From Shizuoka to Toronto: Discover Japanese Tea at the Nihoncha Matsuri2026

From Shizuoka to Toronto

This year, Shizuoka is coming to Toronto.

For the first time, the Japanese Tea Festival will feature a dedicated Shizuoka booth, bringing tea producers and professionals from Shizuoka to Toronto.

Visitors will be able to taste Shizuoka tea, join guided tastings, ask questions directly to people who work with tea every day, and hear firsthand stories about the tea-growing regions that you may not usually get to hear here in Toronto.

But for Hokusan, this connection to Shizuoka is about more than this year’s festival.

It is where our story began.

Where the Hokusan Story Began

Hokusan founder Rikko Osaki was born and raised in Shizuoka, surrounded by Japanese tea from an early age.

Later, Rikko spent six months training at a tea farm in Shizuoka with more than 500 years of history, learning about tea from the ground up—from working with the soil to understanding how tea is grown and cared for.

That experience became part of the foundation of Hokusan and continues to shape the way we approach Japanese tea today.

Hokusan now sources Japanese tea from regions including Shizuoka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima, with a particular focus on matcha.

From growing up in Shizuoka, to learning directly from a tea farm, to building Hokusan in Canada, Rikko’s connection to Japanese tea has always been rooted in the people and places behind it.

And this year, we are bringing that connection to Toronto.

Bringing Shizuoka to Toronto

For Hokusan, this year’s Japanese Tea Festival is an opportunity to bring the people and stories behind Japanese tea closer to the people who enjoy it here in Canada.

Hokusan will be joining the festival alongside tea producers, professionals, and representatives from Shizuoka.

At the festival, you can:

• Shop NIJU and Shizuoka tea directly from the producers behind them — Take home Hokusan’s NIJU and Shizuoka tea directly from the people who bring these teas to you.

• Taste Japanese tea — Experience Shizuoka tea through guided tastings.

• Meet tea producers and professionals — Connect directly with people who have travelled from Shizuoka to Toronto.

• Ask questions — Hear about tea growing, production, and the regions behind the tea from people who work with it every day.

• Discover the story behind your cup — Learn about the land where tea is grown and the people who dedicate their work to it.

These are conversations and experiences that can be difficult to find in everyday life in Toronto.

This festival brings them together in one place.

Drink Japanese tea. Learn where it comes from. Meet the people behind it.

That is what we hope you will take away from this year’s festival.

Come Meet Us at the Japanese Tea Festival

Japanese Tea Festival 2026 will take place on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto.

Hokusan Tea Canada will be joining the festival as a tea vendor, bringing our Japanese teas and NIJU to the event.

Come visit the Hokusan booth, meet our team, and enjoy a day of drinking Japanese tea, learning about it, and meeting the people behind it.

This November, you don’t have to travel to Shizuoka to get closer to Japanese tea. Shizuoka is coming to Toronto!

Come experience the tea, people, and stories of Shizuoka right here in Toronto.

Japanese Tea Festival 2026

Date: Sunday, November 1, 2026
Time: 10:30 AM–6:30 PM
Location: Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre
Address: 6 Sakura Way, Toronto, ON M3C 1Z5

Drink. Learn. Enjoy to the last drop.

For tickets and more information, visit Nihoncha Canada | Japanese Tea Festival in Toronto.