Organic tea farming in Wazuka | Top things to do in Japan
Watch this video to see what it’s like to visit a traditional, family-run tea farm in rural Wazuka, Japan. We’ll show you where it is, how to get there and what it’s like. Come along with us!
ABOUT US: We are two 60-somethings who are fortunate enough to be able to smell the roses—and we do—while we still can! We don’t like videos in which the content creator is the star of the show. We prefer to show you what you want to see: the surroundings, the physical space and the atmosphere. We want to impart good, useful information to help you plan your travels!
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Fun Fact: The four biggest tea-producing countries are China, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka, together representing 75% of world tea production.
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00:00 intro
00:43 how we got there
00:57 Wazuka Tea Cafe
01:30 Fun Fact!
01:46 Farmer Jack
02:28 Jack and Natsuki
02:34 the tea farm
03:59 tea tasting
I WANT TO TAKE YOU TODAY TO THE SMALL FARMING VILLAGE OF WAZUKA, NORTHEAST OF OSAKA, SOUTH OF KYOTO, ON JAPAN’S LARGEST ISLAND OF HONSU.
THIS WAS A DAY TRIP FOR US FROM OUR BASE IN OSAKA. WE TOOK A TRAIN FOR ABOUT AN HOUR AND THEN A BUS FOR ABOUT FIFTEEN MINUTES TO REACH WAZUKA.
WE HEADED FOR THE WAZUKA TEA CAFE, A SMALL STORE AND RESTAURANT THAT SELLS PRODUCTS FROM MOST ALL THE LOCAL GROWERS. WE ASKED IF IT WERE POSSIBLE TO TOUR A LOCAL FARM, AND —BEFORE YOU KNOW IT— A MAN NAMED JACK SHOWED UP TO TAKE US TO HIS TEA FARM!
CONSIDERED TO BE THE “HOMETOWN OF GREEN TEA,” WAZUKA IS WHERE UJICHA, A HIGH-QUALITY TYPE OF GREEN TEA THAT REMAINS PRIZED TODAY, ORIGINATED.
IT WAS QUITE THE RIDE IN JACK’S SMALL JITNEY, UP A WINDING, ONE-LANE PATH.
JACK IS FROM THAILAND AND HE MARRIED NATSUKI, WHO IS FROM JAPAN. THE TWO OF THEM HAVE BEEN GROWING TEA ON THIS SMALL HILLSIDE SINCE 2019 BRANDING THEMSELVES AS “JACK FARM”. THEY ARE ONE OF THE VERY FEW ORGANIC FARMS IN ALL OF JAPAN. ON THEIR WEB SITE, JACK SAYS, “IT TAKES A LOT OF TIME AND LABOR TO CULTIVATE WITHOUT AGROCHEMICALS AND CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS, BUT EVERY DAY I FEEL THE SATISFACTION OF INTERACTING WITH NATURE TO DELIVER SAFE AND HEALTHY AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.”
JACK EXPLAINED TO US THAT MANY OF THE GROWERS HERE ARE GETTING OLDER AND ABANDONING THEIR FARMS.
WHAT’S WORSE IS THAT THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS HAVE LITTLE INTEREST IN WORKING THE FIELDS.
TODAY, THERE ARE ABOUT TWO-HUNDRED TEA GROWING FAMILIES IN THE AREA.
DID YOU KNOW THAT A TEA PLANT IS ACTUALLY A CAMELLIA SHRUB? IT’S TRUE!
AFTER SPENDING SOME TIME IN AND AMONGST THE TEA, JACK DROVE US DOWN TO HIS RICE FIELD. HERE THEY GROW VARIOUS RICE VARIETIES. IT’S ALSO HERE THAT WE MET NATSUKI AND SHE AND JACK SET-UP AN IMPROMPTU TEA TASTING FOR US.
WE LEARNED SO MUCH ON THIS SPUR-OF-THE-MOMENT VISIT WITH JACK FARM! PLEASE DO VISIT THEM IF YOU’RE EVER IN THE KYOTO OR OSAKA AREA, OR— AT THE VERY LEAST— VISIT THEM ONLINE AND SUPPORT A HARD-WORKING FAMILY WHICH CONTINUES TO PRESERVE THE 800-YEAR HISTORY OF TEA GROWING IN THE WAZUKA AREA.