We are grateful to have been featured again in the national press. Thank you for helping us share the story of Sonogi tea with more people.
Featured in Zenkoku Nogyo Shimbun (National Agricultural News), 28 August 2026
Zenkoku Nogyo Shimbun (National Agricultural News, No. 3434, 28 August 2026), published by the National Chamber of Agriculture, featured Higashisonogi and the Nagasaki Ikedoki Tea Project in its regional “Local Pride” (Chiiki no Jiman) column, on the Nagasaki regional page.
Higashisonogi: Tea Fields and Omura Bay — Hands-on Tourism for International Visitors
Higashisonogi Town is mostly mountains and forest, and its southwest side faces Omura Bay — a calm inland sea enclosed on all sides by land. The town produces roughly 70% of Nagasaki Prefecture’s tea, known under the “Sonogi tea” brand, and the view of Omura Bay from its hillside tea fields is a source of local pride.
Making the most of these resources, an experiential tour for international visitors — a “tea tourism” programme combining tea (green tea) and tourism — is offered in the town. The tours are run by Yasuharu Matsumoto, representative of Nagasaki Ikedoki Tea, together with Marjolein Raijmakers, who is from the Netherlands. Guests take part in an orientation on the history of Sonogi tea, guided visits to the tea fields and processing factory, and tea-tasting comparisons.
Matsumoto has worked for many years in the overseas online sale of Japanese tea and in tourism for international visitors, and relocated from Kyoto Prefecture in 2020. Marjolein, who first met him in the Netherlands, moved to the town in 2023 and now helps run the tours. International travellers place great value on hands-on experiences; the tours have been well received, and the appeal of Higashisonogi is spreading around the world.
Source: Zenkoku Nogyo Shimbun (National Agricultural News) No. 3434, 28 August 2026, Nagasaki regional page 10, published by the National Chamber of Agriculture (Zenkoku Nogyo Kaigisho). English text translated and summarised by Nagasaki Ikedoki Tea. Zenkoku Nogyo Shimbun website »