Last week, the Japan Tourism Agency and Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries hosted the annual Japan–U.S. Tourism and Culinary Night in Midtown New York.
On Tuesday evening, inside the auditorium at Japan Society, a room filled with cultural enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and the matcha-curious gathered for Matcha: The Next Generation, a conversation and tasting presented as part of the organization’s annual Living Traditions series in partnership with the Government of Japan.
The evening explored the shift in matcha culture from ritualized, ceremonial, and preserved to an evolving and rapidly changing state. Moderated by Rona Tison, Tea Ambassador and Executive Advisor at ITO EN North America, the panel brought together three voices shaping matcha’s future across continents: Masae Shinjo, Founder and CEO of Matcha Tourism Co., Ltd.; Kunikazu Mochitani, Co-Founder of The Matcha Factory; and Silvia Mella, Founder and Creative Director of Sorate.
Japan’s rural tea-growing regions, particularly in areas like Uji and Shizuoka, are facing demographic decline. Aging farmers, shrinking labor pools, and global demand pressures have created a tension between preservation and production. Mochitani spoke to the technological shifts underway with innovations in farming and supply chain transparency that allow producers to maintain quality while adapting to modern market realities.
Shinjo approached the topic from another dimension with tourism and storytelling. Through Matcha Tourism Co., Ltd., she has built immersive experiences that reconnect consumers to origin, to the fields, the farmers, the labor behind the bowl. In an era where matcha is often consumed as a latte or aesthetic accessory, her work reframes it as agricultural heritage. Revitalizing rural communities, she explained, requires not only innovation but visibility by inviting global audiences to witness the process rather than just consume the product. The matcha boom has been shaped by global wellness trends, social media virality, and aesthetic minimalism, but Silvia Mella emphasized intentional growth by ensuring that farmers benefit from the expansion.
Beyond the economics, the panel returned repeatedly to cultivation itself. Matcha production is labor-intensive: shade-growing tea plants weeks before harvest, carefully selecting leaves, steaming, drying, de-stemming, and finally stone-grinding into the luminous green powder. Climate change, labor shortages, and mechanization debates all shape the future of this process. Following the discussion, guests moved into a tasting reception to experience the human experience behind the shift in match and how it’s being recontextualized through technology, tourism, and women-led entrepreneurship. For a beverage often photographed more than understood, the event offered insight on how the industry is balancing preservation with evolution.
Japanese boy group ONE OR EIGHT is hitting the gas in 2026 with their debut mini-album, GATHER. Anchored by the focus track “TOKYO DRIFT,” the project serves as a definitive statement on the group’s unity and collective resilience. According to member Souma, the core philosophy of the album is the importance of coming together to overcome individual weaknesses, turning shared struggles into a source of combined strength.
A slice of Japan in NYC! Rei, an elegant dining restaurant, has opened in SoHo.
P1Harmony is back, and they’re making their own history with their first-ever English mini album, EX.
ROKC may be gone, but its spirit lives on at NR– a Japanese cocktail and ramen bar blending inventive drinks, comforting bowls, and an effortlessly cool vibe.
“WHEREVER YOU ARE,” you’d want to be here—at JO1’s electrifying Los Angeles stop, kicking off March in the best way.
Bringing Japan’s favorites to your door with TokyoTreat this Cherry Blossom Season, their “Cherry Blossom Bites” box is a real treat, packed & sealed straight from Japan, a real cherry-shing experience! Bite into Japan and let the flavors blossom, releasing March 15th!
The hilarious spy comedy loved by millions – Spy x Family takes its action-packed movie, SPY x FAMILY CODE: White, to the big screen with Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment, offering both English dub or Japanese dub with subtitles out April 19.
Every year, NYFW introduces many new and exciting designers and organizations to the fashion landscape, and on Wednesday, February 7, the Sakura Collection made its official debut by holding a reception party at the famous Pierre Hotel.
Sakura Collection, launched by Noriko Tabata (now Representative Director of the brand), was intended to bring the “rich cultural heritage of Japan to the world” through the distribution of traditional Japanese materials to an international audience. Every year, they provide opportunities for young designers by supporting their endeavors, allowing them to create their art with these materials, and helping them learn how to utilize dyeing techniques stemming from all over Japan. Since 2012, they’ve collaborated with thirty-eight fashion designers from fourteen countries.
The Collection also strives for many of these materials to be sustainable, and they continuously promote recyclable fashion to their students. They’ve held over thirty-four award ceremonies, and through their Fashion Design Award, they further advance their Sustainable Development Goals with the intention of “creating a better world.”
After check-in, guests were led to the Wedgewood room, where they sipped on cocktails, ate delightful hors d’oeuvres, and mingled with other attendees before the main event began. A fashion show commenced; The show featured the creations of three of their designers, all of the outfits ranging in structure, fabrics, and colors/patterns. There was a dramatic dance performance, where they showcased the designer’s handmade costumes, and passed around scarves for guests to feel and admire.
When the show concluded, attendees were able to speak to vendors in the room and buy various items from bow ties and archive dresses, to custom-made jackets and dresses; All the funds would be used to further The Sakura Collection’s mission of nurturing their fashion students’ aspirations.
If you’re interested in donating to Sakura Collection, click this link here.
Photo Source: Sakura_Collection.Gram
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