There is no better way to discover Japanese tea than by experiencing it where it is grown.
This week, we had the pleasure of welcoming a wonderful group of guests from Italy for a three-day tea & pottery journey through Nagasaki (and Saga). We welcomed the wonderful group in Higashisonogi on one leg of their 3 week Tea & Hydrangea Tour through Japan and organised a special customised deep-dive programme into both tea and pottery from this region. Thank you to the wonderful Antonella and Elisabetta from Ikiya, Treviso (Italy) for bringing such a lovely group of guests to our corner of Japan!
During the tour, we explored the history, culture, cultivation, and production of Japanese tea while meeting local tea farmers and visiting some of the region’s most beautiful tea landscapes. Tea goes hand in hand with pottery, so our third day focused on exploring pottery in Arita, the birthplace of porcelain in Japan.
Day 1 – Discovering the History and Culture of Japanese Tea
Our journey began with a morning pick-up from our guests’ hotel in Ureshino.
Visiting the Great Old Tea Tree
Our first stop was the famous Great Old Tea Tree (Daichanoki), one of the oldest tea trees in the region. Standing beneath this remarkable tree, our guests learned about the origins of tea cultivation in Ureshino and its important place in the history of Japanese tea.
Learning at the Ureshino Tea Museum
Next, we visited the Ureshino Tea Museum, where our guests discovered how tea has shaped local culture for centuries.
Through interactive exhibits, traditional tea-making tools, and historical displays, they gained a deeper understanding of Japanese tea culture and the lives of tea farmers. Everyone was eager to ask questions, making the visit both educational and engaging.
Factory Tour at Forthees
Our next stop was the Forthees tencha factory. Here, our guests observed matcha-processing equipment and learned how carefully harvested tea leaves are transformed into high-quality products while preserving their freshness and flavour.
We were very lucky to see the factory in action, and saw trucks bring in the freshly harvested leaves, smelled the delightful aroma of the steamed leaves, and felt the heat of the large red-brick oven used to dry the leaves.
Tea Picking Experience
To finish the first day, everyone enjoyed harvesting fresh tea leaves in our own tea field overlooking Omura Bay. The Ikedoki tea field is a tea field that was abandoned about 20 years ago, and we are slowly (in between our office work and tours) trying to make the field accessible to do some hand-picking events.
The moment was very special to the Ikedoki team as it was our very first group to experience hand picking in our own field!
Day 2 – Becoming Tea Farmers for a Day
The second day offered an even deeper hands-on experience.
Tea Harvesting at Tozaka
In the morning, we joined tea farmer Tozaka in his ‘natural cultivation’ field. We love the teas from this field where he has piloted natural cultivation (without any use of pesticides and no fertiliser since 2016). In our tea selection we have 3 different teas that are produced from this field: one from spring, one from summer and one from autumn harvest.
Our guests had the opportunity to hand-pick more tea leaves for a special tiny batch of ‘Natsubeni hōjicha’ – Tozaka’s summer harvest black tea that will be roasted like a hōjicha.
The guests even had a chance to join the harvesting of Tozaka’s main batch by helping out with the hand-held harvesting machine!
Factory Visit with Ohyama
After lunch, we toured the tamaryokucha factory at Ohyama Seichaen.
Tea farmer Ohyama, a multiple award-winning tea farmer was so kind to show us around his tea factory, and later sit down with us and his wife to brew some of their deep & rich tamaryokucha from spring harvest.
Our guests observed how Tamaryokucha—Nagasaki’s signature curlly-shaped green tea—is produced through steaming, rolling, and drying. Watching each stage of the process helped everyone understand what makes this tea so distinctive.
Day 3 – Exploring Porcelain in Arita
Visit to Kouraku Kiln
After 2 very full and long days steeped in tea, we changed our focus to porcelain on day 3.
Jérémie Paré-Julien from Kouraku Kiln heartily welcomed us for a fascinating tour of the production factory of the kiln. Kouraku kiln is one of the larger porcelain producers in Arita, though with their ‘only’ 161 years of operation they are a young player on the porcelain scene in Arita where some companies date back 400 years right back to the starting period of porcelain production in Japan.
After the factory tour, we dove into Kouraku Kiln’s unique porcelain treasure hunt: with a pair of gloves we were let loose in their old warehouse, packed with endless stacks of crates of pottery, selecting the favourite pieces that caught our eye.
Visiting Tōzan Shrine, Izumiyama Quarry & the 1,000 year old Ginkgo Tree
A visit to Arita is not complete without a couple of extra stops:
- with our focus on porcelain, the Tōzan Shrine (or Sueyama Shrine) was a must-visit. The shrine name means “ceramic mountain shrine” and was founded in the mid-17th century when porcelain production was in full swing. The 188 shrine’s torii (archway), is uniquely constructed of porcelain and is a designated Tangible Cultural Property.
- The Izumiyama Quarry is the site where the high quality kaolinite (essential component of porcelain) was discovered in the early 17th century. It was the discovery of Izumiyama that allowed the large-scale production of porcelain in Japan. The quarry was last mined in 1995.
- Just around the corner of the Izumiyama Quarry is Arita’s famous 1,000 year-old Ginkgo Tree that is worth a stop to behold the giant tree.
The rest of day 3 was spent at the Kyushu Ceramics Museum learning about the history of Arita porcelain, and going shopping for porcelain at Arita Sera, a concentration of 22 shops specialised in Arita porcelain.
Thank You!
It was a true pleasure to spend these three days with our guests from Italy.
Their curiosity, enthusiasm, and willingness to experience every aspect of Japanese tea—from harvesting fresh leaves to learning about tea production—made this tour especially memorable.
We hope they return home with wonderful memories of Nagasaki and a deeper appreciation for Japanese tea culture.
Thank you for joining us, and we look forward to welcoming you back again someday!
