Kanazawa: Private Tea Ceremony in a Tea Master’s Machiya
ID: GYG1461901-2231573
فئة:
بلد: Japan
المدة:
01:10 ساعات
الوصف
Sit down in a 100-year-old machiya that is also a tea master's home. Watch a full ceremony unfold, then whisk your own matcha. Always private, always in English — just your group and your host.
The address is an ordinary residential street in Kanazawa's Nishi Chaya district, a few minutes from Myoryuji, the Ninja Temple. There is no signboard, no ticket counter. You are simply welcomed into a house that has stood for more than a hundred years — and where your host actually lives.
Yuta Takahashi has practised the samurai school of tea since 2007, and has studied directly under the head of the school since 2023. Before devoting himself to tea, he spent seven years in luxury retail, including GUCCI Japan, looking after international clients. That combination is unusual, and it shapes the hour you are about to spend: rigorous in the tea room, completely at ease in conversation.
You begin by settling onto the tatami — or a chair, if you prefer; kneeling is never required. Your host explains the scroll and the seasonal flower chosen for that day, and why they were chosen. Then the ceremony begins. For about twenty minutes you sit close enough to hear the water, watching each fold of the cloth and each turn of the bowl. Nothing is rushed, and nothing is performed for an audience — because there isn't one. Yours is the only group in the room.
Then it is your turn. The whisk is placed in your hand and, guided step by step, you prepare your own bowl of matcha. It is harder than it looks and more satisfying than you expect. You drink it with a seasonal sweet made by a Kanazawa confectioner.
What remains is conversation. Guests have asked about the role of tea masters in the shogun's court, about Zen, about why a bowl is turned before drinking. Whatever you are curious about, ask — everything is hosted in English, with no interpreter standing between you and your host.
Guests from 49 countries have sat in this room. Many tell us it was the quietest hour of their journey through Japan, and the one they remember longest.
أبرز النقاط
- Step into a tea master's own 100-year-old machiya — a home, not a tourist venue.
- Always private: one group at a time, never shared with strangers.
- Whisk your own bowl of matcha, guided step by step by your host.
- Hosted entirely in English by Yuta — ask him anything, no interpreter needed.
- Learn the samurai school of tea, in the samurai city of Kanazawa.
لغات الإرشاد
معلومات هامة
Fully private: one party at a time, never joined by other guests. Held in a hundred-year-old machiya in the Nishi Chaya district of Kanazawa, and guided personally in English by Yuta Takahashi, with no interpreter.
He has studied Enshū-ryū, the samurai school of tea founded by Kobori Enshū, since spring 2007. He has been a direct student of the head master since 2023.
• Shoes are removed at the entrance — please wear or bring clean socks.
• Seiza is not required. Stools and cushions are provided, and you may stretch your legs.
• Traditional wooden house with a raised entrance step and no elevator; not wheelchair accessible.
• Matcha contains caffeine. Seasonal sweets are usually made with rice, sugar and bean paste, but ingredients change with the season — please tell us of any allergy in advance and we will confirm that day’s ingredients.
• Photography is welcome.
• Please arrive 5 minutes before the start time; a late arrival shortens the session.
مشمول
- Private use of a 100-year-old machiya tea room — one group at a time
- A full tea ceremony performed by your host
- Whisking your own bowl of matcha, guided step by step
- High-grade matcha
- Seasonal Japanese sweets made by a Kanazawa confectioner
- Hosting and explanation in English by the tea master himself
- Photos taken on your own device
- Chairs available on request — kneeling is not required
غير مشمول
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Transportation to and from the venue
- Gratuities
- Kimono rental
- Additional food and drinks
متى يجب أن أحجز؟
لضمان التوفر، احجز في أقرب وقت ممكن. الحجز المبكر يستحق النظر خاصة إذا كنت تخطط للرحلة خلال موسم الذروة مثل العطلات العامة أو عطلات نهاية الأسبوع.
الإلغاءات
يمكنك إلغاء هذه الرحلة بدون تكلفة حتى 24 ساعات قبل بدء الرحلة. إذا قمت بالإلغاء بعد 24 ساعات أو لم تحضر في الرحلة، فسيتم تحصيل السعر الكامل للنشاط. التأخر في الاستلام أو المغادرة سيعتبر كعدم حضور.