Iruma: Tea Landscapes, Culture and Nature

In the city of Iruma, tea is more than a matter of taste: it shapes the landscape, offers visitors an experience and is the subject of a permanent exhibition. There is also a 360-degree panorama, a natural area with a satoyama character and buildings that reveal different chapters of history. You can therefore give your trip different focuses—tea fields and views, museum themes or architectural history. When looking for a holiday rental, it helps to think in advance about which of these perspectives matters most to your trip.

Tea Between Tea Fields and the Museum

Tea Field Terrace Chanowa (茶畑テラス「茶の輪」) is located in the city of Iruma, surrounded by expansive tea fields. Here, you can experience Sayama tea with all five senses. You can rent the terrace exclusively for a fee; private use lasts 90 minutes and requires advance booking. Tea and tea sweets are included. A range of plans is available, taking into account the characteristics of the tea houses and the season. Check the current offers and booking conditions directly with the provider.

Another way to experience tea culture is the Hachijuhachiya New Tea Festival (八十八夜新茶まつり), held every year at the tea field by Iruma City Hall. If you would like to include it in your visit, check the event dates before you travel. These offer two different ways to experience tea: a reserved private visit to the terrace and an annual festival celebrating new tea.

Panoramas and Satoyama Landscapes

From the Sakurayama Observation Deck (桜山展望台) in the city of Iruma, enjoy a 360-degree panorama of the Kanekodai tea fields, the Chichibu and Tama mountain ranges, Mount Fuji and the Kantō Plain. The view brings together tea country, mountains and a broad plain. The Kaji Hills in the city of Iruma show another side of the landscape: this natural area is home to a wide variety of wild plants and animals. It is also a satoyama landscape that has long been closely connected with people’s lives. For Iruma residents, the Kaji Hills are also a symbol and a familiar image of the city’s original landscape.

What the Permanent Exhibition at the ALIT Museum Presents

The permanent exhibition at the ALIT Museum in the city of Iruma includes a section called “茶の世界”—“The World of Tea.” It presents local Sayama tea alongside tea from Japan and other parts of the world, exploring the global spread of tea. The exhibition also covers Iruma’s natural environment and geology. These displays include a diorama of the Kaji Hills forest and footprint fossils of an Akebono elephant discovered in the Iruma River. Together, these themes offer different perspectives on tea, the landscape and the history of the earth, rather than a single narrative about the region.

Past ways of life are also part of the permanent exhibition at the ALIT Museum in the city of Iruma: full-size reconstructions show parts of a farmhouse from the early Shōwa period and a house from a new residential development around 1965. Visitors interested in the connection between everyday life and change will find two concrete historical reference points here. Visitors interested in the connection between everyday life and change will find two concrete historical reference points here. At the Science Bar in the ALIT Museum in the city of Iruma, volunteer team members offer demonstrations and hands-on activities on almost every first Saturday of the month. The ALIT Museum grounds in the city of Iruma also have a restaurant serving tea dishes.

Wooden Architecture and the History of Silk Spinning

The Old Ishikawa Silk Mill Western House in the city of Iruma is a Western-style wooden building constructed about 100 years ago by the Ishikawa Silk Mill as a reception building for foreign merchants. The silk mill was nationally significant from the Meiji period through the early Shōwa period. The building thus offers a different historical perspective from the reconstructed homes in the museum: here, the focus is on a reception building and the history of an important silk mill; there, on past ways of living.

When choosing a holiday rental, you can use these different interests as a guide: would you like to focus mainly on the tea landscape and panorama, are you interested in nature and museum themes, or are you especially drawn to architectural history? This helps you tailor your search to the kind of trip that matters to you. If you are planning around seasonal tea offerings or the annual festival, check the latest dates and conditions in advance.

Discover more destinations: Tokorozawa, Kawaguchi, Honjō, Saitama, Kumagaya, Ogawa, Minano, Fukaya.

For the full travel overview: Saitama Prefecture.