Home of green tea

Here 和束（Wazuka) where is in the south of Kyoto prefecture is a major source of Japanese green tea. The tea fields extent along Wazuka river. The fog often lay all around there and closes in over tea leaves and helps shade. So the taste of Wazuka tea will become more delicious.

                                

A so kind acquaintance in Wazuka took us to the top of the tea field by his pickup truck. The truck climbed up on the winding, narrow, bumpy road with deadly speed. As we rode on the rear carrier, it turned to something like the ride in an amusement grounds. I enjoyed the thrill that I might be thrown off the truck.

 

                                                 Cosmos by the ridge

                                      


                                                 Harvest of Wazuka tea

When I stood up on the top of this tea field and looked down tea fields, golden rice field, houses etc, I felt I conquered this area. But when I was getting down there, a very big monkey crossed ahead of me. Nobody was there. I was so surprised that I couldn’t cry. Indeed, I have a experience that I was attacked by a monkey when I was a child. It’s a little kind of trauma for me. The monkey seemed not to aware of me.

                                            The view from the teafield

                                          Golden rice fields expands around the hills of tea

When we were going down at the teafield, we came across a local old woman with a long stick, a pistol( only sound for monkeys), and a watering can.

She said “Get down with carefully. Because more than one hundred monkeys came from this mountain now and they went the mountain over there but they will come back to this mountain soon.” A lot of mess of persimmon scattered around there.

 

Soon we encountered five monkeys. They were flying from a house to a house. We picked up some stones as a weapon for their attack. But as they disappeared,  I was very relieved. So I wasn’t tired to go up the tea field but monkeys terrified and exhausted me very much.

                                            The teafield like an arena theater