The "World O-Cha Festival 2001" will be held in Shizuoka City of Shizuoka Prefecture, the centre of o-cha (Japanese green tea) production in Japan, from October 5 to 10.
O-cha, which has been cultivated in Asia, is now an integral part of people's daily lives and has a great influence on cultures and the arts.
Nowadays, with the beneficial functions and cultural values of o-cha more widely known, people have been paying more attention to o-cha.
Under the circumstances, for the further development of the o-cha industry and tea-related industries, it requires those who have an interest in o-cha to get together, pay more attention to the voices of consumers, and to actively proceed with the research and development of new technologies and the exchange of advanced ideas from a global perspective.
The coming festival with its theme of "Exploring the new possibilities for o-cha (tea) in the 21st Century" aims at expanding o-cha production and developing tea-related industries, and disseminating the latest scientific information on o-cha.
The World Tea Festival Executive Committee expects about 100,000 people including people involved in the tea-related industries and the general public to visit the festival.
The "International Conference on o-cha Culture and Science" will be held at the Shizuoka Convention and Arts Centre.
The conference, which is comprised of four sessions, will cover wide fields of research from production to the culture and arts of o-cha, and offer good opportunities to exchange the latest and most advanced research and information from all over the world.
The exhibition, the first of its kind in Japan, will cover all aspects of tea from production to consumption including tea-related equipment and materials, tea usage, processing technology, information, and shop and product designs.
The "O-Cha Marketing Seminar" will also be held at the venue.
More information is available on the "World O-Cha Festival 2001" web site.