“暑いですね?” (atsui desu ne?) or in other words, “Isn’t it hot?” is a phrase that you will hear EVERYWHERE you go in Japan in the summer and even here in the Obubu office every day.
Hi everyone!
Tran again, here to report that I survived my first Japanese summer in the sweltering heat! Truthfully, the weather here in Japan is literally the exact same weather that I have back at home, but unlike home, where I can be inside with the cool air from the A/C blowing, being out on a tea farm means having to work outside and dealing with the weather it brings. That being said, it’s still nice to be out in the fields, getting my hands dirty, and making great memories and tea with everyone.
Unlike the busier days of spring, summer was a little bit of a slower time. There weren’t as many harvests, but there were LOTS of weeding days. However, my luck continued and I was able to do the first harvest of summer with Akky-san and Zehra (#196) on Tenku. Although we only harvested for half a day, there was a joy of just being able to be back out on the fields harvesting after a month of no harvesting. That night, we processed the leaves to make summer sun and there was such an overwhelming feeling of happiness and nostalgia to hear the machines come alive again after what felt like a long time of not seeing them in action.
Just a couple of days later, “Camp Obubu” took place. Mia (AM #9) and I unintentionally showed up in matching outfits, just like how camp counselors would, and completed our first independent drive up to Aoimori with Izzy (#200), Garance (#199), KD (#201), and Zehra to harvest leaves to make our own wakoucha. We all took turns leading the machine and supporting each other throughout the process. Whether we did a good job at harvesting, I’m not too sure of, but many laughs and smiles were shared and it really just really just made us feel like kids at camp again. To add to those vibes, we spent the entire day sorting our leaves and ended the day watching “Mean Girls” together on the second floor of the factory. The following day, we rolled our tea, let it oxidize and on the third day, we dried our teas. Overall, it was a very special and fun moment especially since this was the first time I ever got to make my own tea starting from harvesting until the final drying process.
Although it was just for a short morning weeding session, I was super excited to go weeding because it was at our baby tea field, Kouminkan. This field holds a special memory for me because during the time that I was an intern, I, along with my co-interns, Akky-san, and Miwako, we all planted these baby tea plants, and this was the first time I was able to go back and see much they’ve grown. Hopefully in a couple of years I’ll be able to come back and harvest these bushes and then process the leaves to complete a full circle.
Rounding out the summer season, I was able to take a trip down to Nagasaki with Mia to visit our sister tea company, Ikedoki Tea! It was super exciting to be able to visit because we always mention them during our tea tour, but to finally be able to see the place in person made the experience a lot more meaningful. As a person who loves being by the water, this was too surreal for me just to be able to wake up, walk outside and literally be right by the water. On the day we arrived, Marjolein (#83) took us out to see the tea fields during sunset and it was easily the best sunset I’ve seen. The picture I took won’t do it any justice, but the sun was as red as Japan’s flag and to watch it slowly lower down into the sea with the tea fields in the foreground, it was really a sunset to remember. On the second day, Matsu-san took us out to see some tea fields and it was really interesting to see how different the fields look compared to the ones in Wazuka. Some were flat and some were planted on terraces that used to be rice fields, and of course, some were abandoned. All in all, it was a good short mini vacation trip to be able to see and learn more about how our sister tea company works, as well as learning more about the teas that are produced in that region. Thank you to Matsu-san and Marjolein for being such great hosts and if you’re ever in the Nagasaki area, please make sure to visit them!
Besides the summer heat, I’m really glad to have been able to truly experience what a Japanese summer entails, from attending many matsuri and eating matsuri food, to watching amazing hanabi, and going to the beach, it was a nice fun time before the supposed craziness of the autumn season that’s coming up soon.
Until then,
Tran (AM #12)