Tamura Seiho-en

Tea Stall

A Historic Naramachi Tea Shop

Preserving Japan’s Green Tea Heritage

Nestled in the narrow, atmospheric streets of Naramachi, Tamura Seiho-en Tea Stall is a family-run tea merchant with roots stretching back to the late Edo period (circa 1863). For more than 150 years, this traditional shop has been dedicated to sourcing and refining high-quality Nara tea, continuing a regional tea culture that first flourished in the 8th century when monks of Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji cultivated tea for ritual and medicinal use.

Step inside the wooden machiya storefront, and you’ll find shelves lined with freshly milled matcha, fragrant sencha, and locally produced bancha—each crafted using time-honored techniques passed down through generations. One charming detail is the shop’s stone mill, still used to grind small batches of matcha by hand, preserving flavor profiles that modern machinery often loses.

For travelers seeking an authentic taste of Nara’s long-standing tea tradition, Tamura Seiho-en offers more than just products—it provides a rare glimpse into the craftsmanship, regional pride, and quiet refinement that have shaped Japan’s tea culture for centuries.

Explore the Sights

See photos that bring Tamura Seiho-en to life.

Traditional Japanese wooden storefront with sliding glass door, signage, and posters outside, featuring dark brown wooden panels and a tiled roof.
Shelf with decorative tins, Japanese packaged tea, and plastic food replicas in a traditional Japanese store.
A man is standing behind a wooden counter in a small shop or cafe, preparing an order. The shop has dark wooden walls, shelves with various containers and decorations, and a cluttered workspace with papers, a cash register, and signs with warnings.
Display of green tea and traditional Japanese souvenirs in a retail store.
A person holding a scoop above a large metal container, possibly in a workshop or craft space, with wooden furniture and other equipment in the background.
Tea leaves are being poured into a metal container lined with aluminum foil, with some leaves already inside, in a tea shop or processing area.
Entrance to a traditional Japanese establishment with dark wood and a blue noren curtain featuring golden Japanese characters.
Two stacked wicker baskets with black fabric handles and a wooden box with a Japanese character label, on a wooden surface.
Vintage coffee machine with Japanese characters, decorated with flowers and a reindeer illustration, in a shop display.
Two large piles of dried, twisted tea leaves placed on aluminum foil inside a metal tray.