New Wazuka tea tours for the new year
As the season change and the temperatures drop, the beauty of Wazuka valley shifts but doesn’t abate. Each day, the valley offers new allure from frost-tipped tea fields to mountains turned mysterious by low hanging fog. With the new year, we are offering two new ways to enjoy Wazuka’s unique beauty in every season.
Guided tour from Nara JR train station
Although Wazuka valley is located in Kyoto Prefecture, it is actually closer to Nara than to Kyoto city - only about 30 minutes by train and bus. This makes it easy to combine a half day tour of Nara with a half day in Wazuka.
This is a great tour for those who are less familiar with Japan’s public transportation system as we will meet you at the Nara JR Station and bring you back with us to the town of Wazuka - only about 30 minutes away. This tour is also a great option for those who like to take their time starting the day since the tour starts at 11:00am.
Once we arrive, we will guide you on a walk through the back streets and lanes of Wazuka lined with old-style Japanese homes and surrounded by hills covered in beautiful, working tea farms. Along the way, we will provide an insider's understanding of tea cultivation and production as well as talk about what makes Japanese teas so unique. We will also pass sites like the ancient burial place of an emperor's son and a Buddha carved into a rock face next to a river. The tour plan will reflect the beautiful of each season - from cherry blossoms in the spring to red Japanese maple leaves in the fall.
The walking tour will conclude at d:matcha Cafe & Kitchen where you can take a rest and taste for yourself the complex and distinct flavors of single-source Japanese green teas by enjoying a sencha and matcha tasting. The matcha tasting includes a quick lesson on how to whisk your own matcha and is accompanied by two of our homemade tea cookies.
(If you are interested in this tour but are traveling from somewhere other than Nara, please feel free to contact us at info@dmatcha.com.)
Discovery & Photography Walk
Scheduled so as to capture golden afternoon light, on this tour we will explore the hidden nooks and crannies of the town and landscape of Wazuka, including sites like the Shohoji Temple and Ishitera tea fields. With an 800 year history of tea cultivation, Wazuka has been shaped and sculpted by active tea farming that continues today. On this off-the-hidden-path, walking tour, we will find hidden treasures and beautiful spots for great pictures throughout the town and hills of Wazuka.
Beautiful in all seasons - from bright sunny days to mountains shrouded in low hanging clouds - Wazuka's evergreen tea plants and cedar groves are always a beautiful sight. This walk is one of discovery, with a photography twist - whether you are using a high-power camera, a smart phone, or just using your eyes - in a place where it is very rare to see any other tourists.
As with the tour above, this tour concludes at d:matcha Cafe & Kitchen so you have the opportunity to enjoy tea cultivated and produced by our team here in Wazuka.
We look forward seeing you soon!
