A Five-Senses Journey into the World of Japanese Tea”
Shizuoka Prefecture is the heart of Japanese tea culture, and in Hamamatsu City, you can enjoy a truly immersive tea experience at the specialty tea shop Ubunoen (宇布乃園). The fifth-generation owner, Yoko Matsumoto, affectionately known as “Ocha-ko,” the tea lover, shares the joy of tea through engaging stories and hands-on experiences. Her motto is: “A taste that lingers in your heart and memory.”
Join Matsumoto-san and savor a cup of tea that will make you think, “That tea was so good—I want to drink it again.”
Enjoy Tea with All Five Senses
- Sight: Appreciate the color of sencha and hojicha leaves, and select the patterns and colors of traditional Enshu cotton tsumugi pouches.
- Smell: Experience the fresh aroma of brewed sencha, the toasty scent of roasting hojicha, and the fragrant bouquet of hojicha tea leaves in a handmade potpourri pouch.
- Taste: Savor the distinct flavors of the first, second, and third brews of sencha, and enjoy premium sencha paired with traditional Japanese sweets.
- Touch: Feel the tea leaves with your hands and experience roasting tea in a traditional horoku pan.
- Sound: Listen to the soothing crackle of tea leaves roasting and the gentle pour of hot tea.
Welcome with Professional Sencha Brewing & Tea Talk (20 min)
- Content: Introduction to Japanese tea, the process of making sencha, its uses, and health benefits.
- Guests are welcomed with freshly brewed sencha prepared by a professional.
- Three steepings:
- First infusion: ~50°C (lukewarm)
- Second infusion: ~70°C
- Third infusion: High temperature
- Each infusion offers a unique flavor, showcasing how temperature and brewing time affect taste. Guests can experience the subtle differences of professionally brewed tea.
Houjicha Roasting Experience (10 min)
- You’ll be guided to the tea experience facility, O-Chadokoro Ubunoen, where you can roast tea leaves to make houjicha (roasted green tea).
- Tool used: Houroku – a traditional roasting vessel.
- Tea used: Bancha (common tea leaves), chosen because high-grade teas can easily burn or become acidic when roasted.
- The roasting process fills the space with a soothing, nutty aroma.
- Roasted leaves have deodorizing and antibacterial properties, useful for freshening rooms during humid seasons or after cooking odors.
Make a Houjicha Potpourri in a Traditional Enshu Cotton Pouch (40 min)
- Use the roasted tea leaves to create a potpourri in a pouch of your choice.
- Pouches and cords are handmade by Matsumoto-san using Enshu cotton tsumugi, a traditional Hamamatsu fabric dating back to the early Edo period.
- Types of fabrics:
- Enshu stripe (navy with stripes)
- Multicolored stripe tsumugi
- Plain-dyed tsumugi
- How it works:
- Place roasted tea leaves in the pouch
- Thread the cord and tie a bow to finish
- Completed potpourri can be kept in a bag, car, or personal space to enjoy the calming aroma anytime.
Enjoy Premium Sencha with Japanese Sweets (45 min)
- Matsumoto-san demonstrates the proper way to brew delicious sencha.
- Guests can brew premium Hamamatsu sencha themselves using a teapot, learning the correct leaf quantity, water temperature, and pouring method.
- Japanese sweets are served alongside the tea, changing daily to complement the flavor of the sencha.
- By the end, participants gain practical skills to brew flavorful tea at home while enjoying a relaxing moment with traditional Japanese sweets.
Schedule & Details
- Season: Year-round
- Dates:
- Until September: Every 2nd Wednesday at 9:45 AM
- From October: Every 2nd Wednesday & 3rd Saturday at 9:45 AM
- Group Size: 1–4 people
- Price:
- Middle school students to adults: ¥3,500/person
- Ages 3–Elementary school: ¥1,100/person
- Children 2 and under: Free (observation only)
- Note: Participants aged 3+ can make and take home hojicha potpourri
