Wazuka Tea Plantation

The entire town of Wazuka-cho, located in the southern part of Kyoto City, is dotted with around 600 hectares (1,483 acres) of tea plantations. It is said that tea cultivation has been taking place there since the Kamakura period, and even now the area makes up 45% of the Uji tea production in all of Kyoto Prefecture. Within Wazuka-cho, the most famous tea plantation is the Tea Plantations in Ishitera. Designated as Kyoto's number one Scenic Asset and also a Japan Heritage Site, this area is used as PR for a variety of teas. Visitors to the town can see a variety of other beautiful tea plantations spreading across the steep slopes of the mountains as well, such as the Tea Plantations in Shirasu and Erihara; the rare, round-shaped Tea Plantations in Harayama; and the Tea Plantations in Kamatsuka, which are near the central area that houses a tourist information building and matcha tea cafés. Houses with tiled roofs and tea factories still remain in the spaces between the tea plantations, and the rural scenery and tea culture that took root long ago is still treasured even today.