If you think that Matcha is only from Kyoto, you are in for a big surprise! Matcha tea can be enjoyed all across Japan. The three most famous and regarded tea-producing regions in Japan are Uji in Kyoto, Fuji in Shizuoka, and Nishio, which is just a short train ride from Nagoya.
Nishio is located roughly 40km south-east of Nagoya, which takes about 50 minutes by Meitetsu train. Nishio is one of the top sources of matcha production and is responsible for about a quarter of the matcha sold in Japan. There many varieties of green tea, but only the Tencha variety can be turned into matcha, which is the powdered green tea that is used in tea ceremony and commonly added to sweets. 90% of all green tea grown in Nishio is the Tencha variety.
Article Contents
A Brief History of Matcha Production in Nishio
The origins of tea in Nishio date back to the 13th century when Shoichi Kokushi, a Zen Buddhist monk, founded the Jissoji Temple (1271) and began growing tea bushes on the temple grounds. At that time, Matcha was known for its exquisite flavor and medicinal properties and was the favorite drink of priests and aristocrats. During the Edo Period (1603 – 1868), the cultivation of tea gradually expanded to the entire region.
Matcha production in Nishio took off during the Meiji Period (1868 – 1912), after Jundo Adachi, the main priest of the Koju-in temple, brought with him tea seeds and production techniques from the city of Uji (now Kyoto).
From the beginning of the 20th century, Nishio started focusing more exclusively on growing the Tencha variey. Nowadays, most of the tea grown in Nishio is Tencha. It is the only city in Japan that specializes in growing tea specifically designed for matcha.
Top Things to See and Do In Nishio
Nishio City History Park
The city of Nishio was once a well-fortified city. Saijo Castle was the original castle was built during the Kamakura Period in the 13th century. Saijo Castle was captured by Ieyasu Tokugawa in 1585. After the capture, the famous unifier the castle strengthened and changed the name to Nishio Castle.
Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Nishio Castle was dismantled in 1872 and a park was built on its grounds. Two of the original gates were left intact, and in 1996 some parts of the castle were reconstructed, including a three-story Yagura watchtower. Thus, the Nishio City Historical Park was created. Additional parts of the castle were reconstructed in 2014 and 2020.
Nishio City History Park (西尾市歴史公園)
Entry Fee: free
Opening Hours: Open 24 hours
Address: 231-1, Kinjocho, Nishio, Aichi 445-0864
Website (Japanese only)| Google Maps
Former Konoe Residence
In 1995, the former Konoe Residence was relocated from Kyoto to its current location on the grounds of the Nisho City Historical Park. The Konoe clan was a powerful and eminent family with a history dating back to the Heian Period (794 – 1185).
Despite being only part of what was once a much larger and more elaborate structure, the details of the craftsmanship and beauty of the ancient construction techniques are still evident.
For a small fee, you can have matcha in the tea house or while sitting on the terrace appreciating the landscape with the castle, the garden, and (when in season) the cherry trees as your background.
You can enjoy a bowl of matcha along with a sweet for 400 yen.
Former Konoe Residence (旧近衛邸)
Entry Fee: free
Opening Hours: 9:00 – 18:00 (October to March, 9:00 – 17:00); closed Mondays
Address: 231-1 Kinjocho, Nishio, Aichi 445-0864
Website (Japanese only)| Google Maps
Nishio City Museum
The museum has a collection of samurai swords and armor, maps of the original castle, and numerous historical clocks. Depending on the season, the museum also hosts temporary exhibitions, such as a exhibition of Japanese Hina Matsuri dolls in February.
Nishio City Museum (西尾市資料館)
Entry Fee: free
Opening Hours: 09:00 – 17:00; closed Mondays
Address: 229 Kinjocho, Nishio, Aichi 445-0864
Website (Japanese only)|Google Maps
Shokoso Garden
After Nishio Castle was dismantled, a garden was built utilizing some of the former castle walls. Shokoso Garden is located outside the Nishio City Historical Park, partway between the park and Nishio Station.
Shokoso Garden is a Kyoto-style landscape garden constructed at the beginning of the Showa era (1926 – 1989). An arbor is located on the hill offering views of the garden. Shokoso Garden has two tea houses that are often rented out for various events.
Shokoso Garden (尚古荘庭園)
Entry Fee: free
Opening Hours: 09:00 – 17:00; closed Mondays
Address: 176-1 Kinjocho, Nishio, Aichi 445-0864
Website (Japanese only)|Google Maps
Kira Onsen
Located at the southern end of Nishio is the hot spring/beach area called Kira Onsen. The 570 meter-long sandy beach is planted with palm trees which gives the area a resort feel. That’s probably why the area is called Kira Waikiki Beach! The beach is equipped with showers and changing rooms. In late August each year, Kira Onsen hosted a Hawaiian Festival which attracts hula dancers from all over Japan.
Kira Onsen(吉良温泉)
Opening Hours: Open 24 hours
Address: Kiracho Miyazaki, Nishio, Aichi 444-0513
Website (Japanese only)|Google Maps
The Best Places to Find Matcha (and ther bites)
Matcha Lab Nishio Idea Teahouse
If you want to try some great matcha desserts, then you need to visit Matcha Lab! Under the slogan “LOVE more MATCHA”, this small cafe reopened in February 2018 and offers a variety of sweets made with Nishio Matcha. This place is a perfect excuse to make a small stop along the way to some of Nishios historic sites, as it’s only a 10 minute walk from Nishio Station.
Matcha Lab specializes in gelato, and offers three different matcha flavors as well as others like strawberry, caramel, and chocolate. They also sell parfaits made with their gelato. You can choose between Matcha, Matcha & Caramel, and Matcha & Chocolate.
You can also order hot or iced tea drinks such as straight Matcha or Hojicha (roasted green tea), latte (mixed with milk and sugar), and soy latte (mixed with soy milk and sugar). This is the perfect place to relax for a couple of minutes.
Matcha Lab Nishio Denso Chaya (抹茶ラボ 西尾伝想茶屋店)
Opening Hours: 09:00 – 17:00; closed Mondays (except National holidays)
Address: 122 Kinjocho, Nishio, Aichi 445-0864
Website (Japanese only)|Google Maps
Shokakuen
Shokakuen is your best option in Nishio if you want to enjoy the local matcha, but you also want a filling meal. This restaurant serves a wide variety of matcha sweets but they also make delicious matcha soba noodles (hot or cold) paired with Tencha rice (rice steamed together with the fragrant dried Tencha leaves). Their portions are quite hearty and include a dessert.
Shokakuen Sabosayu (松鶴園 茶房茶遊)
Opening Hours: 09:00 – 18:00; closed Tuesdays
Address: Minamiarako-50-2, Nishio, Aichi 445-0894
Website (Japanese only)|Google Maps
Uotora
If you prefer something that isn’t matcha for lunch, you might want to check out Uotora, where you can try the other specialty of Nishio, Unagi. Unagi is a Japanese eel and is quite a delicacy. A big large amount of the eel raised in Japan comes from Nishio city.
At Uotora, you can try this freshly caught eel in the form of Chameshi-unagama, which is type of pilaf cooked with Nishio Tencha, eel, and vegetables.
Uotora (魚寅)
Opening Hours: 11:00 – 14:00, 17:00 – 22:00; closed Thursdays
Address: 1-10 Yakushimae, Kamimachi, Nishio, Aichi 445-0894
Website |Google Maps
TSUTAYA Patisserie
Located near the Nishio City Historical Park this bakery/cafe offers sandwiches, but its main draw is the desserts. Their cakes, tarts and parfaits are all mouthwateringly delicious.
They offer multiple parfait options, but their seasonal parfaits are too good to pass up. Matcha parfaits are available from March to November and strawberry parfaits are available from November to May.
TSUTAYA Patisserie (パティスリー ツタヤ)
Opening Hours: 08:30 – 20:00; closed Tuesday
Address: 3 Saiwaicho, Nishio, Aichi 445-0827
Google Maps
Katekindo
Located a short walk from the Nishio City Historical Park, this former Meiji Period post office has been converted into a quirky little cafe. While only open on weekends (Friday – Sunday) this cafe is a great place to satisfy your sweet tooth.
The speciality of Katekindo is their Obanyaki, which are cylinder-shaped sweets with matcha dough on the outside and different kinds of fillings on the inside. You will find fillings like matcha and white bean paste filling, anko (red bean paste), chocolate, and custard. We recommend the traditional red bean paste version to anyone who isn’t sure what to choose!
The shop also sells small matcha crepes with custard, strawberries, and whip cream filling. In summer, they also have kakigori (shaved ice) in a variety of flavors. You can either take your sweets to go, or enjoy them at the tables inside the small shop.
Katekindo (カテキン堂)
Opening Hours: 10:00 – 18:00; closed Monday – Thursday (except National holidays)
Address: 4-11 Tsurugasakicho, Nishio, Aichi 445-0837
Google Maps
Unforgettable Festivals in Nishio All Year Round
Like most cities and towns across Japan, Nishio has a number of festivals during the year. The most famous/unusual as listed below, including one of the most dangerous fire festivals in all of Japan!
Mikawa Isshiki Lantern Festival
Being located along the sea, sea monsters are the terror of any community. For over 400 giant lanterns are used to light up the night sky and calm the sea mosnters believed to lurk off the coast. There are six pairs of giant lanterns, each of which are up to 10 meters tall. This annual festival takes place the last Saturday and Sunday of August at Suwa Jinja, a Shinto shrine located in Nishio.
In addition to lighting the giant lanterns, during the festival the area is filled with stands selling food and drinks, including Nishio Matcha.
Suwa Shrine (諏訪神社)
Festival date: Last Saturday and Sunday of August
Address: Miyazoe-129 Isshikicho Isshiki, Nishio, Aichi 444-0423
Website (Japanese only)|Google Maps
Tenteko Festival
Every year on January 3rd, the Tentenko Festival is held at Niike Hachimon Shrine in Nishio. The festival began in 859 when the rice fields in the area were chosen to grow the rice that Emperor Seiwa would use as his offering to the gods at Ise Shrine in Mie Prefrecture. The festival is now used to pray for a rich harvest.
Each year six unlucky men are clad in red costumes and have daikon radishes that have been carved into the shapes of phalluses, dangling from their backs, parade through town. Some of the men carry bamboo brooms and scatter ash as they walk. Having the ash fall on you is said to bring good luck in the following year.
Niike Shrine (熱池神社)
Festival date: January 3rd
Address: Nakagiri-12 Niikecho, Nishio, Aichi 445-0881
Website (Japanese only)|Google Maps
Nishio Gion Festival
The Nishio Gion Festival has been held during the middle of July for over 400 years. A portable shrine holding the guardian deity of the city is carried from Ibun Shrine to Mitsurugi Hachimangu Shrine on the grounds of Nishio Castle. Some say that if you pass under the portable shrine, you will be blessed with good health.
In addition to the procession of the portable shrine, the six main areas around the castle grounds each join the parade with their own performances, including floats and a lion dance.
Nishio City History Park (西尾市歴史公園)
Festival date: Middle of July
Address: 231-1, Kinjo-cho, Nishio-City, Aichi 445-0864
Google Maps
Toba Fire Festival
Japan is famous for an abundance of fire festivals, but the most dangerous has got to be the Toba Fire Festival.This festival has been held for the last 1,200 years, and has been designated as a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. It now takes place on the 2nd Sunday of February.
Two giant torches called “Suzumi,” each of which is 5 meters high and weighs 2 tons, are lit by two men (one each on the east and west sides) who are of an unlucky age. Then, brave participants wearing costumes made of old banners climb up on the burning Suzumi and compete to take sacred wood and twelve ropes out from the Suzumi. Finally, the men offer the sacred wood and twelve ropes to the gods. The results of the competition are used to divine the year’s weather and whether the harvest will be good or bad.
Toba Shinmeisha (鳥羽神明社)
Festival date: Second Sunday of February
Address: 89 Nishibasama, Tobacho, Nishio, Aichi 444-0704
Website (Japanese only)|Google Maps
How to Get Around Nishio
The center of Nishio is easily walkable from Nishio Station. English pamphlets are available at the Tourist Information Center right next to Nishio Station.
Information at the multiple tourist spots Nishio are written in Japanese only, but they use a convenient translation app. Just scan the QR code on the signs and your smartphone will open a website with a short description in English.
A limited number of bikes are available for rent from the Nishio Tourism Office. Rental costs are 300 yen per bike for up to 3 hours and 500 yen per bike for rentals more than 3 hours. A 500 yen deposit per bike is required when renting the bikes. Please be aware that you need to return the bikes by 16:00 on the day you rent them.
How to Get to Nishio
Since Nishio is only around 40 kilometers away from Nagoya, it is a perfect day trip destination. The Meitetsu express train from Nagoya Station takes 50 minutes, costs 900 yen and leaves every 30 minutes.
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Hi, I just moved to nishio and wanted to know places to buy the matcha powder to make in home matcha lattes. I cant find some store in google maps. Love the article!
Hi Victoria! Thanks for your comment, and we’re glad you enjoyed the article! As for places to buy matcha powder, have you visited Shokakuen, one of the stores mentioned in the article? According to their website, they sell matcha powder as well as many other matcha and green tea products. You can also order from Shokakuen online. They even sell a ready made matcha latte mix. Lastly, you can find matcha in many stores. This is a very popular brand you can buy many places. Just make sure you are looking for 抹茶 (matcha) not 緑茶 (green tea / ryokucha) as they are different! Good luck with your lattes!