Kikugawa City

Astringent tea, changed by steaming it longer.

Fukamushi Kikugawa-cha

Photo by MaedaAkihiko (CC0)

01 ／ Tea

Tea said to be astringent,changed by longer steaming.

Tea from Kikugawa and the surrounding area was once said to be strongly astringent. Research from around 1952 succeeded in making better-tasting tea by steaming the leaves for longer. In 2023 Fukamushi Kikugawa-cha (深蒸し菊川茶), "Kikugawa deep-steamed green tea", was registered as a national Geographical Indication (GI). Shizuoka's chagusaba (茶草場) method, which spreads cut grass on the tea fields, is a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System.

Research from around 1952
GI registration, 2023
Globally Important Agricultural Heritage

02 ／ Magistrate's residence

A magistrate's residence,still lived in today.

The Kuroda family served as magistrates (代官) for the Honda, a hatamoto family who ruled this area in the Edo period. The thatched nagayamon gatehouse is thought to date from the mid-18th century and is 20.6 m long. The gatehouse and main house became Important Cultural Properties in 1973, and in 1993 the whole residence, moat included, was designated. The owners still live here.

Gatehouse 20.6 m long
Important Cultural Property, 1973
Mid-18th-century gatehouse

03 ／ Rice terraces

In terraces named for a thousand fields,rice is still planted by hand.

The Kamikurasawa rice terraces (上倉沢の棚田), on the western slope of the Makinohara Plateau, are known as Sengamachi (千框), meaning "a thousand paddies". They were first cleared about 400 years ago, and planting in June and harvesting in October are still done by hand. Of about 10 ha, 6.5 ha is chagusaba grassland. In 2022 they were selected as a Tsunagu Tanada Isan (つなぐ棚田遺産) terraced-field heritage site.

First cleared about 400 years ago
6.5 ha of chagusaba
Tsunagu Tanada Isan

Living here

45 minutes to Shizuoka, 33 to Hamamatsu.

about 50,000 people

On the JR Tōkaidō Line it is about 6 minutes from Kikugawa Station to Kakegawa Station, about 33 minutes to Hamamatsu Station and about 45 minutes to Shizuoka Station. City Hall is about a 10-minute walk from Kikugawa Station. The city has the Kikugawa interchange on the Tōmei Expressway, and its town centre spreads along the middle reaches of the Kiku River (菊川), a class A river.

People living here: 47,789people
Area: 94.19km²
Households: 17,759households
Rent (average for rentals): 48,716yen
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 28 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —10 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Kikugawa City in Japan34.758°N 138.085°E

to ShizuokaJR Tōkaidō Main Line45min
to HamamatsuJR Tōkaidō Main Line33min
to KakegawaJR Tōkaidō Main Line6min

Travel times follow 静岡県の移住・定住サイト「ゆとりすと静岡」の菊川市のページ（移住相談窓口は菊川市営業戦略課）に載っている値 (checked 2026-09-24). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities.

Territory of Kikugawa City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

17.3km

掛川市, 牧之原市, 御前崎市, 島田市

Kikugawa City isthis kind of town.

01Tea once said to be astringent was changed by research into longer steaming from around 1952, and Fukamushi Kikugawa-cha was registered as a GI in 2023
02The residence of the Kuroda family, magistrates for a hatamoto, is an Important Cultural Property and is still lived in
03The Sengamachi rice terraces, first cleared about 400 years ago on the slope of the Makinohara Plateau, are still planted by hand

See the town as it is now.

Instagram@kikugawa_city_official ↗

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kikugawa City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗