Ota Chaten : Enjoy green tea with meals and sweets at the friendly teahouse【Morimachi, Shizuoka Prefecture】

Morimachi is a town in western Shizuoka Prefecture. It is known as ‘Little Kyoto’ because of its elegant atmosphere, with Buddhist temples and shrines set harmoniously with the surrounding lush nature, and is a busy tourist destination. Exit the Tomei Expressway at the ‘Enshu Morimachi’ interchange and drive for 10 minutes along Myojin Street from the Morimachi Tanizaki intersection. On the way to Oguni Shrine, a tourist attraction visited by millions of tourists annually, you will see the teahouse on the right hand side. Their signature red teapot monument is a great landmark. For this interview, we will cover Ota Chaten ‘of the Red Teapot’. They are well known as a traditional Japanese teahouse in Enshu Morimachi attracting customers with their heartfelt hospitality.

This article includes an interview with Mr. Takahisa Ota, president of Ota Chaten, who explains why they are particularly passionate about hospitality and the kind of tea shop they aim to be.

About Ota Chaten

Ota Chaten is a tea wholesaler in Morimachi, Shizuoka Prefecture. The company was founded in 1977 and its president is Mr. Takahisa Ota.

Ota Chaten is divided into three main sections.

First, as you enter, you will find the ‘The ‘Choose and taste’ specialty japanese tea shop section’ section straight ahead, where customers can sample all the teas in the shop.

Behind the shop customers will find a large courtyard called ‘Wagakutei’, in which a workshop for the making of Japanese confectioneries is situated. The confectioneries are sold at a corner of the tea shop called ‘Wagashi – Shunka No Mori’.

There is a restaurant, called ‘Mori no Ibuki’, where rice ball sets are a favorite choice.

Ota Chaten is committed to promoting tea through these three hospitality services.

The large red teapot object displayed in the car park is also a well-known photo spot. Many visitors take photos with the red teapot in the background and post them on social networking sites.

▲On weekends, fresh vegetables and fruit from local farmers are sold.

The ‘Choose and taste’ specialty japanese tea shop section

The ‘Choose and taste’ specialty japanese tea shop section serves a wide range of teas, from local Morimachi teas to shallow steamed(asamushicha), deep steamed(hukamushicha) and also rare varieties. Here, you can sample all kinds of tea, including the most exclusive ones, upon request.

Ota Chaten’s tea is supplied by Ichinomiya Co. This organisation was set up by the chairman of Ota Chaten based on the factory “Ichinomiya Tea Agricultural Cooperative”,which is shared by local production tea farmers.

This integrated distribution route, from tea production to retail sales, secures a stable supply and sale of quality-assured tea for Ota Chaten. Why not find your favourite tea leaf sampling the delicious selection that only a specialist teahouse can offer?

▲The high quality of Ota Chaten’s tea is attested to by the numerous awards it has received.

Shunka no Mori – Mori’s tiny confectionery shop

Shunka no Mori is a confectionery shop offering handmade Japanese sweets ideal for matching with a cup of tea.

▲Their menu is updated regularly, so customers can come back to enjoy new sweet treats time and time again.

A wide range of authentic confectioneries made by passionate artisans. Customers are encouraged to freely combine the confectionery and tea they are attracted to.

▲The teahouse also offers a full cafe menu. The teahouse’s anmitsu (a traditional Japanese dessert) is popular throughout the year.

Ota Chaten also offers kakigori(Shaved ice) in the summer months. All syrups used are handmade by Ota Chaten. The red bean paste is also made from scratch, starting with the boiling of the azuki beans.

▲The summer-only kakigori served at Ota Chaten for more than 10 years now, sells out in no time.

Mori no Ibuki : The restaurant popular for their rice balls

Mori no Ibuki is a corner where tea and Japanese food can be enjoyed together at lunch.

The main menu includes a reasonably priced rice ball lunch. There is also a seasonal tororo yam set meal. (The last order for lunch is 13:30).

▲A mouth-watering bowl of delicious rice topped with a generous portion of fluffy tororo yam. This luxurious set meal is made possible due to the fresh, high-quality ingredients.

Tea is available at the self-service drinks corner, where several teas, including special sencha, can be enjoyed freely.

Due to the diversity of modern beverages, more and more children are growing up unfamiliar with tea. Mori no Ibuki was launched in the hope that “younger generations will discover that rice and tea are the perfect match”.

▲The rice ball set menu is freshly made each time an order is placed. The moment you put the onigiri in your mouth, the sensation of the grains of rice is irresistible.

In winter, the dining space’s doors are closed, but in summer become an open space, with a pleasant breeze coming in from the riverside. It is enjoyed as a place of relaxation where local people can socialise with a cup of tea.

Interview: We want to be a teahouse that values its local community above all else

We spoke to Mr. Takahisa Ota, representative director of Ota Chaten.

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Customers must have a reason to want to come to a tea specialist like Ota Chaten.

–Please tell us about Ota Chaten.

The most important thing for us at Ota Chaten, as a teahouse, is to endeavour to continue improving and satisfying our customers.

If customers simply wanted to buy tea, it would be easy to just get it at the supermarket. If we want people to go out of their way to visit a specialist tea shop, we have to be able to offer them a good reason for doing so.

Japanese tea consumption is not as high as it was a decade ago. The situation remains challenging. Teahouses everywhere are working hard to fix the problem. However, it is by no means the case that tea is no longer sold.

Reinitiating the habit of drinking tea through family reunions.

–So how does Ota Chaten approach selling tea?

The fact is that today’s children are not being served tea; some of them have never had it.

When children drink tea while eating rice balls at Mori no Ibuki, they realise that rice is a good accompaniment to tea and start to enjoy it.

Seeing children enjoying tea encourages parents to buy it for their children. Tea is also an excellent health supplement; it helps to prevent illness and much more. This is how we aim to develop the habit of tea in our customers’ lives.

–So Mori no Ibuki is not only a tasty place to get lunch, but also an advertisement. A place where people can familiarize themselves with tea.

Yes, Mori no Ibuki is a window into the old Japanese food culture. Onigiri, miso soup, takuan and tea. I think this is the culmination of Japanese food. I want to promote tea through this food culture and increase the number of our fans.

Heartfelt hospitality is one way of achieving this.

The reason behind Ota Chaten’s dedication to friendly hospitality.

–Do you model yourselves on some other shop here at Ota Chaten?

When we first opened this shop, we travelled around Japan for research.

We found a very successful café in the countryside. We wanted to ask them some questions, so we spoke to them after they had closed.

The people running the café were an elderly man and woman, and they said, ‘Customers don’t come just for the food. They are also attracted by smiles. Customers who come in, leave with a smile on their face again. Isn’t this what business is all about?

It is profound. I think this applies to all kinds of business. When serving tea, the taste is perceived differently depending on whether it is served with a smile or a scowl, isn’t it?

Since then, we have always kept this idea in mind.

Ota Chaten keeps the lights on during business hours. Customers will not visit a dimly lit shop, so we leave the lights on until the shop closes. Our staff always serve customers with a smile.

We value the domestic market over the global one. We want to be a teahouse that values our neighbourhood over the national market.

–Recently, there is a trend in the tea industry to give up on selling tea within Japan and focus on overseas exports. Is this not a possibility for Ota Chaten?

I don’t think it is a misguided approach to target exports and the inbound market. Ota Chaten also exports some of its products. However, it is just a part of our business.

The main policy of Ota Chaten is not to aim to be a global tea shop catering to the inbound market, but to create a japanese tea shop that Japanese people will want to visit.

Of course, inbound customers are welcome. Our area is home to Oguni Shrine, a tourist attraction with a history of over 1,300 years. Many inbound visitors coming to Oguni Shrine visit us.

–So foreign tourists also visit Ota Chaten? What is their reaction?

Foreign guests are often surprised when japanese green tea is served. In particular, we are often asked questions about the japanese green tea served with confectioneries such as, ‘Isn’t black tea supposed to go with sweets?’. However, when served japanese green tea, they are always delighted to discover that green tea and sweet dishes go perfectly together.

–International customers are also pleased with your products.

However, we do not want local customers to be disadvantaged for the sake of attracting inbound customers. We want to take care of our local customers first.

When local customers visit us, it attracts other customers from the surrounding area. We hope that this will inspire further visits from those outside the prefecture and overseas.

Ota Chaten aims to be a ‘little Disneyland’

–People generally have an image of teahouses being difficult to enter, but I don’t feel that kind of atmosphere here at Ota Chaten. Why is that?

I think it is because children visit. I think that when children visit the shop, it creates an atmosphere that people feel comfortable in.

I love to see children coming to our shop. When children ask for sweets, I tend to give them some! In fact, I’ve been scolded by our employees who say that I give children too many sweets (laughs).

▲The riverside beside Ota Chaten is decorated with beautiful flowers such as emperor dahlias.

Behind our shop is a square that is open for children to play freely and parents can relax over a cup of tea.

–That is a great service for those raising children.

We even extended the shop in response to customer requests. In reality though, we’re just doing what we want to do.

–If it goes on like this, it will end up more like a tea theme park than a tea shop.

Yes, it will be. We are aiming to be something of a ‘little Disneyland’ for families. (laughs)

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Information of Ota Chaten

Address	3822 Ichinomiya, Mori-machi, Shuchi-gun, Shizuoka 437-0226, Japan
Website	https://www.otachaten.com/
Phone number	0538-84-2020
E-money and credit cards	Credit cards and Partially e-money available
Open	9:00~16:00
Closed	Tuesday.
Parking lot	available
Access	15-minute drive from Enshu Morimachi IC.

 

Writer	Norikazu Iwamoto
Career	Ochatimes chief editer. Meeting with Vice Governor of Shizuoka prefecture. Judge of Shizuoka 100 tea’s award in 2021~23. Ocha Times link introduced at website of World O-CHA(Tea) Festival 2022, Tea Science Center, The City of Green Tea Shizuoka,  Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

 

English translator	Calfo Joshua
Career	Born and raised in England, living in Japan since 2016. Studying arboriculture in Shizuoka Prefecture whilst operating his landscape business Calfo Forestry. Appreciating the nature of Japan and the culture that places such importance in it.