Marukyu Koyamaen Factory Tour — Attraction in Uji

Such a great find! 500 yen for the tour, but they let you apply it to an order from the store. The ice cream was delicious! My partner and I each got a matcha cone and had to go back to try the Hojicha one. Made the ones closer to Uji station look like complete tourist traps.

Our tour guide gave great information and her English was good. Getting to see the machines and behind the scenes of matcha making at the factory was very interesting! We even got to grind some matcha. At the end there was a tasting experience of matcha with matcha dango. Delicious! We also got the chance to learn more about the cultural tea ceremony in a traditional tea house. The products in the store were also very priced :)

Highly recommend the trip out! Was such an interesting and...

The tour was informative, interesting, and tasty; I highly recommend it. Our tour guide was fluent in English and quite knowledgeable about the matcha making process + very willing to answer any questions. We also got a cool look into some of the ceremony surrounding tea.

We tried some matcha ice cream and hojicha ice cream in the more touristy area of town by the stations and didn't think much of it but the matcha and hojicha ice cream at the factory tour was a completely different experience and put the other stuff to shame. Absolutely delectable.

Also, all the staff there was super friendly.

The walk from the Uji station area was quite nice, doable with no issues and pretty...

What an amazing experience and value! Tour is 1.5hr and you get to learn about the matcha making process, see it in action, have some matcha, and learn about tea ceremonies (and go inside a tea house replica). The tour guide was so sweet, and I can’t believe how inexpensive it was for what you get. And even the 500 yen for the tour goes toward a purchase at their store. A must do for those looking to learn about matcha, not just drink it.

Cherry on top was since it’s a little off the main drag of all the stores/restaurants in uji, they even call you a taxi to take you where you want to go afterwards. Talk about...