Green Tea & Kimono in Central Japan Off The Beaten Track Part 2 japan-guide.com

Previously on Episode 1. In this three-episode series, we're taking a six-day trip starting at Chubu International Airport and making our way through Nagoya and the surrounding prefectures. So join me, Raina Ong, as we continue on days three and four of our trip off the beaten track in central Japan. On day three, we'll try our hand at a tea-picking activity in the surrounding tea fields. Then, take the train to Nagoya, where we'll feast at a local restaurant before retiring for the night. On day four, we begin with a Nagoya breakfast, then take the train and bus to an excellent open-air museum. Following that, we pick up a rental car and drive about an hour north to a water town noted for its realistic food replicas and pristine waterways. Kakegawa is one of the top tea-growing regions in Japan and has over 400 years of history cultivating tea. There are over 1,000 tea farms in the city and many of them are found in the hilly area east of the city center. A visit to the tea fields in Kakegawa offers scenic views, sometimes in combination with Mount Fuji when the weather conditions align. Kakegawa tea is grown using a traditional method in which grass is grown around the tea fields to be used as mulch. The grass is cut and dried, then spread over the soil from autumn through winter. The system is said to improve the effectiveness of fertilizer, prevents the ground from drying out and ultimately improves the quality of the tea leaves as well as contributes to preserving the local flora and fauna. Now, you might have noticed the little fans surrounding the tea fields and wondered about their purpose. That is a frequently asked question by those who visit a tea field and I didn't come close to guessing its purpose. That is, to circulate the air and prevent the morning fog from settling on the tea bushes which is damaging to them. In addition to scenic views, the seemingly endless tea fields are also where visitors can participate in tea-related activities like picking tea leaves, roasting tea leaves or appreciating tea. Note that activities have to be booked in advance. There are a number of places offering activities at the tea farms and mine was arranged through my accommodation where I stayed the night before. Picking tea leaves is a new experience for me and I'm glad to be able to try it here in Kakegawa. I see. In Kakegawa, the first tea leaves are picked sometime in late April and new tea or shinja, as it is called in Japanese, is available soon after. The subsequent pickings are done over the next few months. During the harvesting period, tea farmers maintain a hard schedule of picking tea leaves and processing the freshly picked leaves soon after. Outside of the major tea picking period, tea farmers typically have more time to interact with and show the visitors the finer points of appreciating tea. So after picking some tea leaves in Sugimoto-san's tea farm, he's going to teach me how to brew some tea. We start off with tea brewed with only ice cubes since it is a warm day, then move on to brewing tea with hot water to taste the difference. The ice-brewed tea had a strong complex flavor profile which was rich with umami, both savory and fresh at the same time, while the hot tea brought out the fragrance of the tea leaves and had a sweeter flavor. After the lovely tea experience, I make my way back to Kakegawa Station and take the bullet train to Nagoya. As Japan's third most populous metropolitan area, Nagoya has a strong local food culture and also offers a wide variety of dining options. Well-known local favorites include miso katsu, deep fried pork cutlets with miso sauce, hitsumabushi, eel on rice that is eaten with different condiments in four portions, and deep fried chicken wings. For dinner, I head to a restaurant in the city to try one of Nagoya's local specialties. So Nagoya kochin, which is a local breed of chicken, is one of Nagoya's local specialties and for dinner tonight, I'm at a chicken specialty restaurant which serves up Nagoya kochin dishes like yakitori skewers, oyakodon, which is a rice bowl topped with egg and chicken, as well as chicken wings, which by the way, are also a Nagoya local specialty not to be missed. Itadakimasu! After dinner, it was back to my hotel to rest after that huge meal. Day 4 Ohayou! Good morning! Now morning goo or morning sets are popular in Nagoya and I'm headed to this cafe for breakfast. A typical breakfast set comes with a drink and a sandwich but here in Nagoya, the local specialty is sweet red bean paste on toast, like so! Itadakimasu! After the satisfying and very filling breakfast, I proceeded to Meijimura, a large open-air museum about an hour outside of central Nagoya. Museum Meijimura is one of the largest outdoor museums in Japan and houses a collection of buildings, furnishings and documents from the Meiji period which lasted from 1868 to 1912. The period marked the end of feudalism and centuries of international isolation and is characterized by Japan's rapid modernization and westernization. There are a few fun activities available in Meijimura and one of them is renting Meiji period style outfits which you can wear to explore the park. Well, I'm now a university student who has traveled back to the Meiji period and I'm going to visit all these historic buildings. Let's go! More than 60 historic buildings from all across Japan were relocated to Meijimura and 11 of them are designated culturally important heritage. While many of the buildings at Meijimura are western-style buildings, some, like the Kureha Za Theater where kabuki and other performances were held and writer Natsume Soseki's former residence are traditional Japanese-style buildings. A visit to Meijimura takes a minimum of three hours and I spent half a day walking around the park and seeing all the historic buildings. Many of the historic buildings at Meijimura can be entered freely and contain exhibits pertaining to their owners. Visitors can also try their hand at some retro arcade games like archery or shooting. I had such a great time all dressed up and seeing the historic buildings which also made for excellent backdrops. The hours just flew by so quickly and it was time to move on to my next destination before I knew it. From Meijimura, I returned to Inoyama Station from where I pick up my rental car to head to my next destination Gujo Hachiman in Gifu Prefecture. Gujo Hachiman is a small riverside town surrounded by mountains in the middle of the landlocked Gifu Prefecture. The town is best known for its pristine waterways as well as for being the largest producer of food replicas. The kind you see at the entrance of many restaurants. Since I arrive in the evening I head straight to dinner and save the food replica excitement for the next day. My restaurant of choice is Izumisaka a local diner in the town centre which serves up regional delicacies like Hida Wagyu beef and Hobayaki which is a miso marinated dish grilled over a large magnolia leaf. After that satisfying meal I retire to my accommodation and call it a night. And that was episode 2 of our 6-day trip through central Japan. Be sure to join us on episode 3 as we continue on the last two days of our trip making some food replicas and hiking in one of the most scenic places with spectacular mountain scenery. For more information about this trip or to watch another video click the links on the screen now or head over to japan-guide.com your comprehensive up-to-date travel guide first-hand from Japan. Thanks for watching. Be sure to subscribe and click the notification bell for more videos about Japan. Happy travels.