Enjoying Green Tea Aromatic in Greenpia Makinohara
Greenpia is situated amongst rolling green hills, in the town of Makinohara, east of Hamamatsu. The slower pace of life here is a welcome treat if you’ve been touring the more tourist-dense areas around Kanto and Kansai. At Greenpia, traditional tea picking outfits, consisting of cotton happi coats, bandanas, wicker baskets, and picking gloves are provided free of charge, so you can really get into character!
Before you are sent off on your picking adventure, a guide will instruct you on how to properly pick the leaves. The good aroma of tea spread from the tea field in Greenpia Makinohara. The best quality tea is made from the smaller, upper leaves of the green tea bushes. Larger leaves have a stronger and less pleasant taste, so steer clear of them.
The picking excursion lasts approximately 20-30 minutes, so pick as much as you can within this time frame. You may find that you can’t pick enough to fill your rather large basket, but even a small amount can supply a few cups.
After tea picking, you can also take a brief factory tour to watch how the leaves are dried and prepared for tea-making.
The on-site restaurant, Maruobara serves up one-of-a-kind menu items inspired by the beverage. Fare includes a refreshing green tea soba salad, green tea, tempura that you can dip in green tea salt, and a variety of green tea desserts amongst other things. Everything is paired with a lovely pot of freshly brewed local tea and the taste is not too overpowering even for the most sensitive pallets.
The expansive gift shop in Ippinkan which is an excellent place to purchase souvenirs, from green tea cola to traditional tea sweets. You can also purchase a scoop or two of matcha, or powdered green tea, ice cream. Enjoy your ice cream in the nearby The House, a beautiful greenhouse turned terrace garden.
