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Matcha in Japan: Where to Buy, Shop Limits and Uji

Matcha costs a median ¥125.1 a gram at 15 Japanese tea brands, and 6 of them limit online orders. Uji, 17 minutes from Kyoto by JR, has 8 of the 42 shops we list.

Checked Oct 18, 2026

  • Counted by us6 of 15matcha brands limit online orders, counted from each brand's own notices
  • Counted by us¥125.1per gram: the median of 124 matcha at 15 brands, from their own price lists
  • Counted by us¥3,731per 45 minutes: the median tea ceremony across 38 plans with a set length

Where to buy

42 shops and cafes of 15 brands, with hours and stations: 8 in Uji, 12 in Kyoto city and 15 in Tokyo.

Prices and shop limits

Per gram, matcha costs a median ¥125.1 at 15 brands, and 6 of them limit online orders.

Uji and tea ceremonies

A tea ceremony costs a median ¥3,731 per 45 minutes, and 21 of 44 plans are run in English. Uji is 17 minutes from Kyoto by JR.

Taking matcha home

What you can carry on the plane, and what your own country lets you bring in.

FAQ

When is matcha season in Japan?

The first flush is the most prized: Japan's farm ministry lists first-flush tencha, the leaf ground into matcha, above the average for all seasons. By tradition, tea sealed in a jar in spring is opened around November for the year's first bowl, called kuchikiri.

Can I buy matcha tax-free?

At some shops. Itohkyuemon, for one, says its shops offer tax-free shopping for visitors, though not at its cafes. What you need at the till and the rules for visitors are in our tax-free guide.

Japan tax-free shopping 2026: new tax refund rules from 1 November

Where is matcha grown in Japan?

Kagoshima grows the most tencha, the leaf ground into matcha, followed by Kyoto and then Shizuoka, according to Japan's farm ministry. Uji in Kyoto Prefecture is the best-known name, and 8 of the 42 shops in our matcha guide are there.

Can I buy matcha at the airport?

At a few. 2 of the 42 shops in our matcha guide are at airports: Fukujuen at Kansai International Airport and a THE MATCHA TOKYO cafe at Fukuoka Airport.

Where Can I Buy Matcha in Japan? 15 Brands and 42 Shops

More food features

How we check

Editorial policy
  • Ippodo Tea
  • Marukyu Koyamaen
  • Nakamura Tokichi
  • Fukujuen
  • Tea ceremony operators
  • JR West
  • Japan Civil Aviation Bureau
  • Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
  • Osaka Customs
  • Every number on this page is read from the page it links to, and those pages take their numbers only from official sources. The date we checked sits on each card.
  • Prices and limits change. Matcha shop prices and limits are re-checked every month, and tea ceremony prices every quarter.
  • The photos are from Wikimedia Commons under the licences below. We do not use photos from the tea brands or the tea ceremony operators.

Photo credits

Photos via Wikimedia Commons (cropped): dungthuyvunguyen (CC0); rumpleteaser (CC BY 2.0); cyclonebill (CC BY-SA 2.0); Derjochenmeyer (CC BY-SA 4.0); T.Tseng (CC BY 2.0); おいでやす千年の都 (CC0); Marco Almbauer (CC0); Saigen Jiro (CC0); KuboBella (CC BY-SA 4.0); Ctny (CC BY-SA 4.0).