【Saijoen Aiya Main Store】Discover Matcha with All Five Senses, Where Tradition Meets Modern Life

More Than 130 Years of Refining the Art of Matcha

Japan’s rich matcha culture rests on a long history and the skills refined over generations. The story behind Saijoen begins with Aiya Co., Ltd., a long-established tea company founded in 1888. Since setting out on its tea-making journey in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, Aiya’s commitment to quality and flavor has been passed down through the years.

In the early twentieth century, Aiya improved its tea-making techniques in collaboration with local tea growers. By 1922, it had established a business devoted entirely to tea. Advances in covered cultivation and the production of tencha, the tea leaves used to make matcha, laid the foundation for its raw materials. From the 1930s onward, matcha production expanded across the region, strengthening Nishio’s standing as a major producer in both quality and volume.

Even through war and natural disasters, the company continued to improve quality and develop new techniques. From the 1950s, it explored matcha’s potential beyond drinking tea, including its use in foods and sweets. In the 1970s, it also began pursuing organic cultivation.

This history of careful craftsmanship means more than preserving old methods. Aiya pays close attention to every step, from the growing conditions and harvest timing of tencha to steaming, drying, refining, and grinding, seeking to bring out the best in the leaves. Grinding the tea slowly in granite stone mills is a particularly skilled process. It helps create matcha with a harmonious balance of color, aroma, and flavor.

Today, Saijoen builds on that history and expertise to offer many ways to learn about, taste, and experience matcha culture.

Discover More Ways to Enjoy Matcha

Saijoen’s range begins with the appeal of matcha itself and opens the door to many other ways of enjoying tea. Its broad selection reflects careful attention to ingredients, production methods, and how each product will be used.

Matcha is at the heart of the collection. Carefully grown tea leaves are finely ground in stone mills to preserve their umami and bring out their vivid color and full aroma. Several varieties are available for different tastes and occasions, from matcha to savor slowly as koicha, or thick tea, to usucha, a lighter tea for everyday enjoyment.

Japanese loose-leaf tea is another pleasure to explore. Saijoen’s original teas are made to express the character of their growing regions and offer layered flavors and aromas. Visitors can choose a tea to suit a meal, a quiet break, or another moment in their day.

Saijoen’s sweets draw on its long experience with matcha production, pairing stone-ground matcha with a variety of ingredients. Rooted in tradition while exploring new flavors, the selection offers many ways to enjoy matcha in desserts.

Its wagashi, or traditional Japanese confections, are created with a deep understanding of matcha. They highlight the tea’s natural color, flavor, and aroma, and are popular both as accompaniments to tea and as gifts.

Tea utensils, teapots, and cups are also available, extending the pleasure of matcha beyond drinking it to preparing and experiencing it. Saijoen’s products invite each visitor to find their own way to spend time with matcha.

Experience Matcha at Saijoen’s Shops and Cafés

Saijoen’s shops and cafés let visitors experience its appeal firsthand. Two key locations are the Aiya Main Store, a center of matcha culture, and Saijoen Matcha Café’s Nishio Main Store, which brings the pleasures of matcha closer to everyday life. Each offers a distinct introduction to the world of Saijoen.

At the Aiya Main Store, visitors can browse matcha and other products while learning about differences in ingredients, production methods, and uses. The welcoming setting makes choosing matcha enjoyable even for first-time visitors, whether they are shopping for themselves or looking for a gift.

Saijoen Matcha Café’s Nishio Main Store focuses on the experience of tasting matcha. Its matcha drinks and sweets invite visitors to enjoy the tea’s aroma and umami with all their senses. It is also a pleasant place to pause during a day of sightseeing.

Other convenient locations include shops at Dai Nagoya Building and Jazz Dream Nagashima. The location at Mitsui Outlet Park Okazaki, which opened in November 2025, offers another place to discover matcha while shopping or taking a road trip.

Together, the shops express Saijoen’s world through the experiences of buying, tasting, and learning about matcha.

A Matcha Museum Worth Making a Trip For

For a deeper experience, visit the Saijoen Waku Waku Matcha Museum. The museum brings together knowledge, hands-on activities, and tasting, allowing visitors to explore matcha with all five senses and learn about its origins, production process, and depth of flavor.

Visits require advance reservations. The experience begins with an introduction to how tencha is grown and ground in stone mills to become matcha, using real equipment and explanations. Visitors can then try activities such as judging tea by its color, aroma, and taste, blending leaves, and grinding tea in a stone mill.

At the end of the experience, visitors can sample matcha from Nishio and matcha sweets, comparing flavors as they bring their visit to a close. The museum shop also offers products to take home, connecting what visitors have learned with what they have tasted.

Saijoen Waku Waku Matcha Museum is a place to learn about, make, and taste matcha, bringing the many sides of matcha culture together in one experience.