Rediscovering the Charm of Tea in Nishi-Ojima!
Published: November 9, 2026
※Prices are subject to change from those in effect at the time of the interview. Please contact the store directly for the latest information.
On the Ojima Rakan-dori Shopping Street, which runs from Nishi-Ojima Station toward Kameido, there is a tea shop that has been loved for more than 60 years.
Ocha no Marutamaen
This is Nobuo Masuda, the second-generation owner.
The previous owner’s family home in Shizuoka had a long background in farming and tea sales. Because of this, the shop does not go through intermediaries. It buys directly from tea factories it has dealt with since those days, carefully selecting high-quality tea leaves.
The sencha (the most common type of Japanese green tea) comes from Kakegawa, Shizuoka, one of Japan’s leading tea-growing regions. The gyokuro (a high-grade green tea grown in the shade) and matcha (powdered green tea) come from Uji, Kyoto. In all, the shop stocks about 30 kinds.
The sight of vintage tea chests lined up in a row is impressive!
Samples are available at the front of the shop, and tea is sold in small quantities.
The lineup is wide. Prices per 100g range from ¥540 for tea for offices to ¥3,240 for premium sencha, and ¥10,800 for the Gyokuro Kyohomare. The best seller is the ¥1,080 tea for home use.
“It’s rich, mellow, and easy to drink.”
Even for the same sencha, prices vary greatly depending on the grade. But Mr. Masuda says:
“It’s not necessarily true that something tastes better just because it costs more, you know Some people like a mellow, savory flavor, and others like a crisp taste with strong bitterness. Tea is a matter of taste, so it depends on the person.”
The difference in grade doesn’t stand out much in the first cup, he says, but it shows in the flavor of the second and third infusions. Tea really is a deep subject!
“Whether it’s deep-roasted or light-roasted is also a matter of preference. But as with other food cultures, tea has tendencies that differ between eastern and western Japan [broadly, the Kanto region around Tokyo versus the Kansai region around Osaka and Kyoto], and in general, I’d say the Kanto region tends to prefer deeper roasts.”
(Roast level refers to how much the tea leaves are roasted. Deeply roasted tea has a richer taste, while lightly roasted tea tastes fresher.)
And of course, the fresh aroma and flavor of tea are best enjoyed in the new tea that starts appearing in May. After that, the tea gradually shifts toward richer, deeper roasts, he says.
Being able to learn little tidbits like these is something only a privately run shop owned by a tea specialist can offer.
A Lineup of Items You Can Only Buy Here
The shop is also particular about its selection of teapots (kyusu). Every teapot that Mr. Masuda selects with his expert eye is one of a kind. They range from affordable pieces to ones that cost tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of yen!
Some customers apparently buy them as investments or assets.
The shop also carries coffee beans, which it sells to restaurants as well as, of course, individual customers.
At the back of the shop is a coffee mill whose retro look is cute, too.
“Both tea leaves and coffee beans oxidize faster once opened, so it’s best to keep them in the freezer.” Advice like this is part of the appeal of a specialty shop.
Eye-catching at the storefront are these Sumiyaki-fu Fry Biscuits (“Charcoal-Grilled-Style Fry Biscuits”), made by a Shizuoka manufacturer.
Made from domestic wheat and finished with far-infrared heat in a charcoal-grilled style, these popular biscuits have a simple flavor that keeps winning over new fans, and they go well with both Japanese tea and coffee. You can also buy them online, but shops that sell them in person are rare!
You can buy all of these products at a discount on the shop’s sale days, the first and third Saturday of every month. Everything is 10% off!
Many regulars apparently buy in bulk.
※The product and service details, photos, prices, and other information in this article are based on the information at the time of publication. They may differ from current details and prices, so please check with the shop for the latest information.
