Shizuoka
Japan's largest tea region by planted area — roughly 40% of the national total. It led the country in output too for decades, until Kagoshima overtook it in the 2024 crop. Within the prefecture the styles split sharply: mountain districts like Kawane and Honyama make aromatic light-steamed tea, while the Makinohara plateau is deep-steamed country. It is also where tea from the whole country is traded and blended, so its finishing craft runs deep.
Land and climate
The range of elevation inside the prefecture is wide enough that conditions differ completely from one district to the next. Kawane, on the upper Oi river, and Honyama, along the Abe, are steep mountain slopes where river mist softens the sunlight and produces aromatic tea. Makinohara, by contrast, is a broad sunny plateau suited to machine harvesting.
How it is made
The mountain districts steam lightly to keep the leaf intact and the aroma forward. The flat land around Makinohara is deep-steaming country, aiming for a dark liquor and a rounder taste. Two opposite approaches coexisting in one prefecture is what defines Shizuoka.
Cultivars
- Yabukita
- Tsuyuhikari
- Okuhikari
What to look for
The words 'Shizuoka tea' alone won't tell you whether it is light- or deep-steamed. Kawane and Honyama point to aromatic light-steamed tea; Kakegawa and Makinohara point to deep-steamed. Look for the district name, not just the prefecture.