• Matcha Green Tea was originally introduced to Japan in the 12th century by the zen monk, Eisai, the founder of Japanese Zen Buddhism in Kyoto. Since then, it has been developed into the refined form of tea ceremony. However, the original purpose of bringing tea leaves into Japan was for medication. Such the tradition must be the important factor to discover the hidden secret of Japanese people, who are boasting of the world highest life expectancy. Today, various researchers are tackling with the secret of matcha through scientific approaches to identify its health benefit, and its various facts have been unveiled. In this program, you will visit the oldest tea plantation in Kyoto to learn about how the tea leaves for matcha are carefully grown, and the matcha factory's production line can be observed. You will also have a chance to handle a green tea mill and try the taste of the most expensive matcha with sweets.

The tour starts at the Hotel Granvia Kyoto in the JR Kyoto Station building, and you will transfer by train to the Uji region in the southern part of Kyoto. The name Uji is known as the place for its quality matcha plantation and factory like Scotland for Scotch whiskey as it were. In Uji, you will visit one of the oldest tea plantations in Kyoto and its matcha factory, where you will experience the handling of green tea mill and tasting of the most expensive matcha with Japanese sweets at the traditional tea hut. You will also have a chance to learn how to incorporate the habit of drinking green tea into your daily life back in your country. After knowing deeply about tea, you can enjoy shopping of green tea or tea utensils which are hard to come by in other parts of Japan. Tea ceremony is not performed in this program since the main aim of this tour is to know deeply about the benefits of matcha itself with the in-detail explanation by professionals from the tea plantation with the guide. The tour ends af