Shizuoka: green tea in the shadow of Mount Fuji

Growing more green tea than any other region of Japan, Shizuoka also offers one of the country's most celebrated views of Mount Fuji from its vantage point.

The centre, famous for green tea cultivation in the shadow of Mount Fuji, is easily explored on foot.

The Sunpu Castle, former residence of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu after his retirement from power, preserves rebuilt towers and wide moats in the heart of the city.

Just steps away, the Shizuoka Tea Museum tells the story of green tea cultivation, which here represents almost half of Japan's national production.

On the clearest days, from the panoramic points of the city one observes distinctly Mount Fuji, often crowned by a cap of clouds even when the surrounding sky is clear.

Toward evening, the fish market of Shizuoka, on the port of Yaizu, offers tuna caught just hours before directly on the stalls.

The tea plantations covering the hills around Shizuoka alone produce nearly half of all the green tea consumed throughout Japan, a primacy that the region has held for generations.

Mount Fuji, visible from Shizuoka in ideal conditions, often remains hidden by clouds that form precisely around its summit even on the clearest days in the rest of the region.