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Get a taste of Japanese food culture in Shizuoka Prefecture through a traditional tea guessing game called chakabuki.
Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture
Green tea is one of Shizuoka’s most famous local products. More than a simple beverage, tea is deeply rooted in the culture and daily lives of the people living in this region.
Take a deep dive into the area’s tea culture by playing chakabuki, where you try to guess which type of tea you are presented with. This game originated centuries ago as a form of entertainment at social gatherings of monks, high-ranked samurai, and nobles, and is an important part of Japan’s traditional culture.
Chakabuki sessions are usually hosted by tea shops that can provide several types of green tea for the game. The host introduces five types of green tea that are marked with the Japanese characters for flower, bird, wind, moon, and guest.
Participants will first smell all the types of green tea in turn and take notes about their distinctive features. Some teas have a deep fragrance, while others smell light and refreshing, so be sure to write down all the details you notice.
The five types of tea are then prepared in random order, and guests sip each one and try to guess which tea they’ve just tasted. Once you think you’ve got it, answer by pasting stickers with the character for each tea onto the answer sheet.
No need to be an expert, as this fun and lighthearted tea game is more about using your senses and enjoying chatting with the other participants and tea shop owner.
How to get there
By Shinkansen bullet train, JR Hamamatsu Station is about 1 hour and 20 minutes away from Tokyo, 1 hours and 25 minutes away from Shin-Osaka Station, and just 30 minutes away from Nagoya Station. Switch to the n.30 bus bound for Kanzanji and ride until the Kandabara bus stop (about 20 minutes). The Muramatsu tea shop is right by the bus stop.
2365 Nishiyama-cho, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka-ken
