Hosting a Japanese Tea × Golf Experience at Sky Bay Golf Club, Kochi

We hosted a two-day experiential event combining Japanese tea and golf at Sky Bay Golf Club, a prestigious golf course in Kochi Prefecture, on January 24 and 25.

At the event, we served a limited offering of matcha gin made by blending our original matcha brand, Shujinkoh, with craft gin produced by SiCX Kyoto Distillery. The matcha gin was presented in custom logo-engraved flasks, with only ten units prepared for the occasion. In addition, chamomile hojicha and our house matcha tins were also offered, with non-alcoholic options available for guests who preferred them.

Sky Bay Golf Club is known as a formative ground where many of Japan’s leading golfers, including Hideki Matsuyama, developed their foundations. We resonated deeply with the spirit of this place—one that nurtures challenge, discipline, and continuity—and felt it aligned naturally with the philosophy carried by Japanese tea.

This event was not designed as a simple food and beverage service, but as an opportunity for players to pause and reflect. By bringing together the cultural history of golf, the quiet discipline of Japanese tea, and the individual journey of each player, we aimed to create a moment for participants to reconnect with their own sense of origin.

Inspired by the tradition of carrying a flask during a round of golf, we reinterpreted this custom through a Japanese lens. The bitterness and umami of Shujinkoh matcha, layered with the botanical clarity of SiCX’s gin, created a drink intended to support focus and reset—both before and after play.

Using Shujinkoh, a matcha named after the belief that “each person is the protagonist of their own life,” felt especially meaningful in a place that has shaped so many challengers. In that setting, past and future, Japan and the world, golf and tea quietly intersected.

We will continue to explore ways Japanese tea can accompany moments of challenge and reflection, and to create experiences that allow culture, place, and personal intention to meet naturally.