Nara: Tea Ceremony and Matcha Making in a Machiya

A tatami tea room, a host in kimono, and the calm that only a small group allows. You do not simply learn the etiquette; you taste your bowl knowing the thinking behind omotenashi and the utensils. At the end you whisk your own matcha, and leave with a story only Nara, home of the tea whisk, can tell. 1. You step into a machiya in Naramachi, where a host in kimono welcomes you into a tatami room, softly lit through shoji. 2. First, a cup of hojicha and a moment to settle, then the basics: how to bow, how to handle the utensils. 3. A seasonal wagashi (traditional Japanese sweet) is served, made to be enjoyed first with the eyes, then the tongue. 4. Your host whisks a bowl of matcha for you. Take your time with the scent, the colour and the finish. 5. We talk unhurriedly about the culture tea has shaped, and about omotenashi, the idea of hospitality at its centre. 6. Choose the bowl you like, warm your hands with hot water, then whisk a bowl of matcha yourself. 7. We show you how a chasen is made in Takayama in Nara, the source of some 95% of Japan's handmade tea whisks. 8. If you like, your Nara-born host will point you to local shops and lanes no guidebook lists.

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