Exploring Japan - Hiking & Tea Picking in Wazuka, Kyoto
In my last post I explained a little about the tea town of Wazuka and the reasons why it's such a special place. Not only is the climate perfect for growing tea, the scenery is also dream-like thanks to the patterns on the hillside and the different shades of green.
I was in Wazuka to meet Daiki Tanaka, the founder of a company called d:matcha that owns a few tea farms and a cafe in Wazuka. His shop resides in the centre of town and he took me on a hike towards the summit of one of the mountains in this area. It was a great experience as I was able to get a view of the whole town and also try my hand at tea picking, something I've never done before. When we got back I was able to learn more about the subtleties behind green tea and what makes the taste differ, more of which I will showcase in a future post.
Daiki is very unique as he originally moved here from Tokyo with his younger brother and wife. He has always been interested in agriculture and wanted to make top quality tea and also promote this area of Japan to more people in Japan. So his younger brother studied with the master tea farmers in this area and they founded the shop to coincide with this project.
Green tea has an image in Japan as being 'normal' and a little old fashioned, so most Japanese look to coffee to get a kick throughout the day. As a younger businessman, Daiki is look to change this culture and bring in a fresh generation that can revive this industry, something I really support. Most of the farmers here seemed to be around the age of 60 or older, which will cause problems in the future as they transition to a younger age group that need to tend to the farms. Hopefully I can work with Daiki to bring more people to the town of Wazuka and promote this beautiful place to more foreign visitors of Japan. It's only one hour from Kyoto and is a memorable experience!
Anyway, here are a few photos that I took on my hike up the mountain. I thought the views were some of the most beautiful I have seen. More about the d:matcha project coming very soon. Enjoy.
More from my Travels in Japan:
Exploring Japan - A Visit to Awaji Yumebutai on Awaji Island
Exploring Japan - Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art in Kyoto
Exploring Japan - A Visit to Tadao Ando's Water Temple on Awaji Island
Exploring Japan - Akashi Kaikyō Suspension Bridge
Exploring Japan - A Visit to the Osaka Prefectural Sayamaike Museum
Eating Kaiseki Multi-Course Japanese Dinner in Kyoto, Japan
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Wow, what a beautiful place to walk/hike through. I would love to go to Japan, but not sure if I want to go in the summer or the winter both have great reasons to come in those seasons.
Thanks! :) Yeah, summer is not too good lol I was there in spring (around may time) which was a nice season. Maybe 25-26 degrees c with a slight breeze.
@oen that is the perfect time to hike, summer is a killer in my state and not a great time to hike, more a beach time lol.
That is quite a view and I'd like to know how does a tea field smell like. Now I think I really want to go to Japan. Love the photos by the way.
There's not much of an aroma in the tea field, but when you travel towards the other side of this town you can really smell the green tea as it's being steamed in some of the out buildings.
Oh my word but it looks beautiful @oen, lovely photos! One wonders who will continue farming and where the younger generation is?
Thanks for your comment @lizelle. Yeah, it was beautiful. I think this a problem that Japan will have to fight since there is an ageing population and many of the younger people go off in to the city to find office jobs instead of working out in rural areas. Most of Japan's rural areas are unpopulated, so it seems like there are many opportunities if you can create some kind of work out there that younger people would like to be involved in. I guess it's a different lifestyle in a rural area.
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Wonderful photo story from Japan. I love it, @oen