Yokota Tea Farm | 横田園 | Sayama City, Saitama, Japan
Unbounded Urban Tea. Cultivation methods are given free reign to enhance the unique flavors of 17 single-origin tea varieties.
Farmer: Mr. Takahiro Yokota
Yokota-san studied agricultural management and economics in Agriculture department at a famous private university. After graduation, he went on to a research lab in Shizuoka to learn about tea. After living in a dormitory as an intern for two years, he joined his family-run business, Yokota-en, which has been producing fine teas for six generations. He is an up-and-coming young tea farmer who, together with his grandfather and father, is engaged in integrated production from cultivation to tea processing, while actively collaborating with other sectors to develop products and explore new possibilities for tea.
Origin:
Sayama is located about an hour northwest of central Tokyo by train. Due to its access to highway and expressway, the area is lined with factories and logistics warehouses of major companies, and homes of the people who work there surround the area. Sayama tea, one of the three most famous teas in Japan along with Uji and Shizuoka teas, is grown in the green tea fields in among the urban sprawl.