Traditional Green Tea Ceremony in Shizuoka

My experience with Green Tea was never that memorable, well not in a good way at least. I wasn't a huge fan but I was still interested in traditional Japanese culture so, despite my hesitation towards green tea, I was still very keen to experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony.

Upon stepping foot through the archway into the gardens of the Tea House, it was like stepping back in time. We were met by beautifully sculptured gardens, well placed out stepping stones and a lovely pond filled with very hungry Koi fish, it was like we'd travelled back 100 years.

The Tea House itself was also so beautiful, so well kept. Stepping foot inside we were instructed to take our shoes off (normal Japanese custom). We then headed into the tatami room and informed that we didn't have to sit seiza-style (where you kneel on the floor, folding your legs directly underneath with your buttocks on your heels) - thank goodness! This was of sitting can really hurt after a while!

Our hosts, two lovely little Obaasan in their beautiful Kimono's greeted us, one lady, to explain the ceremony and one to serve the tea. When the latter was sliding us our tea along the tatami mats whilst bowing so low as to almost hit the floor, I felt a strange sense of empowerment over her, which I really wasn't fond of at all, nor am I sure why I felt this.

The Tea Ceremony was explained in great detail to us. If you'd like to learn about the intricacies of the ceremony, please feel free to watch the video listed at the top of this blog post :)

Once we'd eaten our Mochi and drank our tea, we were then allowed to inspect the Tea House, stepping foot out onto the balcony looking over the fishpond held the most beautiful view of the mountains and the gardens below it.

I feel so lucky to have been able to participate in the Tea Ceremony - if you ever have the opportunity to have a go, I'd highly recommend getting involved!

This post is a special tea blog report, part of our Shizuoka Green Tea Guide, and a chance through City-Cost for bloggers in Japan to engage in new “Japan” experiences about which to create posts.