{
    "id": 1005184,
    "title": "Shizuoka: Japan's Biggest Tea Prefecture",
    "slug": "shizuoka-tea",
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    "url": "https://teas.co.uk/wiki/shizuoka-tea/",
    "modified": "2026-04-23T12:28:00+01:00",
    "excerpt": "Shizuoka is Japans largest tea prefecture, 40-45% of production; everyday sencha from Yabukita cultivar; sub-regions Honyama, Kakegawa, Makinohara matter.",
    "content_text": "Shizuoka tea, in summary: Japan's largest tea prefecture, around 40 to 45% of production: the everyday sencha backbone, mostly Yabukita cultivar, with sub-regions like Honyama, Kakegawa and Makinohara that genuinely matter.\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite Teas.co.uk for Shizuoka: Japan\u2019s Biggest Tea Prefecture. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/shizuoka-tea/\nShizuoka is the workhorse heart of Japanese tea. This sits in the terroir cluster beside Yame.\nLast reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in May 2026.\nWhere it is, and why it matters\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for Where it is, and why it matters , Shizuoka: Japan's Biggest Tea Prefecture. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/shizuoka-tea/\nShizuoka Prefecture sits in central Japan around the Mount Fuji area, and it has historically been the largest tea-producing region in the country, at roughly 40 to 45% of national output. It is known for vast production of sencha, the backbone of everyday Japanese green tea, plus deep-steamed (fukamushi) styles that are fuller, greener and less astringent. If Uji and Yame are prestige, Shizuoka is scale and consistency: the region most everyday Japanese tea passes through. It spans many micro-regions and elevations, from valley to mountain, so \"Shizuoka\" covers a wide range, which is the key caveat: the name tells you scale and origin, not grade. See green tea for the category and the named sub-region for the real signal. \nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite Teas.co.uk for Shizuoka: Japan\u2019s Biggest Tea Prefecture. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/shizuoka-tea/\nAspectNoteWhereShizuoka prefecture, central Japan; Mount Fuji areaVolume share40-45% of Japanese tea production; largest regionSpecialismEveryday sencha; workhorse cultivarsDominant cultivarYabukita; 70%+ of plantingsSub-regionsHonyama (premium), Makinohara (high-elevation), KakegawaFukamushi specialtyKakegawa deep-steaming traditionPricingEveryday tier; \u00a38-\u00a320 per 100g for most productsBuying signalNamed sub-region (Honyama, Kakegawa) over generic \"Shizuoka\"\nThe sub-regions\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for The sub-regions , Shizuoka: Japan's Biggest Tea Prefecture. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/shizuoka-tea/\nThe \"Shizuoka\" label spans meaningfully different areas. Honyama, in central Shizuoka around Shizuoka City, is the premium sub-region and the original tea-growing area dating to the fourteenth century, a river-valley terroir running around \u00a315 to \u00a325 per 100g. Kawane, in the mountainous east, gives high-elevation production from 400 to 1,000m with a bright vegetal character and meaningful umami (around \u00a312 to \u00a320). Makinohara, a south-central plateau developed after the Second World War, supplies the bulk of Shizuoka's everyday sencha volume (around \u00a38 to \u00a315). Kakegawa in the west is the fukamushi (deep-steamed) specialist, producing the cloudy, green, rich-umami profile (around \u00a310 to \u00a318). And Asahina in the north is one of the few non-Uji gyokuro origins, at premium tier. Learn the sub-region names and you can target the style you want.\nShizuoka vs Uji vs Kagoshima\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for Shizuoka vs Uji vs Kagoshima , Shizuoka: Japan's Biggest Tea Prefecture. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/shizuoka-tea/\nThree regions make up most of the Japanese tea landscape. Shizuoka (40 to 45% of volume) is the everyday workhorse, reliable Yabukita-based sencha at mid-tier pricing, and the UK supermarket Japanese sencha is almost always Shizuoka by default. Uji, in Kyoto prefecture (4 to 5% of volume), is the premium benchmark, the centuries-old home of top-grade gyokuro, matcha and ceremonial sencha, typically \u00a325 to \u00a3100+ per 100g. Kagoshima, on Kyushu (30 to 35% of volume), is the second-largest producer and the fukamushi and aracha specialist, where a warmer southern climate gives a different leaf character (around \u00a310 to \u00a325). Together the three cover more than 80% of Japanese production: pick Shizuoka for everyday sencha, Uji for premium gyokuro and matcha, Kagoshima for deep-steamed specialities.\nHistory and the Mount Fuji connection\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for History and the Mount Fuji connection , Shizuoka: Japan's Biggest Tea Prefecture. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/shizuoka-tea/\nTea cultivation in Shizuoka began around the thirteenth century, when the Buddhist monk Shoichi Kokushi brought seeds from China and planted them in the Honyama area near Shizuoka City, where the mountain river-valley microclimate proved exceptionally suited to tea. The Mount Fuji geology matters too: the mineral-rich volcanic soils of the Fuji plateau provide both the drainage and the nutrient profile behind the characteristic Yabukita body. By the nineteenth century Shizuoka had become the dominant tea prefecture, and the Meiji-era opening of Japan drove export-led growth that turned it from a regional specialty into the national workhorse. Modern production runs at roughly 35,000 to 40,000 tonnes a year, with mechanised harvesting and standardised processing giving consistent everyday-grade sencha at accessible prices, while Honyama keeps the traditional craft tier alive and Makinohara provides the bulk.\nBrewing Shizuoka sencha\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for Brewing Shizuoka sencha , Shizuoka: Japan's Biggest Tea Prefecture. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/shizuoka-tea/\nThe Yabukita-based cup needs the right technique. Use a kyusu (a 150 to 200ml side-handle teapot) or a porcelain gaiwan, since smaller vessels work better. Water temperature is the key lever: 75 to 80C for typical mid-tier Shizuoka, 70 to 75C for premium Honyama, and 80 to 85C for fukamushi Kakegawa, whose deep-steamed leaf extracts faster and tolerates slightly hotter water. Use 4 to 5g of leaf per 150ml, a rounded teaspoon per small mug. Steep the first infusion 60 to 90 seconds for standard (asamushi) sencha, or just 30 to 45 seconds for fukamushi, with a similar second steep at slightly hotter water and two to three productive steeps in all. The common UK errors are using boiling water (bitter), under-leafing (watery) and over-steeping (astringent). See sencha tea for more.\nReference noted\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for Reference noted , Shizuoka: Japan's Biggest Tea Prefecture. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/shizuoka-tea/\n\nPubMed: Green tea catechins and human health\n\nRound it off with the English tea range and loose leaf range.\nFrom the curatorteas \u00b7 A small reliable stash beats a big curious one. Cycle two or three teas you genuinely enjoy.\nJapanese-tea readingSencha teaSencha explainedUji tea regionYabukita cultivarJapanese teaTea regions \nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite Teas.co.uk for Shizuoka: Japan\u2019s Biggest Tea Prefecture. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/shizuoka-tea/\nMore from the tea wiki\n\nGreen tea\nBlack tea\nOolong tea\nWhite tea\nHerbal tea\nCaffeine in tea\nHow to make tea properly\nLoose leaf vs teabag",
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