Sayama Tea Fields and Tasting Experience

This tasting experience is bookable through Sayama Tea House Chagashi, the meeting point for the tour, or through Sayama City Tourism at +81-4-2953-1100, and centers on Sayama tea, produced in one of the three regions traditionally recognized as Japan's great tea-growing areas alongside Shizuoka and Uji. The 2.5-hour route begins with a visit to a working Sayama tea field in the hills around the Sayama and Iruma area, where participants can see the tea bushes and learn about the region's distinctive 'Sayama-style' cultivation and processing, which favors a deeper roast than tea from warmer growing regions. The route continues with a tea-processing demonstration showing how leaves are steamed, rolled, and dried, followed by a tasting flight comparing sencha (steeped green tea) and matcha (powdered green tea), highlighting the differences in preparation and flavor between the two. The experience closes with a wagashi pairing, traditional Japanese sweets made to complement the tannic, slightly roasted character of Sayama tea, served at Sayama Tea House Chagashi. Included in the price are the field visit, the processing demonstration, and both tastings with the paired sweets; not included is transport to and from the meeting point or any additional tea purchased to take home, though most participants buy a bag or tin of Sayama tea from the tea house shop after tasting. Group sizes are generally small and informal, and the experience is conducted primarily in Japanese, with Sayama City Tourism able to arrange English-language assistance when contacted in advance of the visit. Because the tasting flight is built around Sayama tea specifically, there are few substitutions available for participants avoiding caffeine, though decaffeinated options can sometimes be requested from the tea house when booking. The best times to visit are late April through May, during the first shincha harvest that produces the year's most prized leaves, and October, during the smaller autumn harvest.