DESTINATIONS TEA TRAILS |FOOD & DRINK
Japanese tea culture extends beyond the bounds of food and drink – it’s an art form, governed by a strict set of rules that dictate the desired aesthetics, appropriate dress and acceptable ways to give and receive tea. Kyoto is home to Japan’s most famous teahouse district, Gion, where immaculately dressed geisha and maiko (apprentice geisha) welcome guests with an elegant matcha ceremony, engaging them with polite small talk, perfectly brewed bowls of green tea and pretty, petite sweets called wagashi. InsideJapan Tours’ self-guided
Gastronomic Adventure gives clients the chance to experience a Kyoto tea ceremony, where they’ll kneel on a tatami mat floor while
an English-speaking, kimono- wearing host explains the delicate dance of ritual and conversation that typically takes place. If clients are craving more tea know-how while in Kyoto, they can take a short train ride to the suburb of Uji (perhaps en route to the ornate former capital at Nara), where verdant mountains provide the ideal climate for growing tea. This region has been a centre of tea production for 800 years, and it’s claimed to be the birthplace not only of matcha, but of sencha and gyokuro – two types of steeped green tea. Once they’ve explored the interactive Chazuna tea museum, visitors can pick tea in the fields to get a sense for how the leaf harvest works in spring and summer. While travelling around the
main island of Honshu, clients will also be able to savour a range of foodie experiences. The tone is set for a tasty adventure in Tokyo, where an izakaya (tavern) introduces travellers to lively small-plate dining. The following days include sake tasting in the mountain town of Takayama, a soba noodle workshop in Matsuyama, slap-up street food in Osaka and shojin ryori – the vegetarian Buddhist meals eaten during a temple stay. Book it: The 14-night self-guided Gastronomic Adventure starts at £3,520 per person, based on two sharing. The price includes excursions, a trip to Uji’s tea fields, Kyoto tea ceremony, breakfasts and select dinners and food experiences. Flights are extra.
insidejapantours.com
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Tea plantation in Guangxi, China
karsts where clients can explore the markets and sleepy streets by bike or on foot. The trip continues to Xi’an to see the Terracotta Warriors, before finishing in Beijing, where they’ll visit a traditional teahouse for a tea ceremony. Water is heated to the optimum temperature for the type of tea (in this case, oolong), while the host teaches travellers about the complex history and etiquette surrounding the consumption of Chinese tea. Book it: Mercury Holidays’ 14-day Glorious China tour starts at £2,699 per person, based on two sharing. The price includes all meals, ground transport, excursions and flights from Heathrow on October 21.
mercuryholidays.co.uk
Spend: Japan Tea plantation near Kyoto, Japan
travelweekly.co.uk
19 JUNE 2025
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PICTURES: Shutterstock/Hiroshi H, OSTILL is Franck Camhi
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