Driving through Shizuoka Prefecture on the Shin-Tomei Expressway from Tokyo, near the Oi River, you will see a mountain with the word “brown” in front of it.
This is Mt. Awagatake straddling Kakegawa City and Shimada City.
The gigantic “tea” character drawn on the mountain began around 1932 when the local tea industry association and villagers planted pine trees on the steep slopes of Mt. Awagatake to promote tea. is.
The origin of tea making in Shizuoka dates back to the Kamakura period. In the Edo period, during the era of Ieyasu, it was stored in Sunpu Castle as "official tea", but in the Meiji period, with the opening of Shimizu Port, exports to overseas expanded and the production volume increased, making it the number one tea producer in Japan. I became proud of my quantity.
There are 20 large and small tea-producing areas in Shizuoka Prefecture, but Higashiyama is one of the tea-producing areas that spreads out at the foot of Mt. Awagatake.
A mild climate, moderate rainfall, and gentle slopes are said to be suitable for tea making.
Many people must have heard the name “Kakegawa deep steamed tea”, and by steaming the tea leaves for a longer time than normal sencha, deep, sweet and deep flavored deep steamed tea is produced here in Higashiyama. there is
There are many tea wholesalers in Shizuoka, which has a long history and production volume of tea.
Tea farmers process the harvested tea leaves into a state called 'aracha' by steaming them, and tea wholesalers purchase 'aracha' processed by tea farmers.
At the tea wholesaler, unrefined tea undergoes finishing processes such as ``blending'', ``burning'', and ``sorting'', and is delivered to general consumers as ``finished tea''.
There are about 40 tea wholesalers in Kakegawa city alone, and the tea masters are working hard to make the ideal tea.
Tea masters control the taste and quality by blending multiple brands of tea leaves.
It is truly an opportunity for the tea master to show off his skills.
In other words, blended whiskey, for example, also has this kind of blending technique.
The fact that there are many tea wholesalers with a long history also means that there are many skilled tea masters.
The appeal of Higashiyama's tea lies in the production of high-quality tea, thanks to both the tea growing environment and processing technology, which are blessed nationwide. 
It has solid technology, such as winning the "Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award" at the Tokyo Excellent Tea Competition.
Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System "Shizuoka's Chagusaba Farming Method"
In the Higashiyama region, tea is cultivated using a unique traditional farming method called “Chagusaba no Ho”.
The Chagusaba farming method is a farming method in which grasses such as Japanese pampas grass and bamboo grass are cut from the grasslands (Chagusaba) scattered around the tea plantation and spread over the tea plantation from autumn to winter.
The spread tea grass enriches the soil of the tea plantation, and cutting the grass leads to the survival of endangered species of wild fauna and flora.
In 2013, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) designated Shizuoka's Chagusaba Farming Method as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System as a rare example of a combination of delicious tea production and biodiversity.
Tea is grown in a rich natural environment through long years of sustainable agriculture.
