Kagoshima
鹿児島
かごしま
Prefecture with the capital of the same name on the island of Kyūshū in southern Japan. Due to the subtropical climate in the region, tea cultivation has developed very well in this relatively young tea-growing region and is now considered the second largest tea-growing area in the country.
Sakurajima - one of Japan's most active volcanoes - is located in a bay off Kagoshima City. Sakurajima regularly covers the region with a nutrient-rich layer of ash, which provides fertile soil for tea cultivation.
Kagoshima is home to 20% of Japan's tea-growing areas, but due to the good growing conditions and the resulting long harvest times, these areas account for 30% of the country's tea production (data from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF), 2015).
The former province of Satsuma is now part of Kagoshima Prefecture. Based on this name, green tea from the region is sometimes also referred to as Satsuma-cha. Other specialties of the region are Satsuma-yaki ceramics and the sweet potato (Satsuma-Imo). Unlike the sweet potatoes usually found in German supermarkets, these are whitish or light yellow on the inside and light brown on the outside.
