Kyoto Prefecture together with Bukkyo University have been organizing Ujicha Culture Courses to raise interest in Ujicha and help register it as the World Cultural Heritage. This year the program involves 4 sessions spanning between September – December.
The first session, titled “Ujicha Seen from Abroad” was held on 15th September in Wazuka Town, where our president Simona and the leader of the Wazuka Tea Hand-Rolling Association – Kenta Hosoi welcomed the participants. There were nearly 90 applications for the event, but places were limited, and 22 participants were selected through a lottery.
By visiting the Hosoi-san’s tea factory as well as his newly planted tea field, participants were able to learn more about the real tea situation in the countryside of Kyoto. A tasting session of a few local teas, led by Simona, followed next, where the participants could discover more about the uniqueness of Ujicha made in Wazuka town and get to know the activities of our association a bit more.
The participants seemed to really enjoy their time in Wazuka Town and many said they would love to pay a visit again. We hope that the interest in Ujicha will continue to grow and that soon it will be possible to register it as the World Cultural Heritage.