The total number of visitors to this complex museum, which is co-creating the future of tea, has exceeded 100,000. To commemorate one year of your patronage, we will be holding a commemorative event for about one week around the 88th day!
To commemorate the first anniversary of the founding of the Tea Culture Creation Museum and Oi Ocha Museum, which serve as hubs for co-creating the future of tea, ITO EN Co., Ltd. will be holding a first anniversary event from Tuesday, April 29th to Tuesday, May 6th, 2025, around the 88th day after the event.
Tea is a familiar drink that permeates our lives as a communication tool that connects people, and is said to be an everyday staple. As a leading tea company, we will further expand and deepen our global expansion, and on May 1, 2024, we opened the "Tea Culture Creation Museum" and "Oi Ocha Museum" within the former Shinbashi Station as a complex museum that will serve as a base for co-creating the future of tea.
The Tea Culture Creation Museum has set the goal of "passing on Japanese culture and food culture through tea," and has exhibited the history of tea and the evolution of tea-drinking habits. We have received a lot of positive feedback from our visitors, such as "I felt the depth of tea history" and "I learned that there are various ways to drink tea." We have also been working to enrich the exhibits by adding additional materials and collaborating with experts, and the exhibits on Sencha tea ceremony and Ranji labels in particular have been well-received. Through these efforts, the museum has been certified as a "registered museum," which aims to maintain and develop social education and cultural promotion functions.
At the "Oi Ocha Museum," we have exhibited the process of making "Oi Ocha" from the tea fields, our history, and the upcycling of tea leaves. Among these, the booth where you can learn that drinking tea in plastic bottles is one result of adapting to changes in lifestyle, and where you can write "new haiku," a familiar poem associated with "Oi Ocha," on the spot and have it turned into a sticker, are very popular. In addition, a total of more than 7,000 customers participated in the experience seminar, and we received comments such as, "I was surprised at how delicious tea made carefully" and "My interest in tea has expanded."
Thanks to the patronage of everyone, this complex museum has had over 100,000 visitors in the year since it opened. Therefore, to express our gratitude to everyone, we will hold a one-year anniversary event with various hospitality offers under the theme of "Conveying the charm of tea through tea drinking" from Tuesday, April 29th to Tuesday, May 6th, 2025, around the 88th night of the year. We will continue to enrich the exhibits, strengthen multilingual support, and work with other museums, as well as plan new experience programs and special exhibits to convey the charm of tea to more people.
<Outline of the first anniversary project for the "Tea Culture Creation Museum" and "Oi Ocha Museum">
To commemorate the first anniversary of the founding of the "Tea Culture Creation Museum" and "Oi Ocha Museum," which serve as hubs for co-creating the future of tea, we will be holding a number of anniversary events under the theme of "Communicating the Charm of Tea through Tea Ceremony," including serving the seasonal tea "shincha" (new tea), holding experience seminars, distributing novelties limited to 100 people per day, and adding new exhibits.
Event period
April 29th (Tue) – May 6th (Tue), 2025, 10:00-17:00 (last admission 16:30)
●Venue: "Tea Culture Creation Museum" and "Oi Ocha Museum" (1-5-3 Higashi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, inside the old Shinbashi Station)
●Main events・Free serving of new tea (several times a day)
・Distribution of novelties (limited to 100 people per day)
・Sale of "Shincha" cafe menu ・Sale of 1st anniversary merchandise including Oi Ocha-kun (※1)
・Sale of JR East "Suica Penguin" stuffed toys (limited quantities) (*1) (*2)
・Seminar on how to make "shincha" (fresh tea) using a teapot (fee required, advance reservation required)
● "Oi Ocha Museum" exhibit to be added in conjunction with the first anniversary project
・A unique initiative to horizontally expand the "Oi Ocha" brand by format ・An initiative to deliver "Oi Ocha New Tea" in as little as two weeks (※3)
(※1) Some of the merchandise will be available for sale from Wednesday, April 30th onwards.
(※2) (C) Chiharu Sakazaki / JR East / DENTSU Suica is a registered trademark of JR East. The Suica penguin is a Suica mascot.
(※3) This may vary depending on the weather of the year.
About the "Tea Culture Creation Museum"
● Facility Overview As the phrase "everyday tea" suggests, tea is a drink that is deeply familiar in people's lives. As the way it is drunk and prepared has changed over the years, it has continued to be enjoyed by people in a way that is close to them. At the Tea Culture and Creation Museum, you can look back on the path that tea drinking customs have taken, unravel the exhibits, and feel the changes in how tea is drunk, brewed, and prepared.
In addition, in order to maintain and develop its social education and cultural promotion functions, the museum applied for registration under the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education's museum registration system, and was certified as a "registered museum" on March 31, 2025.
About the "Oi Ocha Museum"
● Facility Overview The Oi Ocha Museum exhibits the history of Oi Ocha, which has been with the times and the changes in people's lives. You can see how Oi Ocha was born and how it has evolved into the form that everyone is familiar with, as well as the efforts being made starting from the tea fields. The shop and cafe offers drinks that reflect the era, mainly green tea and matcha, as well as museum-exclusive goods. Experience seminars will also be held in sequence, so please feel free to stop by.
＜Overview of the "Tea Culture Creation Museum" and "Oi Ocha Museum" facilities＞
■ Facility name｜
Tea Culture Creation Museum / Oi Ocha Museum ■ Location |
1-5-3 Higashi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside the old Shinbashi Station ■Opening hours |
10:00-17:00 (last admission 16:30)
■Closed days｜
Every Monday, New Year's holiday (※) If Monday is a national holiday, the museum will be closed the following weekday. ■ Admission fee |
"Tea Culture Creation Museum": 500 yen for adults, 300 yen for students, free for those 70 years old and over and high school students and younger (※) Free for those with a disability certificate and one accompanying person (※) All prices include tax "Oi Ocha Museum": Free ■ Access |
5 minutes walk from JR Shinbashi Station "Ginza Exit" 3 minutes walk from Toei Oedo Line Shiodome Station "Shinbashi Station Ticket Gate" ■ Official website |
https://www.ochamuseum.jp
■Contact us｜
Tel: 03-6263-9281
Form: https://www.itoen.co.jp/form_ochamuseum/
From the press release of Itoen Co., Ltd.
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