HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > The Season for Fresh Tea
There’s nothing quite like a delicious cup of locally harvested Yamashiro green tea
Nishi-Awa Tourism Association Sora-no-sato
In Tokushima Prefecture, amid the stunning mountains of Yamashiro, the tea factory Kyokufuen keeps several tea fields, harvesting the fresh, organic leaves on perilously steep slopes. As the busy sencha (green tea) season comes to a close in early May, they begin to harvest the next flushes of tea to make wakocha, Japanese-style black tea. Green tea is green in color because heating kills the enzymes in the tea. Black tea, on the other hand, is fermented, which makes the tea red in color.
The deep steaming method accounts for 70 percent of the tea production in Japan, but tea in mountainous areas like Yamashiro is produced by shallow steaming. The resulting tea is less bitter and astringent, and its aroma is more pleasant. It is no exaggeration to say that the steaming process determines the quality of the tea produced.
The Kyokufuen tea factory is open every day during the peak season, but is otherwise open Monday through Friday. Depending on the time of year, visitors can tour the tea plantation and enjoy a tea-tasting session. Calling in advance is recommended.
Kyokufuen brand tea, available for purchase online or at Roadside Stations in the Nishi-Awa area, makes an excellent souvenir of your visit to Shikoku.
How to get there
From Shin-Osaka Station, take the JR Sanyo Shinkansen to Okayama Station (about 50 minutes). From there, take the JR Limited Express to Oboke Station (about 1 hour 40 minutes).
Kyokufuen is about 10 minutes by taxi or car from Oboke Station.
196 Kamimyo, Yamashiro-cho, Miyoshi-shi, Tokushima-ken
