Being Asked About “Popular Matcha Cafés in Japan” Made Me Realize a Cultural Gap

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“Can you recommend popular matcha cafés in Japan?”

A friend from overseas once asked me this.

I remember hesitating for a moment, and then replying honestly:

“Sorry… but matcha isn’t something Japanese people drink every day.”

That conversation made me realize something: the way matcha is perceived in Japan and overseas might be quite different.

How do Japanese people actually drink matcha?

In modern Japan, matcha is not something people drink on a daily basis.

Many households keep barley tea (mugicha) at home, and when it comes to green tea, sencha or bottled tea is more common. Coffee is also a standard morning drink for many people.

Of course, there are many matcha lovers. But for most people, matcha is less of an everyday drink and more of something you enjoy on special occasions.

Because of this, there are actually not that many “popular matcha specialty cafés that Japanese people casually go to in daily life.”

Where to Drink Matcha in Japan

When you think about where to enjoy matcha in Japan, it is usually places like:

• Tea houses in temples or traditional gardens
• Cafés attached to long-established tea shops
• Japanese sweets shops or modern wagashi cafés

In recent years, however, matcha latte specialty stores and modern matcha cafés have also increased.

The rising global demand for matcha, the “matcha latte culture” coming back to Japan from abroad, and a growing interest in traditional culture among younger generations have all contributed to making matcha more accessible and casual than before. This shift feels quite interesting.

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Why is matcha considered a “special tea”?

Matcha originally developed alongside Japanese tea ceremony culture (chanoyu, later systematized as chadō).

It was passed down mainly among samurai and certain privileged classes as part of spiritual practice and cultural refinement.

Because it involves whisking with a bamboo whisk (chasen), and is deeply connected to specific utensils, space, and etiquette, matcha is not just a “drink,” but something closer to an “experience” or a “cultural practice.”

For this reason, it has remained something people encounter in special settings rather than in everyday life.

The roles of matcha and sencha

What is interesting here is that Japanese tea did not evolve in a single direction.

Instead, matcha and sencha developed into clearly different roles: one became part of everyday life, while the other remained cultural.

Why sencha became the “everyday tea”

From the Edo period onward, sencha spread widely as the standard daily tea.

The reasons are quite simple:

• It is easy to brew with a teapot
• Anyone can make it in a similar way
• The quality is relatively stable
• It fits naturally into daily routines

In other words, sencha was a tea that was thoroughly optimized for everyday life.

As a result, it naturally became part of daily households and routines.

Why matcha remained a “cultural tea”

Matcha, on the other hand, developed from the very beginning within the formal world of tea ceremony.

• Its manners and rituals became culturally established
• It requires utensils and a specific space to be fully appreciated
• If simplified too much, its essence is lost

In other words, matcha did not “fail to become everyday tea.” Rather, it was refined to fulfill a cultural and ceremonial role from the beginning.

Because of this, it continues to hold a distinct and elevated cultural position even today.

What is happening today

Interestingly, the boundary between the two is slowly shifting in modern times.

Matcha is being reinterpreted through sweets and matcha lattes, becoming more casual and accessible than ever before. At the same time, sencha — the once everyday tea — is becoming increasingly simplified into bottled beverages, while the habit of brewing tea with a teapot at home is gradually disappearing.

It is fascinating how both originated from the same culture, yet continue to evolve in different ways.

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Conclusion

Matcha did not become “special” over time — it was originally cultivated in a special cultural position.

Sencha, on the other hand, expanded as a tea adapted to everyday life.

Rather than competing, they naturally settled into different roles within Japanese tea culture.

▶︎ Next episode

So where did Japanese tea culture actually begin, and how did it evolve into its current form?

In the next article, I would like to explore the origins of Japanese tea culture a little more closely.