In Kyoto, the city that's quite big when it comes to all things Geisha, my boyfriend Kevin and I decided to live out our wildest Japanese tea ceremony fantasies and sign up for this tea ceremony experience which cost us $90 for one and a half hours session. Sounds a bit pricy but honestly, I think it's so worth it. Let's dive in!
We walked into this traditional tea room and were immediately greeted by our host for the day, a beautiful and graceful maiko. For those of you who don't know, maiko are young geishas-in-training, and they are seriously skilled in the art of tea ceremony and all things Japanese history related.
We were served a bowl of matcha green tea, that we actually need to whip it ourselves which is quite fun. We were also served some Japanese sweet. Love how they taught us how to start from turn the tea cup to whisp it and turn again to drink, slurp the last bit of the tea, then turn again after finishing then put the cup back on the floor. SO MANY RULES JUST TO DRINK A CUP OF TEA!! It's a great piece of art for sure!
But the best part of the whole thing was definitely getting to wear a kimono. I mean, who doesn't want to feel like a Japanese lady from the past? So freakin pretty! It was like stepping back in time.. Love it!
Kevin and I were both looking pretty dapper in our kimonos, but I have to say, our friend Aman totally stole the show. She looked absolutely stunning, like she was born to wear that pink kimono. I love how we have flowers clipped on our hair too.. so feminine!
All in all, it was an amazing experience. We got to try some delicious tea and sweet, wear some seriously cool outfits, and feel like we were living in another time period. And the maiko who served us were just so lovely and accommodating. FYI, it's so hard to see Maiko or Geisha and there're only 1000 Geishas left in the world and we even have her served us tea!! ... so it really was an unforgettable afternoon.
If you ever get the chance to do something like this, I highly recommend it. It's just one of those things that you have to experience for yourself to truly understand. Felt soooo special! :D
KIMONO TEA CEREMONY MAIKOYA KYOTO
329 Ebiyacho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto 604-8076, Japan