Monday is my birthday. Our family has decided that we would much rather do experiences for birthdays and holidays than gifts. My daughter is in Girl Scouts. She has the opportunity to earn an Okinawa patch if she does 4 out of 5 activities. The five to choose from were: eat a meal at Lawsons/Family Mart/7-11, Get a picture with “Okinawa Wings”, Visit a shrine or a castle, make some shisa, and participate in a traditional tea ceremony.
So today, as a joint birthday experience and to finish up Mini-Me’s Okinawa patch, we went to Japanese Culture Experience ＣＨＡ・ＣＨＡ・ＣＨＡ茶茶茶 to participate in a traditional tea ceremony.
To book an appointment you need to go online here: Japanese Culture Experience: Cha Cha Cha
After you book, you will get a few reminder emails. No spam, or too many, but enough to keep it in your mind. A few days before, an email came through with a link to the map and a link to the paid parking lots nearby. We chose to park in the “pay parking lot 2” . This lot was across the street from the building. It cost 330¥ and it accepted both yen and credit card, which was a nice surprise. It is an unmanned lot though, so be sure you have a way to pay!
We parked and walked across the street. We were welcomed by Kaori Sensei and her daughter. I changed from my dress to my shorts and tank in the restroom. We were given a choice of kimonos and Kaori Sensei and her daughter dressed us.
Once we were all dressed, Kaori Sensei showed us how to enter the area for the tea ceremony.
There is a small hole in the side of the tea ceremony area explained Kaori Sensei. You must crawl into the space. The space is not large enough for Samurai swords or katana to enter. Tea ceremonies were a place of peace, no fighting allowed.
Once we all crawled in we gathered around the tea ceremony area. Traditionally everyone sits on their knees or seiza. Luckily for us, Kaori Sensei had a few stools available since we Americans are not used to sitting seiza.
Kaori Sensei explained the history of the ceremony. Kaori Sensei was a wonderful teacher and I loved learning from her!
Kaori Sensei explained that to learn Japanese tea ceremony, it takes 8-10 years. Her sensei has been practicing for 35 years.
We started the ceremony not with tea, but with sweets! Many Japanese sweets have bean paste in them. We were presented with a tray of sweets. One was a cake with sweet bean paste, most were a combination of mochi and bean paste. Kaori Sensei explained that you can have a themed tea if you choose. You can have the sweets and the tea bowls and the matcha container all be dragon theme for example, or cherry blossoms. Our tea did not have a central theme.
Kaori Sensei did choose a dragon matcha container however because it’s the beginning of the Year of the Dragon!
We then were each served tea by Kaori Sensei. We were taught the correct thing to say to the person after us, the person before us and our host. We were taught how to pick up our bowl, how to rotate it, how to drink from the bowl and how to return it to our host.
I think our favorite thing was unlike American culture, it’s respectful and polite to slurp your last sip. This shows your host that you enjoyed the tea and that you are finished.
After we all got to drink our tea made by the host, we each got to make the tea ourselves for the next person.
At the end of our ceremony we got the traditional candy!
Kaori Sensei had water, candies and origami for us at the end as well!
Not only was the tea ceremony an amazing experience, there was also gift sets available! I got a beautiful set that included the Uji Matcha Tea, Tea Bowl, Tea Whisk, Tea Scoop, Tea Container and the candies for only ¥5400!
The Japanese tea ceremony is not merely a ritual of preparing and consuming tea; it is a profound journey of mindfulness and appreciation for the beauty of imperfection. Rooted in centuries of tradition, the ceremony stands as a testament to the enduring cultural significance of tea in Japan – a practice that continues to inspire and enrich lives around the globe. If you want to experience this tradition while learning the history and having a wonderful and unique experience, contact Japanese Culture Experience ＣＨＡ・ＣＨＡ・ＣＨＡ茶茶茶!
Name: Japanese Culture Experience ＣＨＡ・ＣＨＡ・ＣＨＡ茶茶茶!
Location: 2-3-28 Uechi Okinawa-City, Okinawa
Hours: Mon – Fri 11:00-13:30; Sat 11:00-13:30 14:30-16:00; Sun Closed
Website: https://gogokaorisensei.wixsite.com/website
Google Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/X5Ku97rWCGTkL54M8?g_st=ic
Price: ¥3850/Adult; ¥2750/Child (from 4 to 10 years old) *Price includes dressing in a kimono, making and drinking tea, and Japanese sweets.
Accepts: Yen and Credit Card
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