Uji’s bittersweet but refreshing matcha has lengthy been a logo of Kyoto’s tea tradition, and at Taihoan, a city-run tea home close to the UNESCO-listed Byodoin Temple, tea ceremony experiences showcasing Uji tea have turn into a serious attraction. Visitors are guided via conventional etiquette akin to getting ready and receiving tea, with the venue drawing greater than 20,000 customers prior to now fiscal yr, about 80% of them from abroad.

With world curiosity in matcha surging, the town plans to lift tea room charges from April. A bowl of “usucha” served throughout tea classes will improve from 1,000 yen to 1,500 yen, whereas a full tea ceremony expertise will rise from 2,400 yen to three,600 yen.

Sugimoto Takayuki, head of the economic tourism division in Uji City, mentioned Uji tea has gained world consideration lately, pushing market costs two to a few instances larger. The metropolis goals to take care of service high quality and improve hospitality whereas adjusting costs to replicate rising prices.

The main issue behind the rise is the sharp rise in tencha costs. According to agricultural cooperatives, public sale costs for tencha have quadrupled over the previous 5 years.

The results are additionally being felt throughout the town. A specialty Uji tea store that opened in June final yr was launched by Tobias Baer, a Swiss nationwide who educated in tea in Japan. While wholesale costs for matcha have climbed, Baer mentioned he can not go on the complete price to clients, as he needs extra individuals to take pleasure in high-quality tea.

During reporting, a espresso store proprietor from the Caribbean visited the store looking for to include matcha into a brand new menu. The customer mentioned matcha is quickly gaining recognition worldwide and, though costly, high-quality merchandise command larger costs.

Even as world demand grows, the increase has introduced challenges. Uji’s choice to lift municipal tea room charges displays broader price pressures, with tencha costs up roughly fourfold in 5 years.

Exports of inexperienced tea, together with matcha, have additionally surged. From 2024 to 2025, export values practically doubled yr on yr to 72.1 billion yen, with matcha accounting for 84% of the whole.

At the identical time, conventional tea producers are going through difficulties. Cases of chapter, closure, or dissolution amongst tea companies have elevated, reaching 11 within the first half of 2025, already exceeding the ten recorded in 2024 and placing the yr on monitor for a document excessive. Many smaller operators lack abroad gross sales channels, and home consumption has declined as youthful generations transfer away from Japanese tea. Demand linked to funeral providers has additionally decreased as ceremonies shift to smaller family-based codecs.

Producers are trying to change from sencha to matcha manufacturing, however provide has struggled to maintain up with world demand. As extra farmers convert fields to matcha cultivation, output of different inexperienced teas has declined, driving up costs throughout the sector.

Retail costs are already rising. Procurement prices for bancha have elevated fivefold and for inexperienced tea threefold. A 600ml bottle of Ito En’s Oi Ocha inexperienced tea is about to rise by 21 yen from March shipments.

The shift displays variations in cultivation. While sencha is grown in daylight, matcha makes use of the identical leaves however is cultivated beneath shade. With extra farmers changing to matcha manufacturing, provides of different teas are shrinking, resulting in broader value will increase.

In response, Ito En is working to broaden tea fields nationwide and help producers to safe uncooked supplies. Analysts say Japan’s tea business, as soon as reliant on home consumption, now faces the problem of adapting to speedy inhabitants decline and surging world demand.

Source: YOMIURI

“It’s just after noon here in Fuji City. Usually, you can see a beautiful Mount Fuji around here, but today you can’t see it at all,” a digicam operator from the Fuji bureau stated whereas reporting from town.

On days when poor climate obscures the mountain, Fuji City provides a limited-time service. According to Chizuru Suzuki of the Mount Fuji Tourism Exchange Bureau, “Mount Fuji is said to be a female deity, so when a handsome man visits, she gets shy and hides. That’s why today we certify that you are handsome.”

At the vacationer info middle at Shin-Fuji Station on the Tokaido Shinkansen line, guests can obtain a “handsome certificate” or a “beautiful certificate” freed from cost if Mount Fuji can’t be seen. Based on an area legend that Mount Fuji is a feminine deity, the concept is that she hides out of shyness when good-looking males arrive and out of jealousy when stunning girls seem.

A vacationer from South Korea who obtained a certificates stated, “Thank you. I’m really happy right now. It’s a bit sad not to see it, but it’s nice to be able to experience it in this way here.”

Suzuki of the tourism bureau stated the purpose is to assist guests really feel linked to Mount Fuji even on days when it can’t be seen and to encourage them to discover the encompassing space earlier than heading residence.

City officers in Fuji additionally monitor the mountain each day. According to Hiroyuki Suzuki of town’s promotion division, “At Fuji City Hall, we observe Mount Fuji three times a day from the eighth floor at 8 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m. We record whether clouds blocked the view, whether the mountain was clearly visible, or whether only part of it could be seen.”

To collect baseline information on visibility, Fuji City has performed these observations thrice each day since 1990. When requested in regards to the mountain’s look on the morning of the tenth, Suzuki stated, “As you can see, it was rated as clearly visible this morning.”

The metropolis has posted final yr’s commentary outcomes on its web site, together with insights drawn from 35 years of knowledge. According to the info, Mount Fuji seems extra usually in winter than in summer season and is extra prone to be seen within the morning than within the night, info town hopes guests will use when planning their journeys.

Whether the mountain is seen or hidden, Fuji City goals to make sure guests can nonetheless benefit from the expertise, reflecting an initiative distinctive to a metropolis the place Mount Fuji is a part of on a regular basis life.

Source: SBSnews6sb

Sato Tatsuya, 37, is suspected of falsely claiming to carry a mannequin audition for an underwear model and photographing two girls of their 20s of their underwear at a rented studio in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward in 2025.

Sato allegedly additionally had the ladies put on cosplay outfits similar to sailor-style uniforms, and the case got here to gentle after one of many girls grew to become suspicious and consulted the Metropolitan Police Department.

According to investigators, Sato denies the allegations, stating, “I only carried out the underwear photography as part of a business activity.”

Source: FNN