Nishio Onsen Aichi

Nishio, in southern Aichi Prefecture at the head of Mikawa Bay, is celebrated as Japan's leading matcha tea production area, its rich alluvial farmland and mild bay climate creating ideal conditions for the shade-grown tencha leaves that are ground into the prized matcha powder central to Japan's tea ceremony tradition. Nishio Onsen Aichi draws on sodium and bicarbonate thermal waters from the geothermal resources of the southern Aichi plain, offering restorative baths in a city whose matcha heritage permeates local food culture from tea ceremony houses to matcha ice cream and confectionery found throughout the city's artisan districts. The historic Nishio Castle grounds, the city's famous uiro sweetened rice cake, and the Mikawa Bay oyster and seabream fishery traditions make Nishio a richly culturally flavoured destination for thermal spa visitors in southern Aichi.