Many thanks to Kavita Favelle for alerting me to the presence of a short piece I wrote in the current issue of National Geographic Traveller Food (UK). For those who are curious enough to buy a copy, you can find me in the "Ask the Experts" section on page 29 answering the question, "Where in Kyoto can I buy a traditional, handcrafted kyusu teapot?" Gratitude is also due … [Read more...]
Japanese Tea Ceremony with an Apprentice Gardener at Kyoto’s Murin-an Garden
Hardly had a I posted the Autumn Lantern Night event at Murin-an, than I was sent details of a series of traditional tea ceremonies at that very same garden! Koji Chiba is both a graduate of the Urasenke tea ceremony school and an apprentice of local garden design company, Ueyakato Landscape. Join him at Murin-an's tea house and enjoy fresh tea with a view of one of Kyoto's … [Read more...]
Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day with a Glass of Green Matcha Beer at Otani-Chaen Tea Shop, Inari!
If you happen to be in Kyoto on Saint Patrick's Day and are wondering how to celebrate (other than heading to an Irish Pub and getting hammered) - here's something new. I was strolling through the Fushimi Inari area today when I happened to spy this sign. The sign suggests celebrating Ireland's most important holiday, with a glass of beer, flavored and colored … [Read more...]
The Tea Crane Introduces the Authentic Rite of Tea
Today we have a special guest post from Tyas Huybrechts, Japanese Tea Trainer at The Tea Crane. While visiting Kyoto, you wouldn’t want to miss out on at least one of those cultural experiences now widely available here – activities such as taking first steps in any of Tea-ceremony, flower-arrangement, calligraphy, classical dance and Japanese cookery. Each … [Read more...]
Matcha Tea & Machiya in Kyoto – Two Articles for GuideAdvisor
Whether you are interested in tea ceremony or traditional architecture, two pieces I wrote for GuideAdvisor earlier this year, offer my top tips for for your trip to Kyoto. The first article is on how to find the very best machiya: the traditional wooden townhouses of Kyoto. After decades of neglect and outright destruction, machiya have been undergoing something of a … [Read more...]
Camellia Tea Ceremony
Authentic tea ceremony in a beautiful 100-year-old traditional Geisha ryokan near Kiyomizu Temple A special guest post for Deep Kyoto today by Atsuko Mori of Camellia Tea Ceremony... The tea ceremony (sado) is a quintessential part of Japanese culture and is considered the height of sophistication. What do you first think of when you hear ‘tea ceremony’? Japanese culture, … [Read more...]
A Trip to Inuyama
Here are some pictures from Inuyama in Aichi prefecture, which we visited last month. By clicking on the spherical images, you can explore a fully immersive 360 degree view. Inuyama Castle is supposed to be the oldest castle in Japan: the original fort was built in 1440, and the current structure was completed in 1537. However as you can see from the scaffolding in the … [Read more...]
International Tea Gathering at Urasenke
The enduring allure of the Way of Tea is proof of its profound meaning for people --- not only Japanese, but people of all cultures... The principles underlying this Art of Living are Harmony, Respect, Purity, and Tranquility. These are universal principles that, in a world such as ours today, fraught with unrest, friction, self-centeredness, and other such social ailments, can … [Read more...]
Sencha – The Chinese Way of Tea
Ian Ropke writes... Mention tea ceremony and most Japanese will think of chanoyu, the way of tea based on a ritual for drinking the powdered green tea called matcha, which was formalized by Sen no Rikyū in the sixteenth century. Much closer to everyday life yet unknown to a surprising number of Japanese is the way of tea for sencha, or leaf green tea. For history, … [Read more...]
Somushi
Somushi is a beautiful Korean tea shop on the north side of Sanjo, a short walk west of Karasuma. John Einarsen and I have gotten into the habit of meeting up here whenever a new issue of Kyoto Journal comes out. These pictures were taken in the spring. … [Read more...]
Autumn Japanese Tea
Ian Ropke writes: For many tea connoiseurs, autumn is considered to be the finest time of the year to hold a tea ceremony; the stifling hot weather has passed, and the autumn mood is sublime. The basic form and aesthetic of today’s Japanese tea ceremony is largely credited to Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591), who was inspired to develop a form based entirely around natural materials … [Read more...]
Iyemon Salon
The delightful Japanese tea emporium Iyemon Salon opened its doors last June and has quickly become a fashionable spot for lunch and dinner despite the competition from nearby Starbucks and Neutron Cafe. Breakfast is a choice between onigiri or a tasty egg sandwich for ￥400. The lunchtime and dinner menu ranges between ￥800 and ￥2000, and if you get a "plate" set you can be … [Read more...]
