Farmers in an area near Tokyo have started to pick this year's crop of tea leaves.
The specialty of the city of Sayama is green tea. Families and neighbors of a local farmer have started collecting new buds of a variety called "Fukumidori."
The farm is expecting a normal-size harvest this year, due to continuing warm weather this month.
The farmer, Okutomi Masahiro, said: "We were worried about the growth of new tea leaves because March was cold. But temperatures rose and rain fell afterward, and we expect the leaves to make delicious tea."
Sayama-branded green tea is also grown in other cities in the western part of Saitama Prefecture.
The picking season will go into full swing from May 1.