Shigeharu Hasegawa, Local Guide ~ An Original Japan Travel Guide by Hoshino Resorts' Local Staff

Local Guide

Shigiharu Hasegawa

Tea Men

I grew up in Hamamatsu and love tea. When I start talking about tea, I can't stop. On my days off, I enjoy visiting tea cafes and visiting tea farmers to deepen our relationship. She is currently studying to become a Japanese tea instructor with her team.

Hoshino Resorts KAI Enshu: The ryokan stands in a location overlooking Lake Hamana and has a well-designed space with Japanese design. Enjoying the pleasure of blending the famous tea leaves to your liking is the hospitality of Shizuoka, a famous tea-producing region. Guest rooms all with a lake view await you for a relaxing holiday where you can enjoy the nourishment from Lake Hamana.

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Local Guide FAQ

What do you recommend in the Hamamatsu area (places, experiences, food)?: The Enshu region is an area where you can enjoy picking a variety of fruits such as strawberries, grapes, melons, and blueberries, not to mention mandarin oranges.
Of course, the unique Shizuoka tea picking experience is highly recommended. The spectacular view of the tea fields is an experience that only visitors can understand. Please come and experience the vast expanse of tea fields and the aroma of tea under the open sky! In particular, the mountainous areas of Tenryu, Haruno, and the Ryuzan region are definitely worth a visit with your camera.

Please sneak in some hole-in-the-wall places that you know because you live there.: When it comes to Hamamatsu gyoza, tourists tend to concentrate on the stores in front of Hamamatsu Station or those often mentioned in magazine articles, but we recommend "Mutsukiku" a little north of the station, where the menu is only gyoza and no rice, and where they stick to gyoza alone.
The restaurant is not very big and sometimes they sell out quickly, so I recommend you to make a reservation if you go there. Incidentally, I have a sad memory of going there without a reservation and being tagged as sold out three times in a row.

Where did you travel to last year and with whom?: Enshu staff/staff members and I visited the "Golden Midori" tea plantation in Morokosawa in the Okawa district of the uppermost reaches of the Warashina River in Shizuoka Prefecture. Here, the tea fields are not green, but golden and colorful, and the tea farmers gave us many stories and allowed us to drink the rare tea that can only be obtained here. The tea from this tea garden, which was born from a single golden sprout by a mutation, is a truly fantastic tea that defies the common wisdom of tea.

What do you do on your days off?: We will enjoy a relaxing and delicious meal at a café where lunch is available. When schedules allow, we will visit a tea farmer and have tea with a spectacular view of the tea plantation.
I also enjoy the luxury of seeking out Japanese tea cafes and tea shops I have never been to and discussing tea with them over a cup of tea.

Is there anything you always take with you on a trip?: Cameras and books. I take pictures of the scenery and anything that catches my eye, and of course anything related to tea. Books are mainly essays. My favorite books are ones that can be finished in a short time.