Higashi Tea Ceremony

We had a wonderful time at this tea ceremony, led by Hiromi Fujiwara together with Eclat, and two of her lovely colleagues. From the moment we arrived it felt personal rather than touristy. Before the ceremony, they gave us a tour of the house and shared its history, including old photos of the family who owned it and the story of their brewing heritage. It gave real context to everything that followed. The ceremony itself was beautifully done. We went through each stage: waiting, purifying ourselves much like at a Buddhist temple, and then the ceremony. We were served sake beforehand, and sweets both before and during. Hiromi and her team explained every step clearly and guided us so we could take part rather than just watch, which made it much more meaningful. Afterwards we could choose an additional activity. We all picked calligraphy, and it was a lot of fun. Throughout, there was time to chat and get to know our hosts, who were kind and welcoming. As a final touch, they gave us our calligraphy to take home, along with matcha powder in a lovely box. A thoughtful, hands-on introduction to Japanese tea culture. Highly recommended!

a fun group of women run this presentation. we enjoyed learning about the tea ceremony and how to make matcha tea. about half of the guests opted to wear traditional kimonos. very beautiful. location was easy to find in a quite part of the city.

The hostesses performing the tea ceremony were excellent - very engaged and good instructors when we had the make the tea ourselves. The calligraphy option was a bonus. However, it did feel very crowded in the house and it seemed that those who chose to rent a kimono and sat apart from those who didn’t, had a different experience. It might be good to have the people who rent kimonos for the tea ceremony to have their own ceremony.

Great experience, lovely host would definitely recommend!

We had a great experience with our host Kaori. We enjoyed learning about the tea ceremony tradition as well as being instructed on how to make our own matcha tea. This was a fun experience!

Our host, Kaori, was very nice and friendly. She patiently explained the steps for all the participants when it was their turn and answered any questions we had. It was very cool that apart from the actual tea ceremony experience, she also introduced us to some of the history behind tea ceremonies. My partner and I enjoyed the experience and would recommend it to anyone looking to experience a tea ceremony in a traditional building in Kyoto.

The whole experience and hospitality was simply amazing. We got great kimonos, wonderful eats in the beginning, a slide show explaining the rituals of tea - followed by tea making . Each of us then got to choose from various activities like calligraphy, matcha making and miniature zen garden model making

We had the best time, our tea ceremony instructor was very kind and explained the tea ceremony in detail and allowed us to do our own mancha. Our kids had a great time.

The tea ceremony was a delightful experience. Our hostess was incredibly knowledgeable about the art of tea preparation, and she guided us in making our own matcha using the techniques she taught. We were so inspired that we purchased a matcha whisk and matcha powder afterward to continue practicing at home.

It was a wonderful and fulfilling experience! The house in which the tea ceremony took place was quaint and lovely as were the ladies who guided us through each step of the beautiful process. From the tea to flower arrangement to calligraphy, each step was taken with such respect and care. The experience was one of the most wholesome experiences I have had in my travels. My friend and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys learning about history, culture and matcha!

It was a very interesting experience, and the hosts were very good.

The ceremony included several parts, in each the explanations and experience were exceptional. A beautiful location and generous hospitality. Fluent English speaking hosts who were also very knowledgeable .