Tea Leaf Picking Event Held in Nishio, Aichi Pref. at ’88th Day of Spring’ Event; New Leaves Thought to Promote Longevity　

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:23 JST, May 1, 2024

NISHIO, Aichi — An event to mark “the 88th day since the first day of spring” was held in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, on Wednesday.

Nishio is known as a production center of powdered green tea, known as matcha.

During the event, women in kasuri kimono handpicked new tea leaves.

The leaves picked on the 88th day since the first day of spring are considered to be high in quality. The belief that drinking tea from leaves picked on that day promotes longevity has been around for many years.

According to the Nishio city’s tea association, the tea leaves are growing well this year because of little damage from frosts in March and fine weather with moderate rainfall in April.