Kissa Issa Tea Café is cute little cafe which was the idea behind a collaboration project between the Shizuoka City Tea Growers Association and the Municipal Government of Shizuoka.
Service: Extremely kind and hospitable café staff
Facilities and Equipment: Spotlessly clean, entirely non-smoking
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Great variety of green tea from Shizuoka City on sale. Choice of three different teas offered every week. Local wagashi cakes!
4 years ago, in June exactly, Shizuoka JR Station was completely renovated and the basement linking the city to the north exit saw the birth of some very interesting shops. If you arrive directly at Shizuoka JR Station, take the stairs down and you will find Kissa Issa Tea Cafe on your left. You will find it on your right if you reach the station from the basement passageway.
You are graciously invited to taste Shizuoka City Green Tea
A great range of green tea bags, regularly changed, for a very reasonable price
Bear in mind that Shizuoka Prefecture produces more than 45% of all green tea in Japan and that Shizuoka City is one of the main growing areas.
The whole list of Green Tea Growers and Companies in Shizuoka
You can also buy take-out hot green tea (but don’t consume it on site, this is not Starbucks)
Closed on Wednesdays only, but always open on week-ends and National Holidays for the pleasure of the many visitors.
Smokers, keep out if you please
More green teas on sale inside, the tea on offer is regularly changed to enable the sale of all the Shizuoka green tea.
The Tea Cafe, a great place for a break between two trains or a rendez-vous with a special one
Local, smiling and so attentive staff
The menu is written in Japanese, but the staff will try their best to explain it
The three teas proposed on the menu every week are also displayed for purchase near the cash register
There were two different Japanese wagashi cakes available made by Friand Kadoya, a top-class wagashi shop in Inagawa Cho, Suruga Ku, Shizuoka, just south of the JR Station. The one I chose is a kinton and sweetmeat/anko cake named Na no Hana/rapeseed flower.
And the tea I chose was a Tamachi No Aji Ichiban (made with first tea crop leaves)
My set while the staff prepares the first cup of tea and serve a pot of water for the next cups
The brown pot contains enough hot water for the second and third cups of tea
For the second cup of tea you pour hot water into the green pot first and then into the small tea pot filled with leaves. This way your tea will be at the right temperature. As for the third cup, you pour the hot water from the brown pot into the small tea pot as the temperature will be just right inside the brown pot by then.
The wagashi cake, a little jewel
Filled with sweetmeat, and it’s vegan!
Name | Kissa Issa |
Category | |
Address | Shizuoka JR Station, North Exit, Basement Square |
Access | [map]Shizuoka JR Station, North Exit, Basement Square[/map] |
Opening Hours | 10:00~19:00 Closed on Wednesdays (in the case of a holiday, next day) and New year's holidays |
Price Range | |
Payment options |