Experience the best of Nishio

Nishio lies on the Mikawa plain, south-east of Nagoya, and its farmland is used for tea, rice and vegetables. Tea has been grown here for a long time, and the city is one of the best-known tea places in Aichi.

The tea fields are a bright green sight in late spring, when the new leaves are picked for matcha. Okazaki, a short train ride to the north-east, is the birthplace of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, and its castle stands on the site of his birth.

Tea shops in the town sell leaves by the packet, and cafés serve the powdered tea whisked to order. Matcha appears in sweets and drinks, and Hatcho miso from nearby Okazaki, a dark miso aged in cedar vats under heavy stones, is a regional classic. Summers are hot and humid, and the milder months of spring and autumn suit a visit best. Tea picking runs from April to May.