Kawane
The steep upper valley of the Ōi river in northern Shizuoka, and the prefecture’s counterweight to the plateau country downstream. Gardens are small, terraced and hemmed in by forest, and river fog sits in the valley through the morning, so the leaf grows more slowly and thinner than on Makinohara. Kawane consequently keeps to a light asamushi steaming that leaves the needle intact and the liquor clear, and its teas place repeatedly at the top of national competitions — the standard example, within one prefecture, of how differently the same species behaves on a slope and on a plain.
Elevation
Recorded at 200–900 metres.
How firm this is: Inferred from general knowledge of the district rather than measured or taken from a source that states it.
Climate
Deep valley fog off the Ōi through the morning, cool nights and a short daily window of direct sun — the conditions the district credits for its aroma and for the light steaming it can get away with.
How firm this is: Inferred from general knowledge of the district rather than measured or taken from a source that states it.
When it is picked
A late first pick in mountain gardens along the upper Oi river, where fog sits in the valley through the morning and the sun reaches the slopes for only part of the day. The delay relative to the coastal plateau is several days to a couple of weeks depending on altitude.
How firm this is: Inferred from general knowledge of the district rather than measured or taken from a source that states it.
How the name is written
Also transliterated as kawane. Romanisations of a district name vary by system and by vendor, and a packet spelling one way is not describing a different place.
Teas this region is known for
- Asamushi sencha — Clear, bright and aromatic, with more distinct top notes and less body than deep-steamed sencha.
- Sencha — Vegetal and savoury at once. Brewed cool it leans sweet and broth-like; brewed hot it turns sharply astringent, which is the single most common way people decide they dislike green tea.
Other growing regions in Japan
The neighbouring districts are the useful comparison: they share a country, a grading convention and often a cultivar, so what differs between them is closer to terroir than anything a cross-border comparison can isolate.
Sources
- TeaHQ editorial synthesis — TeaHQ
This page is TeaHQ’s own synthesis throughout. No external document stands behind the elevation band, the climate note or the character described above, which is why each carries its confidence in the open.