Here’s What to Expect at a Traditional Kyoto Tea Ceremony

Experiencing a traditional Kyoto tea ceremony with a geisha had always been high up on my list of things to do in Japan. In case you’re new to my blog, over the past decade I’ve been slightly obsessed with learning more about what makes the Japanese culture so unique through cultural experiences.

I’m also a massive fan of getting to know and learn from locals to enjoy more authentic travels. So, when the opportunity to combine these things knocked on my door, naturally I had to take it!

As a lover of matcha (powdered green tea) myself, I was pretty excited to learn more about the tea ceremony in Kyoto where it all began centuries ago, and am excited to share my findings with you.

Tea ceremonies are one of the many things Japan is famous for, so who better than to learn from an actual geisha herself? Someone who was a master of this art and helped to uphold the traditions handed down through the centuries?

To accompany this tea ceremony in Kyoto, I undertook a private tour of Kiyomizu-dera beforehand, an icon of the city full of beauty and traditions of its own. Combining these two experiences is a wonderful way to be immersed in Japanese culture and I was so delighted with the knowledge and deeper understanding I had gained afterwards from my local guide.

If you want to learn how to experience a traditional tea ceremony in Kyoto Japan and private Kiyomizu-dera walking tour with a friendly local guide, read on for more!

I experienced this tea ceremony Kyoto as part of a press invite, As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, at no extra cost to you. I may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

For my private walking tour of Kiyomizu-zaka and Kyoto tea ceremony, my local guide was Yuki-san. He grew up in Kyoto and was very knowledgeable about his hometown. So let’s jump into the review!

Meeting at Yasaka Shrine

I first met my local guide, Yuki-san, outside the entrance to the amazing Yasaka Shrine. My nerves about meeting a local were immediately put at ease with his friendly welcome.

On venturing into Yasaka Shrine, we were so fortunate to see parts of the beautiful floats that feature in the Gion Matsuri festival on display, only a few days away. As I had just visited the prior afternoon, our visit was brief and we headed into the quiet streets of the Kiyomizu-zaka area.

 

Exploring streets in the Kiyomizu-zaka area

As it was just after 9am, I was a little surprised to see the usually busy streets of Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka almost empty! For some reason, with overtourism in Kyoto these days I thought they were always busy.

Yuki-san explained the time of my tour had recently changed to the early morning rather than mid-afternoon to avoid the peak of crowds of day-trippers later in the day. I was so pleased to hear that, as it was a luxury to see these streets with barely any people about and it meant we weren’t contributing to the crowds.

We came to the Yasaka Pagoda, a beautiful icon of the Higashiyama district. As the oldest pagoda in Kyoto, Yuki-san informed me that as it was built in 592 AD it’s now been closed off to visitors to help its preservation. Because I was a solo traveller this time, I was thankful someone could take a photo of me with the pagoda as a backdrop!

TIP: Pssst, if you’re interested, you can find out more about me and why I won’t include photos of myself on my blog.

Private tour of Kiyomizu-dera temple

From here, we wandered past the stunning tea shops, souvenir stores and other local businesses along the way to Matsubara-dori. Here, it was time for a snack of my choice so I indulged in a matcha ice cream Yuki-san ordered on my behalf.

Finally we arrived at the incredible Kiyomizu-dera, meaning “Pure Water Temple” and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Even though I had visited previously, Yuki-san was a wealth of knowledge so it was great he could fill in some missing pieces about the Japanese religion puzzle for me:

• I hadn’t realised that religion in Japan wasn’t exclusive – for instance, Yuki-san mentioned that about 75% of Japanese follow both the Buddhist and Shinto religions. How cool is that?
• At Otawa waterfall, Yuki-san explained the water is separated into 3 streams, each representing success, love or longevity. Worshippers are only supposed to drink from one, as drinking from them all is thought to be greedy!
• He also explained some religious differences between Buddhism and Shintoism before describing how worshippers pray at Jinshu Shrine, within the Kiyomizu-dera complex. It’s said that if you can walk in a line from one “stone of love” to the other with your eyes closed, you will find true love.
• I now know the significance of the lucky rabbit and hammer depicted on the ema (wooden wishes left by worshippers) at Jinshu Shrine. Anything the lucky hammer hits is thought to make money appear. You can imagine how popular that statue was with tourists!

What to expect at a traditional tea ceremony in Kyoto

Now it was time for the part I was most looking forward to and the part you’ve been waiting for – the authentic tea ceremony in Kyoto!

My ceremony was hosted in a traditional tea house right in the city’s heart on Ninenzaka. The teahouse sits above a store specialising in works created in bamboo, but they also sell other kinds of traditional Japanese objects and souvenirs. Leaving our shoes downstairs, Yuki-san and I were greeted by our Kyoto tea ceremony geisha named Etsu-san, as we proceeded to the tearoom.

1. Selecting our own tea bowls 

Bowls are said to be an extension of the personality of the guest, so Yuki-san and I were able to select a beautiful hand-made bowl each created locally in the Kiyomizu area. I chose Mt Fuji as I am determined to see her peer out from her cloudy blanket on one of my visits to Japan someday! 

2. Introduction to the Kyoto tea ceremony: Sado, “the way of tea”

Firstly, we learnt about the true meaning behind the tea ceremony – a Japanese saying, “ichi go ichi e 一期一会”. This translates to “once in this lifetime”, which means we should treasure each individual moment, as it can never be completely replicated. That’s become one of my new favourite sayings.

We also learnt about Sen no Rikyu, considered as one of the Great Tea Masters of the 16^th century due to the lasting impressions he incorporated into the tea ceremony. For instance, Rikyu believed the four key principles of harmony, respect, purity and peace should be considered when making and enjoying tea.

I was impressed and pleased to learn these components of a traditional tea ceremony, rather than just witnessing the performance without really knowing what was happening. Such a great benefit of this experience!

3. Performing the way of tea

After the introduction to Sado, Etsu-san began to perform “the way of tea” before we would later create our own. I was handed a small container of matcha powder to briefly examine, its green vibrancy brilliant to see in person.

On handing it back to Etsu-san, she commenced the purification process for the tea utensils by firstly re-entering the room via the sliding door, which she opened in three graceful movements. Then the cleansing ritual was performed with her tea bowl (chawan 茶碗), bamboo whisk (chasen 茶筅) and tea scoop (chashaku 茶杓), each being cleaned with water and a purification cloth.

All steps are done in such a way to keep the utensils clean and pure, for instance even lids are balanced on their sides or on a bamboo stand to avoid touching the tatami flooring.

TIP: I found the number of ways the purification cloth was folded so fascinating to watch. Every step was flawless and carried out with meticulous attention to detail. The sequence of the ways the cloth is folded depends on the school wear the geiko was taught.

After the purification process, Etsu-san placed some matcha powder into her tea bowl using the tea scoop, added hot water with a bamboo ladle (hishaku 柄杓) and explained that the tea needs to be whisked quickly 30 times so it becomes frothy.

4. Experience making and enjoying the tea

Yuki-san and I were then given some delicious locally-made sweets before we went on to make the tea for ourselves. Called tsuboneya-risshun in Japanese, our sweets were associated with Kiyomizu-dera temple and change depending on season. They are best enjoyed before drinking the tea to prepare your palate.

Now all eyes were on me! Taking everything I just learnt on board, I had to implement the tea-making process for myself. It’s not as easy as Etsu-san made it look, I was so worried about spilling the contents of my water ladle all over the place as its stem was quite long! Thankfully, Etsu-san was by my side to help and ensure this didn’t happen.

On returning to my seating area, I then had to whisk my tea around 30 times to produce the desirable bubbles. The more, the better! Yuki-san then proceeded to do the same. Etsu-san then checked both our tea and said she was surprised this was my first Kyoto tea ceremony experience as she exclaimed my bubbles were perfect! Lastly, Yuki-san and I could enjoy our tea in the traditional way.

After we had all finished, Etsu-san demonstrated the utensil cleaning process. It followed a similar sequence to the cleansing ritual performed before the tea was made. Once finished, Etsu-san kneeled to open the sliding door in three elegant moves again and left the room to conclude the ceremony. She then returned to answer any questions we had.

Fun fact: Did you know that samurais are said to have enjoyed matcha to calm their nerves and help prepare them before battle?

Even though I’d visited Japan on previous trips and I have quite a good understanding about Japanese culture, I enjoyed this experience immensely and learnt so much more from both Yuki-san and Etsu-san. I highly recommend it!

TIP: I am a firm believer that small groups exploring with a local guide are a sustainable way to experience a new city in a more personalised, authentic way that large tours just don’t have the ability to offer.

A huge thanks to MagicalTrip for kindly inviting me on this experience and making this article possible. I am so appreciative that I had two locals to share their knowledge and love of their hometown with me during this Kyoto trip!

While you’re here, my comprehensive guide to modern and traditional Japan cultural experiences has even more interesting ideas for things to do during your trip.

Want to learn my strategies for how to “blend in” anywhere around the globe? Find out by reading my #1 Amazon New Release Book!

Have I provided you with some insight as to what you can expect at a tea ceremony in Kyoto? Would this be something you’d like to try someday? Let me know in the comments below! If you found this helpful please share it with your friends or take a look at all my travel guides and itineraries for Japan. I’d also love if you could join me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok for more Japan inspiration!

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