About this event
The Asamiya Tea Thanksgiving Festival will be held on Monday (national holiday), November 23, 2026, at Iwayasan Senzenji Temple in Asamiya, Shigaraki-cho, Koka City, Shiga Prefecture. This festival is a historic event where local tea industry workers in the Asamiya district have long expressed their gratitude for the hardships endured by their predecessors in tea farming and for the blessings of nature. While it was previously held exclusively for stakeholders, it will be opened to the general public for the first time this year. On that day, visitors can enjoy a special bowl of tea in Asamiya, a 1,200-year-old tea village often described as a secluded paradise. The experience consists of three core elements: a historical site tour exploring local heritage and viewing temple treasures, a tea ceremony experience centered on senchado (the way of sencha), and a tour of current tea fields. Through the branch offering ceremony, Buddhist sermon, sencha tea ceremony preparation, and tea plantation tour, visitors can experience the profound flavor and aroma unique to Asamiya tea with all five senses. It also includes a special seasonal lunch at the dining venue Yamabiko and a souvenir of limited-edition Asamiya tea. With a capacity of 10 participants per session and a total of 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis, this offers a rare opportunity to savor an autumn tea experience.
Source website (Japanese) ↗Venue
Senzenji Temple
Kami-Asamiya, Shigaraki-cho, Koka, Shiga 529-1841
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