Tea production area: Tenryu Village, Iida City, Nagiso Town
Brand name of tea: Nakaisamurai tea, Akaishi tea, Tadachi tea, Minami Shinshu tea
Types of tea: Sencha (medium steamed green tea), hojicha (roasted green tea), black tea

Nakaisamurai tea
Nakaisamurai tea is cultivated and produced in Tenryu Village, on the border of Nagano, Shizuoka, Aichi prefectures.

Tenryu-gawa River and valley in Tenryu Village (June 2019)

Tea fields on the steep slopes of the mountain
There are tea fields on the steep slopes of the mountain at an altitude of 300 to 700 meters in Nakaisamurai village in Tenryu village. From the tea fields, you can see the Tenryu River and the deep valley below.

Tea fields on the steep slopes in Tenryu Village (June 2019)

Tea cultivation began as a cash crop about 50 years ago in Tenryu Village.
Although the temperature difference is large in this area, weather is relatively warm and foggy, suitable for tea cultivation. Mostly sencha is produced, and the color of tea is clear and pale yellow-green. The tea has a refreshing flavor and little bitterness.

Nakaisamura tea, Ryokucha cafe Chamurai (June 2019)

New settlers support the community
Due to aging and the shortage of successors, it is not easy to maintain the tea industry. However, new young migrants support the tea farmers. Young people have settled in Tenryu Village and established an NPO (nonprofit organization) called Tsumemogaki. The members of Tsumemogaki have conducted various activities to revitalize the community with the local people. They design packages for leaf tea for each tea farmer, post information about the tea and village to an SNS (social network service), organize tea picking tours, etc.

Nakaisamurai tea which packages were designed by a member of Tsumemogaki (June 2019)

Ryokucha cafe Chamurai (green tea cafe Chamurai)
The cafe opens at a private home near JR Nakaisamurai Station only on weekends in June each year. The cafe is managed by members of Tsumemogaki. You can drink local tea and eat cookies made with tea.
There are tea production places other than Tenryu Village in Nagano Prefecture. However, CHAMART has not visited there yet.

Ryokucha cafe Chamurai (June 2019)

Nakaisamurai tea and tea cookies, Ryokucha cafe Chamurai (June 2019)

Nakaisamura Station of JR Iida line (June 2019)

Tea related facility:
Green tea cafe Chamurai 緑茶カフェ茶むらい
https://namaharumaki003.wixsite.com/tsumemogaki/green-tea-cafe

Ceramic and pottery art: Takato ware and Matsushiro ware

Reference:
松下智 (平成3年) 日本名茶紀行 (初版) 雄山閣出版
高野實、谷本陽蔵、富田勲、中川致之、岩浅潔、寺元益英、山田新市 執筆 (社)日本茶業中央会監修 (2005) 緑茶の事典 改定3版 柴田書店
中井侍銘茶 http://nakaisamurai.com
NPO法人ツメモガキ
https://namaharumaki003.wixsite.com/tsumemogaki
天龍村　http://www.vill-tenryu.jp
天龍村観光協会
https://tenryu-kanko.com/sightseeing/
ツキメモガキ
https://namaharumaki003.wixsite.com/tsumemogaki

*When visiting the shops and facilities introduced in this article, please check the business hours on their website, etc. before visiting.
*The information provided on this site may be updated. If you find any information in this article that is incorrect, new, or incomplete, please contact CHAMART.
*The site does not describe all “Teas of Japan” or all “Teas of the World”. Additionally, each article expresses the writer’s personal experience and feelings.

#nakaisamuraitea #Japanesetea #Nagano