Minamiyamashiro Village, with a population of approximately 2,500, is the only village in Kyoto Prefecture. Surrounded by mountains and with the Kizu River flowing through its center, Minamiyamashiro Village opened in the spring of 2017 as "Roadside Station: Ocha no Kyoto Minamiyamashiro-mura". The concept is a digest of life in Minamiyamashiro Village. The facility is filled with the charms of Minamiyamashiro, which has rich nature, tea plantations that produce about 301 tp3 t of the tea produced in Kyoto Prefecture, and a diverse mix of cultures adjacent to Mie, Nara, and Shiga prefectures.
At the Monon Market, where "village products" are sold, original products such as Muracha pound cake and Muracha pudding made with Minamiyamashiro Village's specialty, village tea, are very popular. The market also offers a wide variety of fresh local vegetables and other produce, as well as handmade okan bento lunches. At the Murachaya, visitors can take out drinks and sweets made with Muracha, and the Muracha soft serve ice cream using spring-picked powdered green tea is one of the most popular products at the roadside station. The village restaurant Tsunonobu offers village set menus with a choice of side dishes and rice, chasoba (green tea noodle), tea farmers' dishes, and yakitobuta (roasted pork in a bowl), and the village department store has a variety of daily necessities.
The roadside station is located along the Kyoto-Izumi Charming Road, which crosses five municipalities in the Sagara region of southern Kyoto Prefecture. With tea fields spreading out before its eyes, the roadside station boasts of being the closest roadside station to a tea plantation in Japan. It is also only a 5-minute walk from Tsukigaseguchi Station on the JR Kansai Main Line, making it easy to get there without using a car. Why not visit this popular roadside station this weekend and enjoy both gourmet food and scenic views?