Tea with Our Whole Heart Houkouen
The Tea Field in a Sea of Clouds

houkouen

Houkouen

~Ryogochi Green tea~

machine rolled tea

We are Japanese tea farmers in Ryogochi, a mountainous region (350m above sea level) in the very centre of Shizuoka prefecture. We are lovers of Japanese tea ourselves who cultivate, produce and sell Japanese tea.

Tea with Our Whole Heart Houkouen
Our green tea was chosen to supply the Imperial Household in 2015
270 Nunosawa Shimizu-ku Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka
424-0415 Japan
tel&fax/+81-54-396-3336
E-mail/houkouen@gmail.com
Cultivated acreage:3.8ha / Annual production 2tons

Houkouen
Houkouen
Houkouen
Houkouen
Houkouen
Houkouen
Houkouen

houkouen

Owner

Jiro Katahira

Third generation successor of Japanese tea farm "Houkouen"

Jiro Katahira

Happily married with three children♪

I was born on a Japanese tea farm in 1984. I grew up surrounded by tea fields and cats in a mountain village. I am forever thankful for growing up in an environment of abundant green,beautiful mountains, grand views and clear water.

To me, tea leaves are as precious as my life itself. Our green tea is not only aromatic and flavorsome, but also so delightful that it lifts your spirits. We would love you to taste our tea and experience the special feelings that it brings. Dreaming about the greatest green tea all day every day, I am always on a quest to make our tea even greater by trial and error. Yes, I am the biggest green-tea-freak and it is no secret around here. I promise you that I will be the top of the greatest Japanese green-tea farmers! Arigato! (Thank you)

My Motto
My Motto

My Motto

Every single day is special, fun and perfect♪

loveCar
loveCar
loveCar

My Cars

・2012 FIAT 500
・1984 HONDA CB 750F
・DAIHATSU HIJET TRUCK
・ISUZU ELF TRUCK

loveCat
loveCat

My Cats

・Black cat Pico ♀ 5yo Pico is in the popular stage of her life.
・Grey cat Emo ♀ 17yo Emo is still an attractive old girl.

loveOyaji
loveOyaji

My Dad

1953 YUTAKA KATAHIRA
This is my dearest father who raised me as a son of a great tea-farmer.

houkouen

Location

270 Nunosawa Shimizu-ku Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka

View map

ピエール・エルメ

Since Houkouen is located in the mountains, we could not say that we are easily located. However, the famous chocolatier "Pierre Hermé" has managed to visit us all the way from France, it should not be a mission impossible!

Access from overseas

Access from overseas

Honolulu
710min
NewYork
1,020min
Vancouver
785min
Mexico City
1,040min
Moscow
745min
London
875min
Helsinki
745min
Sydney
755min
Dubai
725min
Kuala Lumpur
565min

If you get lost, pease feel free to contact us!

Contact

houkouen

Our Products

At HOUKOUEN, we grow our tea trees naturally without trimming or pruning and hand-pick tea leaves without using machineries. We deliver approximately 20 different kinds of hand-picked high-quality green tea all around Japan. We also export our products overseas including to the EU and the US. Every product has been grown and processed with love and passion here in Ryogochi, where the tea fields look out the magnificent view of Mt. Fuji and the sea of clouds that surround it. We hope that you enjoy our glorious achievement of tea products.

The prices shown below are provided as a reference, and do not include tax. Due to the nature of tea farming, prices may change depending on the weather or season.

Hinpyoukai Shuppin Cha

Hinpyoukai Shuppin Cha(Special Kabusecha exhibited at the National Tea Competition)

Kabusecha that we applied all of our skills to. It is simply the best!

JPY 5000/80g

Gyokuro

Gyokuro(Highest quality Kabusecha)

The tea leaves are cultivated without stress under dark plastic sheets, which cover the tea leaves from direct sun. The tea leaves are also carefully handpicked.

JPY 4000/80g

Kabusecha

Kabusecha(Covered Tea)

Elegant Kabusecha is cultivated using a special covering method. The light steaming method allows the tea leaves to remain firm.

JPY 3000 - 5000/45 - 80g

Sencha

Sencha(Traditional Green Tea)

A traditional lightly-steamed green tea. The short steaming time makes it possible to enjoy the original taste, flavor and shape of tea leaves.

JPY 1000 - 3000/80g

Single Sencha

Single Sencha(Pack of regular Green Tea)

Our selection of over 20 different kinds of Sencha. Welcome to the world of Green-tea mania!

JPY 1700/80g each

Single Koucha

Single Koucha(Pack of regular Japanese Black Tea)

Our Japanese black tea has a sweet taste which is popular in Europe more than it is here in Japan!

JPY 1200/40g each

Single Houjicha

Single Houjicha(Pack of Roasted Tea)

Rare and valuable golden-colored Houjicha which is made from Sencha leaves that have been carefully roasted.

JPY 1000/40g

Kukicha

Kukicha

Kukicha has a fresh fragrance and the taste of tender sprouts. Its natural aroma is something very unique and special.

JPY 1000/80g

Hand-picked Kabusecha “Yabukita” Luxury bottle【YUI】

Hand-picked Kabusecha “Yabukita” Luxury bottle【YUI】

JPY 5200/Bottle(180ml)

Yabukita is so luxurious and rich in umami that you may feel like what you are drinking is not a tea but a sophisticated broth soup. Glamorous sweetness, rich taste, defined aroma and refined aftertaste are the original characteristics of this tea. We would LOVE you to enjoy our super luxury bottled green tea, YUI!

Fujiyama Sanshoku-Cha

Fujiyama Sanshoku-Cha (Set of three kinds of Japanese tea)

JPY 2800/ Sencha 75g・Black Tea 30g・Houjicha 30g

Our selection of Sencha, Black tea, and Houjicha which are grown at 350m above sea level looking out the sacred mountain Mt.Fuji. We wrapped each of packet in our original Fujiyama handkerchief in a shape of a cute little Mt.Fuji.
You can of course reuse them as a cool Japaneassie handkerchief. It is also suitable for a nice gift!

Hand-rolled Kabusecha【TEMOMI】

Hand-rolled Kabusecha【TEMOMI】

JPY 15000/80g

The same leaves as the Hinpyoukai Shuppin Cha (our highest quality tea which was exhibited at the National Tea Competition) are hand-rolled by a meijin (master) of hand-rolling to make this super high-end Tea.
The entire procedure from picking the tea leaves to processing is performed carefully and manually by human hands. When hot water is poured on the tea, the leaves reproduce their natural form of “one core and two leaves”. This is the origin of Japanese tea making. The technique of creating such an artistic form is a valuable and traditional form of cultural heritage in the history of Japanese Tea. We would be grateful if we could send it with our love to those who are so crazy about Japanese tea that they would want to drink it once (or twice.. or even more!) in their lifetime.
Jiro will also become a Temomi Meijin(hand-roll master) someday!!!

ONLINE STORE

houkouen

Notice

茶摘み

Information such as tea plantation status, product progress, and various events at Houkoen is announced via social media. There are times when the writer (jiro) just randomly mumbles to himself and we apologize it in advance if you get to witness it. Please take a look during your relaxing tea time ♪ Just please refrain from sending me harsh opinions such as “Jiro, your blog isn't very sharp!” It may break Jiro's gentle heart…lol

Instagram

Instagram

houkouen

Tea Room
In The Sky

Notice of Service Suspension
Tea Room In The Sky

Due to the serious damage caused by Typhoon 15 in September 2022, the tea plantation which had a wood deck for the tea room was engulfed by a landslide and collapsed.
For 50 years, the mountain slopes and tea plantations have been remarkably strong, repelling any type of typhoon, but this time they could not stand it. Our apologies to everyone who was looking forward to visit our tea room. It unfortunately came to an unexpected very sudden ending. Thank you for your understanding.

houkouen

Tea Party

November 23rd is a very important day of the year for Houkouen. It is the day of our ”Thanksgiving Tea Party” for fans of Houkouen, which has over 30 years of history. It is a special day when many people come to visit us every year.

Tea Party

Every year, we decide on a theme and open our “washitsu” (Japanese-style tatami room) in the main house of Houkoen to the public twice a day (morning session/afternoon session). It is a tea ceremony where we talk about tasty tea following the theme together with our customers. Due to the (very) limited number of seats, all seats get booked out in the blink of an eye… (We are terribly sorry about this!!)
We will continue this event with the concept of appreciation for every meeting and drinking good tea together.We hope everyone gets to spend great time here together. We will prepare delicious tea which you cannot taste anywhere else but here!