Wazuka is a rural area, with an economy based on agriculture, with the area noted for its production of
green tea. Wazuka is home to roughly 300 tea growing families. The area was selected in the Kamakura period (1192–1333) for tea production and has enjoyed an 800-year history as one of the main production areas of
Uji tea. Today Uji tea comprises only about 4% of the tea produced in Japan, and
Wazuka tea only half of that. Also a considerable crop of rice is produced among other agricultural products. The local community is in cooperation with NICE, a major volunteer program, and together hold a large annual work camp at the end of August lasting 2 weeks. The program is open to about 12 foreigners per year and an equal number of Japanese work campers. In addition, Wazuka is home to
Obubu Tea Farm, one of the biggest tea producers in the country.
Obubu Tea farm offers interesting activities such as tea harvesting events, tea tours for tourists and professionals, visits to the tea fields and production facilities,
tea tasting and production, in addition to
mochi making and
pottery classes and events. Additionally, Wazuka is also home to Blodge Lodge, a popular private guesthouse, run by a Japanese-American couple. Besides private stays, Blodge Lodge also offers tea tasting, tea ceremony, matcha art, cooking classes, and private tours of Wazuka.
Wazuka tea history Kaijūsen-ji temple is often credited with bringing tea to Wazuka village. Shonin Jishin, a Zen Buddhist monk of the temple, was the first person to begin cultivation of tea there. He began cultivation on Mt. Jubu, where the practice began to spread to the village of Wazuka below. The original function of tea that was grown in Wazuka was grown for medicinal use for Zen Buddhist monks. The monks in the area used it for training at their temples. The type of tea grown in Wazuka, Uji tea, was first introduced on to the world stage when
Commodore Perry, head of the United States
East Indian Squadron, influenced Japan to open up trade in the
Edo Bay in 1853. Later, the village of Wazuka itself, along with former villages
Kamo-Mura and Koma-Mura, began to reach acclaim within Japan when it won a prize in a national tea exposition in
Ueno Park, Tokyo in 1890. ==Education==