing cup of your own making.
For dinner, you’ll learn to make a local soup with deep umami flavors with Japanese yam, a broth made with mackerel and miso, dried bonito flakes, and shiitake mushrooms. Enjoy a relaxing bath at a traditional Goemon rustic tub, and relax your body and spirit as you bask in the area's lush rural surroundings.
The following morning, wrap up your farm stay experience with a traditional Japanese breakfast homemade by your hosts.
Although exact times vary each year, harvesting seasons typically are as follows:
-Late April to May
-June
-Mid-July to early August
-Late September to mid-October
No matter the season, it’s always tea time in Shizuoka! On rainy days or outside harvesting season, guests will make tea following the kama-yaki method with previously picked leaves. Hosts have designed year-round activities to ensure this experience will be as enjoyable and invigorating as a cup of Japan’s finest tea all year round.
Inclusions
Welcome tea
Tea plantation tour & tea picking experience (or alternative activity outside of harvesting season)
Traditional kama-yaki tea leaf roasting experience
Overnight stay at a restored traditional farmhouse (homemade dinner and breakfast included)
Exclusions
Transportation to and from the venue
English or Chinese interpreter (see Options below)
Meeting Point and Meeting Time
Go directly to the venue in Ono, Shizuoka, about 2.5 hours from Tokyo Station by shinkansen train and local bus. More detailed information and a Google Maps link will be provided upon booking.
Remarks
Please note that the host’s English ability is limited. If you’d like to hire an English or Chinese interpreter, please place your booking from the corresponding option in the options menu.
Please note that tea leaf picking is seasonal, so it is not available year-round.
There are four tea harvesting seasons: (1) late April to May; (2) June; (3) mid July to early August; (4) late September to mid October.
On rainy days and days outside the harvesting seasons, guests will enjoy other tea-related activities.
Two schedules available: 1. Tea picking on the first day (check in: 13:00; check out: 10:00 the next day). 2. Tea picking on the second day (check in: 15:00; check out: 12:00 the next day).
Cancellation Policy
Cancel your booking at least 2 weeks before the experience start time to receive a full refund minus a 3.2% transaction fee.
Experience Location
A coastal prefecture located in central Japan between Tokyo and Osaka, Shizuoka is home to Mount Fuji (the highest mountain in Japan), beaches and hot spring resort towns, and a thriving agriculture industry producing some of the most delicious and highly coveted produce in Japan.
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10 meals
Learn about sustainable tea production from local farmers in Shizuoka, Japan’s green tea capital. Tour a tea plantation, pick the freshest leaves to make tea and tempura and bask in the views of Mt Fuji in this unique experience.
Experience Shizuoka’s rich tea culture in this guided tour. Visit long-standing wholesalers, blend your own tea using locally sourced leaves, blend the tea, and stroll terraced tea fields where you can meet and interact with local farmers.
Take a bicycle through Shizuoka's locales and into lush green tea fields! Learn about green tea, walk through the fields, and taste some tea samples. Finish the tour by visiting Sengen Shrine and a vintage shopping district.
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