Kakegawa

Kakegawa is one of the few places in Japan where you can climb a wooden castle keep — Kakegawa Castle was rebuilt in 1994 using traditional joinery and the same hinoki-cypress and earthen-wall techniques used in the 1621 original. The Ninomaru Tea House on the castle grounds serves matcha sourced from Kakegawa's surrounding tea estates, themselves part of the broader Shizuoka tea belt that produces about 40 percent of Japan's tea. Kakegawa's deep-steamed (fukamushi) sencha — the local style, with leaves steamed twice as long as standard sencha — yields a thicker, sweeter brew and is sold at small roasters across the city. North of town, the Shiseido Corporate Museum at the company's Kakegawa factory traces Japan's most iconic cosmetics brand from its 1872 founding as a Western-style pharmacy in Ginza through its current global form, with archival packaging, advertising posters, and Showa-era beauty culture. The Oigawa Railway's vintage steam locomotives run nearby through the Kanaya tea hills.

Top-rated in Kakegawa

Ninomaru Tea House

4.3

landmark

Shizuoka is home to some of Japan's best tea leaves, experienced close to the source at this quaint teahouse.

Kamosō Kachōen Garden

4.0

garden

At the main entrance to Kamo Garden, the traditional wooden gate and buildings topped with ridged tiles contrast with the dense forest of the surrounding mountains.

Shiseido Kakegawa Factory

3.7

culture

Shiseido Corporate Museum is a museum that charts the history of Shiseido, one of Japan's major cosmetics companies.

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