Kawane Tea Journey — A Private Day at an Eighth-Generation Tea Garden
What makes this tour special
Mizukawa, the district where Tanno-en sits, won Japan's first Emperor's Cup awarded for tea. Tanno-en has grown tea for eight generations since the mid-Edo period and is a distinguished garden designated to supply tea to the Imperial Household. A farmer guides you through the actual tea fields — not a staged demonstration.
You can experience tea-picking in a pesticide-free field, and the leaves you pick are fried into tempura for you to eat. Enjoy an unpretentious country lunch alongside the mountain-grown tea.
The Ōigawa Railway climbs a misted river valley on vintage rolling stock, past terraced gardens and a long suspension bridge.
The garden receives a single private party — never a coach, never a crowd. The day moves at your pace.
Other experiences with us
Overview
A private day in the tea mountains of Kawane. Whisk matcha at the tea museum, make your way up the Ōi River valley, then pick tea in an pesticide-free garden — and fry the leaves you picked into tempura. Lunch, a tea-brewing experience and an English or Japanese guide all included.
Kawane is deep tea country, up the Ōi River in the mountains of central Shizuoka — a valley of terraced gardens, a vintage railway and morning mist. It doesn't draw crowds, and that's rather the point. We spend a whole day here, with tea.
Your guide for the day is also a farmer at Tanno-en, a tea garden eight generations deep. Mizukawa, its home district, won Japan's first Emperor's Cup awarded for tea, and Tanno-en itself is a distinguished garden designated to supply the Imperial Household. The whole garden is grown without pesticides — so in the field you can pick fresh leaf and fry what you picked into tempura and eat it. It's a private tour, with only one group welcomed each day.
On this full day of tea, you learn about tea at the Fujinokuni Tea Museum and pick tea for yourself at Tanno-en. At a local shop, enjoy a lunch of soba with tempura made from the tea leaves you just picked. There are little activities to enjoy along the way, too — a tea-brewing experience and a walk across the long, thrilling suspension bridge. Your guide is the Tanno-en grower himself — one person, deeply local and fluent in English or Japanese. There is no separate interpreter; he stays with you the whole day. Savour a sacred home of tea that few travellers ever get to experience.
- Good for: tea lovers, and anyone after the real thing at its source
- Fully private — your party only, one group a day (minimum 2, up to 9)
- Runs June–March on weekdays; ask about spring tea-picking
- Reserve as a request; we confirm once the garden's calendar is checked
The order and timings below are a rough guide. They can shift on the day with the weather, the season, and the pace of the group.
Your guide is waiting at the north exit of JR Kakegawa Station, and we set off for the tea hills of Kawane.
Learn the history of tea and get to know its many kinds. Before heading into the fields, we start by understanding tea itself.
Walk the garden rows, pick your own leaf in a pesticide-free field, and fry the leaves you picked into tempura.
Handmade soba in a mountain restaurant, where the locals eat.
A guided tea-brewing experience — how the leaf, water temperature and pouring change the very same cup.
220 metres across the Ōi — a long, thrilling wooden footbridge.
We return you to Kakegawa Station by early evening.
Frequently asked questions
What's included in the price?
Everything for the day is in: an English- and Japanese-speaking guide, all transport during the tour, the tea experiences (garden walk, tea-picking, tempura and a tea-brewing experience), lunch, and travel insurance. The price is per person, tax included. Not included is getting to Kakegawa Station and anything beyond lunch.
How many guests, and is it private?
The day is fully private — your party only, one group a day, from 2 up to 9 guests. Solo travellers are welcome and book at the two-guest rate.
When does the tour run?
June to March, on weekdays. The hands-on tea-picking uses the summer and autumn leaf; the spring first flush (April–May) is the grower's busiest season, so please ask if you have those dates in mind.
How do I book?
You reserve as a request first. We check the garden's availability and confirm your date, and nothing is charged until the booking is confirmed.
What language is the guide in?
The tea grower guides you himself, in English or Japanese, for the whole day — one host, not a separate farmer and interpreter. We are a registered travel agency and reply to enquiries in English or Japanese, usually within one business day.
Travel conditions
- Minimum group size: 2 guests (the tour may be cancelled if the minimum is not reached).
- Maximum group size: 9 guests.
- A guide accompanies you for the whole day.
Cancellation Policy
Free cancellation up to a set number of days before the tour. After that, a cancellation fee applies on a sliding scale up to the day of departure.
Questions about this tour?
Ask us anything — dates, pickup, group size or what to bring. We're a registered travel agency and reply in English, Japanese or Vietnamese, usually within one business day.
Tour Participation Terms & Waiver
What we ask of you on the day, and where our responsibility as the organizer begins and ends. Worth a read before you book.
Read the termsA few scenes from the day
Reviews
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