Close-up view of traditional straw mats used for shading
Under the rice straw mats shading a traditional gyokuro garden
A gyokuro tea garden shaded with traditional bamboo mats
Finishing the gyokuro
Freshly picked gyokuro leaves
Tea ladies who pick gyokuro are highly skilled and well paid. An experienced tea lady can pick about 5kg of top-grade leaves in a 10-hour shift
An Uji tea farm with some of the gyokuro shaded the traditional way, with bamboo and rice straw, and other areas covered with the convenient, modern version: black nylon netting