Shizuoka Tea Plantation Tour w/ Tea Picking & Tasting
Sip tea with stunning views of Mt Fuji in this rare experience in Shizuoka Prefecture that includes a guided tour of a local tea plantation, tea leaf picking or planting with local farmers, and more!
Highlights
Learn firsthand how tea is picked, processed, dried, and prepared in Japan’s largest tea-producing prefecture: Shizuoka!
Enjoy a guided tour of a tea plantation, and, depending on the season, either pick your own tea leaves, help the farmers plant tea, or learn a traditional way to brew tea.
Enjoy a cup of tea made with the leaves you picked and try tea leaf tempura (battered and fried), a local delicacy.
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).
10 meals
Experience Details
Japan’s greatest green tea producer, Shizuoka Prefecture has vast green fields of tea plantations only a few hours by train from Tokyo. In this experience in a local tea-producing area in Shizuoka, you’ll enjoy a guided tour of a tea plantation, sample tea and tempura made with the tea leaves you pick, and learn all about Shizuoka’s unique tea production from leaf to cup from the farmers themselves.
You’ll start the day at Tabinoya, a former tea farmer's house repurposed into a lodging and local experience provider. Here, you’ll meet your guide, who will give you an overview of the day's itinerary, but not before offering you a fresh cup of 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, guests enjoy a tour of tea fields where they can pick leaves to prepare tea and deep fry them in a batter to enjoy them as tempura. 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
Guests taking part between November and February can join farmers in planting tea sustainably, a unique local practice known as chagusaba, which ensures that the local prolific tea production doesn't tamper with biodiversity, for which the area's fields were designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
On rainy days or outside planting and harvesting season, guests instead experience kamairicha, a traditional way of preparing tea by drying the leaves and firing them to enhance flavors.
No matter the season, it’s always tea time in Shizuoka! Hosts have designed year-round activities to ensure this experience will be as enjoyable and invigorating as a cup of Japan’s finest tea, no matter when you decide to participate.
Inclusions
Welcome tea & light meal
Tea plantation tour & tea picking experience
Tea leaf tempura
English-speaking guide
Exclusions
Transportation to and from the venue
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 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
From November to February, guests will plant tea instead of harvesting it
On rainy days and days outside the harvest/planting seasons, guests will prepare the tea leaves for consumption by drying them and firing them on a pan, a process known as kamairicha.
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
Enjoy a farm stay and tea experience near Mt. Fuji in Shizuoka: Pick tea leaves with farmers, learn to roast tea the traditional way, cook a local dish, and spend the night at a rural Japanese inn. A traditional homemade breakfast is included.
Experience an Osaka-style Japanese tea ceremony alongside an expert! You’ll participate in a tea ceremony, discover the surrounding customs and etiquette, then learn how to make matcha tea and enjoy sweet treats.
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.
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.