Culture · Tea
The Japanese tea ceremony: what it means, how to behave as a guest, and where to try one in Tokyo, Kyoto, Uji, Kanazawa and Shizuoka
The Japanese tea ceremony is a host preparing a bowl of matcha, powdered green tea, for guests in a set order, and it is one of the easiest parts of traditional Japan for a visitor to join. At most of the places in this guide you do not need to speak Japanese or know the rules beforehand. This guide explains what the ceremony means, what happens in the tea room, how to hold and drink from the bowl, the sweets, the tools, and a short history from the ninth century to the three Sen schools of today. It then lists places to try one, with prices, in Tokyo, Kyoto, Uji, Kanazawa and Shizuoka, including the Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony in late October 2026. The facts come from the Japan National Tourism Organization, the Urasenke school of tea, the official tourism sites of Tokyo, Kyoto and Uji, Ishikawa Prefecture and the Tea Museum, Shizuoka, read on 15 October 2026, and each page is listed under Sources at the end.
Last checked · Sources
In short
A Japanese tea ceremony, called chanoyu, sado or chado in Japanese, is the ritual preparation of matcha, powdered green tea, by a host for guests. The guest is usually served a seasonal sweet first, then a bowl of tea, which is received with a bow, turned so that you do not drink from the front, drunk in about three sips and admired before it is set down. A full formal gathering with a meal can last several hours, but the short sessions most visitors join take about 20 to 90 minutes. Prices read on 15 October 2026 include a bowl of thin tea at Taiho-an in Uji for 1,500 yen, matcha with a fresh sweet at Shigure-tei in Kenroku-en, Kanazawa, for 1,000 yen plus 320 yen garden entry, and a 20-minute session at the Tea Museum, Shizuoka, for 700 yen plus 500 yen museum entry. At the Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony, on 24 and 25 October and 31 October and 1 November 2026, a seat at a tea ceremony costs 800 yen.
What a Japanese tea ceremony is
The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) puts it like this: "The tea ceremony sees the simple task of preparing a drink for a guest elevated to an art form, an intricate series of movements performed in strict order—and appreciated by the recipient." The host makes the tea in front of the guests, and the guests receive it and drink it in a set way too. Both sides have a part to play.
Urasenke, the largest of the schools that teach it, calls the practice chado and describes it as "a spiritual and aesthetic discipline for refinement of the self". It also puts the point of it in plain words: "This way called chado centers on the activity of host and guest spending a mutually heartwarming time together over a bowl of matcha tea."
What the tea ceremony means
Ask what it means and the answer from the tea world is about the meeting, not the drink. JNTO says that "Sen no Rikyu is arguably the best-known figure in the history of Japanese tea and held the philosophy that every meeting should be treasured because it can never be fully recaptured." Urasenke says the same thing in its own words: each gathering is a "once in a lifetime" occasion. JNTO adds: "He identified principles that must be incorporated into the tea ceremony: harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility."
So the bow, the turning of the bowl and the compliment to the host are not tests for the guest. They are how host and guest show each other respect in a meeting that will not happen again in the same way.
Words you will hear
- Chanoyu, sado, chado: names for the tea ceremony as a whole.
- Otemae: the host's preparation and serving of the tea.
- Chakai and chaji: an informal tea gathering, and the more formal occasion.
- Senchado: the less common form that uses tea leaves instead of powdered tea.
- Usucha and koicha: thin tea and thick tea.
- Wagashi: the Japanese sweet served before the tea.
- Chashitsu: a tea room or tea house.
- Seiza: kneeling with your legs folded under you, the way guests sit on the tatami.
A Japanese tea ceremony, step by step
This is the order JNTO gives for a traditional ceremony in a purpose-built tea house. You will not see every step at a short session for visitors, but you will see the core of it: a sweet, a bowl of tea and the way it is handed over.
What happens in the tea room
- Shoes off and wait: guests take off their shoes and are shown to a waiting room.
- Wash: the host greets them with a silent bow, and at a stone basin, a tsukubai, they wash their hands and rinse their mouths.
- Look at the alcove: in the tatami room, guests are expected to say something about the hanging scroll or the seasonal flowers.
- Sit and watch: guests kneel, and the host cleans each utensil in a precise order.
- Eat the sweet: a seasonal wagashi comes before the tea.
- Receive the tea: the host whisks matcha with water from a kettle over a charcoal fire and passes the bowl to the first and most important guest.
- Pass it on: each guest in turn drinks, or each guest is given a bowl of their own.
A full formal gathering goes further. JNTO says: "Aesthetically pleasing, light meals using seasonal ingredients are often served as part of the tea ceremony." After the first bowl, guests "may then be served small sweet cakes while the host prepares a second bowl of thinner tea for each guest". It also notes: "And while a full, formal tea ceremony can last several hours, many venues offer abbreviated versions that may be more suitable for foreign guests."
Those shorter versions are what most travellers join. At the Tea Museum, Shizuoka, a teacher makes the matcha in the tea room and serves it with a Japanese sweet, and you can whisk a bowl yourself if you ask. At Taiho-an in Uji, a bowl of thin tea with a seasonal sweet takes 20 to 30 minutes.
Tea ceremony etiquette for guests
There is a lot of etiquette, but nobody expects a first-time visitor to know it. JNTO says plainly that "minor faux pas are always overlooked". The tea house Taiho-an in Uji goes further on its Japanese page: first-timers are welcome, and it is fine to know nothing about the etiquette at all.
What you are asked to do is small. When the sweets or the tea arrive at a tea gathering, says Kyoto's official tourism site, "you first exchange a bow with guests next to you on both sides." Then come the bowl and the sweet.
How to drink from the bowl
- Raise it: lift the bowl a little as a mark of respect to the host.
- Turn it: rotate it slightly, so that you are not drinking from its front.
- Drink: finish it in about three sips.
- Turn it back: return it to where it was, look at it for a moment, and put it down.
The turn keeps your lips off what is considered the front of the bowl. It also matters which bowl you were given. One JNTO feature notes: "The host or hostess usually selects a bowl to match the personality of the guest, so be sure to appreciate it during the ceremony." The same feature says: "The tea is drunk in roughly three sips, the final ideally ending with an audible sound to signal you have enjoyed it." After that, JNTO's guide to the ceremony says, you compliment the host on the taste and on the bowl.
Which way do you turn the bowl?
Left or right is a common question, and the official sources used here do not give a single answer, because it is not the same everywhere. As the JNTO feature puts it, "Each facet of the ceremony differs subtly from school to school". So do what the host or guide shows you.
Eating the sweet
The sweet comes first, so that it is finished before the tea. If the sweets come on one shared dish, each guest takes one onto a sheet of paper called kaishi, which serves as a plate. Sometimes each guest is served separately. One rule you may meet is cutting it as you go. The JNTO feature says: "The wagashi should be cut into roughly three pieces as you eat it, instead of cutting it up in advance." It then adds: "Many schools practice this rule of three, but not all."
The sweet is meant to be looked at as well as eaten. Kyoto's official tourism site says that kyogashi, which just means Kyoto sweets, are traditionally said to be "appreciated through the eyes, ears, and palate". The ears are for the name, because each one has its own.
What to wear to a tea ceremony
You do not need special clothes for a session for visitors. JNTO says: "Etiquette is a significant part of the entire experience, and the tea master will invariably wear a kimono for the ceremony." It goes on: "Guests attending formal occasions should follow suit, although rituals put on to demonstrate the procedures to visitors do not require formal attire."
Dress code
- Everyday clothes: fine at the sessions for visitors in this guide.
- A kimono: worn by guests at formal gatherings. MAIKOYA in Kyoto lets you come in your own clothes or in a kimono.
- Socks: shoes come off before you go in, so you will be on the tatami in your socks.
- Clothes you can kneel in: guests sit in seiza on the floor, although some sessions use tables and chairs, such as the hands-on class at Taiho-an.
How long a tea ceremony lasts
It depends on what you book. A full formal gathering with a meal and two kinds of tea can last several hours. The sessions for visitors are much shorter.
Sessions for visitors
- 20minutes, the tea ceremony session at the Tea Museum, Shizuoka
- 50minutes, thick and thin tea at Taiho-an, Uji
- 90minutes or more, a guided session at MAIKOYA, Kyoto
A volunteer guide tour in Tokyo that ends with a tea ceremony at the Imperial Hotel takes about 3 hours, but much of that is the walk through Shinjuku Gyoen and the trip to Ginza. The details are in the Tokyo section below.
Thin tea and thick tea: usucha and koicha
There are two kinds of matcha in a tea ceremony. Most visitors are given usucha, thin tea, which is whisked until it is frothy. Koicha, thick tea, is the more formal one. In a full gathering the thick tea comes first and the thin tea follows.
Usucha and koicha
- Usucha, thin tea: the bowl at almost every session for visitors. At Taiho-an it costs 1,500 yen and takes 20 to 30 minutes. At less formal sessions it comes with higashi, dry sweets.
- Koicha, thick tea: made with about three times as much tea as usucha, according to Taiho-an. It is traditionally one bowl shared by several guests. Uji City says Taiho-an serves one bowl each, while the booking page still describes a shared bowl, so ask when you book. At more formal sessions it comes with namagashi, fresh sweets.
You can try both in Uji, but not all year. Taiho-an serves thick and thin tea together for 4,000 yen a person, only from July to September and from December to February, for two or more people, booked at least 3 days ahead.
A short history of the Japanese tea ceremony
Tea came to Japan from China, and the tea ceremony grew out of Buddhist temples before it became a way of life of its own. JNTO dates it to 815, when the monk Eichu, back from China, made tea for Emperor Saga, and the emperor had tea planted in the region around Kyoto. Urasenke's history starts a little earlier, with the monk Kukai bringing tea pressed into bricks to the emperor's court early in the ninth century.
From temple tea to the way of tea
- Ninth century: tea is drunk at court and in Buddhist ceremonies, and it stays there until the twelfth century.
- Twelfth century: the Zen monk Eisai brings tea in powdered form back from China.
- Fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: Shuko, Takeno Joo and Sen no Rikyu turn showy tea parties into a quiet, simple way of tea.
- Seventeenth century to today: Rikyu's family divides into three houses, and the three Sen schools grow from them.
Eisai's disciple Dogen came back from China in 1227 with tea utensils, and the rules he set for the monks of Eiheiji, the temple he founded in what is now Fukui Prefecture, included instructions for tea. Tea then spread to the warrior class, whose gatherings were loud, showy parties with contests to name different teas and displays of costly utensils from China. Urasenke traces parts of today's gathering to them, cut down: the feast shrank to the light meal, and rows of flowers and painted screens became one flower arrangement and one scroll in the alcove.
Sen no Rikyu and the tea hut
Three men changed that, according to Urasenke. Shuko saw making and drinking tea as a Zen practice and looked for beauty in simple and imperfect things. He said he would rather see a moon partly hidden by clouds than a bright full moon, and he valued Japanese utensils, then thought inferior to Chinese ones. In a letter to a disciple he wrote: "It is most important to seek as many admirable traits in Japanese objects as in Chinese." Takeno Joo made the tea room plainer still, with earthen walls and bamboo lattice.
The three men behind the way of tea
- Shuko, 1422–1503: from Nara. He moved to Kyoto, became a Buddhist priest and studied Zen under the master Ikkyu from 1474.
- Takeno Joo, 1504–55: his family ran a leather business in the port of Sakai, which he was to inherit. At 24 he moved to Kyoto to study poetry.
- Sen no Rikyu, 1522–91: a merchant's son from Sakai who became Joo's pupil at 19. Emperor Ogimachi gave him the name Rikyu in 1585.
Rikyu served as tea master first to Oda Nobunaga and then to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the two great warlords of his day, and he brought the way of tea to its final form. He used very small, rustic tea rooms. One of them, a two-mat room called Taian, can still be seen at Myokian temple in Yamazaki, near Kyoto. Urasenke says: "By designing an entrance to the tea hut through which guests had to crawl regardless of rank, he sought to eliminate the social distinctions which separated human beings from each other." He also developed Raku tea bowls and made flower containers and tea scoops from bamboo.
Rikyu's seven rules
Asked what the way of tea comes down to, Rikyu is said to have named seven rules. Urasenke gives them as: "Make a satisfying bowl of tea; Lay the charcoal so that the water boils efficiently; Provide a sense of coolness in the summer and warmth in the winter; Arrange the flowers as though they were in the field; Be ready ahead of time; Be prepared in case it should rain; Act with utmost consideration toward your guests." The questioner said anyone could do that. Rikyu, Urasenke says, "responded that he would become a disciple of the person who could carry them out without fail".
The rules are about everyday things, done well every time. Urasenke draws the conclusion: "In this sense, the Way of Tea is well described as the Art of Living."
The three Sen schools of tea
A school of tea passes the way of tea down from master to heir, and the three Sen houses descend from Rikyu himself. After Rikyu died, the family property in Kyoto passed to his son-in-law Shoan and then to Rikyu's grandson Sotan. On retiring, Sotan split it between three of his sons, and a school grew from each.
The three Sen houses
- Omotesenke: from Koshin Sosa, who was given the front part of the estate. Omote means front.
- Urasenke: from Senso Soshitsu, who was given the back part, with the Konnichian tea hut. Ura means back.
- Mushakojisenke: from Ichio Soshu, who was given a house on Mushakoji street.
Other lines branched off later, and some of Rikyu's disciples started their own. JNTO says: "Modern masters adhere to the same rules, although there are dozens of different schools of the tea ceremony, each with subtle differences." This is why the details you are shown, such as which way to turn the bowl, can change from one tea room to the next.
The families that led the schools lost much of their income when the feudal system collapsed with the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Urasenke found support from a circle of businessmen, formed a national organisation and began introducing the way of tea abroad. Its fifteenth grand master, Hounsai (1923–2025), travelled abroad more than 300 times, visiting over 60 countries, and Urasenke is now the largest school of tea in Japan and in the world. The sixteenth grand master, Zabosai Sen Soshitsu XVI, has led it since 22 December 2002.
Tea ceremony tools and the tea room
The things in the tea room are part of what you are there to see. JNTO notes that guests are meant to remark on how beautiful the setting is and how finely the utensils are made, and Urasenke's guidebooks for students teach guests how to look closely at the tea container and the scoop.
Three things you will see
Chawan, the tea bowl: the bowl the tea is whisked in and drunk from. Rikyu used Raku bowls, and a potter who had worked for the Raku family later started the Ohi kiln in Kaga, today's Ishikawa Prefecture, to make tea ware.
Chasen, the whisk: carved from bamboo and used to whisk the matcha with hot water in the bowl.
Ro, the sunken hearth: a hearth built into the floor that heats the kettle. The other way to heat it is a brazier, the furo, and each has its own season.
Next to the bowl you may see a bamboo tea scoop, chashaku, a tea container, natsume, the kettle, kama, and a cloth the host handles in a set way, the fukusa. In Kaga, the Urasenke master Senso, who served the lord of Kaga, also encouraged a craftsman to start casting tea kettles there.
A traditional tea room, chashitsu, has tatami mats on the floor and a sunken hearth, and JNTO describes the materials and design as deliberately rustic. The alcove, tokonoma, holds a hanging scroll and a few seasonal flowers. Many tea rooms are small, from Joo's four and a half mats to Rikyu's two, and the low entrance that guests crawl through is called nijiriguchi.
Where to try a tea ceremony in Japan
These are places where a visitor can sit down to a bowl of tea, chosen from the official tourism sites of Tokyo, Kyoto, Uji, Ishikawa and JNTO. Prices were read on 15 October 2026. Where a source gives no price, this site does not quote one.
| Place | Where | What you get | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tea Museum, Shizuoka | Shimada, Shizuoka | A short session with matcha and a sweet | 700 yen, plus 500 yen museum entry |
| Shigure-tei, Kenroku-en | Kanazawa, Ishikawa | Matcha and a fresh sweet in a garden tea house | 1,000 yen, plus 320 yen garden entry |
| Taiho-an | Uji, Kyoto | Thin tea with a seasonal sweet | 1,500 yen |
| Taiho-an, hands-on class | Uji, Kyoto | Watch a teacher, then make your own bowl | 3,600 yen |
| Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony | Koganei and Hama-rikyu, Tokyo | A seat at one of the event's tea ceremonies | 800 yen |
| Nakajima teahouse | Hama-rikyu Gardens, Tokyo | Matcha in a teahouse on a pond | 300 yen garden entry; tea not quoted |
| Route 1 volunteer tour | Shinjuku to the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo | A guided garden walk that ends with a tea ceremony | 7,560 yen for one person, changes with group size |
| The Koomon Pastoral | Den-en-chofu, Tokyo | A class at a tea house | 16,500 yen |
| MAIKOYA | Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto | A guided session in a townhouse | Not quoted |
| Murin-an | Sakyo-ku, Kyoto | Tea in a villa's tearoom with a garden tour | Fee charged, not quoted |
| Hosen-in | Ohara, Kyoto | Green tea with temple admission | Included in admission, not quoted |
Pick by what you want
- Make a bowl yourself: book the hands-on class at Taiho-an or a session at MAIKOYA, or ask at the Tea Museum on the day.
- Turn up without booking: the Tea Museum seats guests in order of arrival, and Taiho-an sells thin tea on the day while seats are left.
- Spend the least: at Hosen-in the tea comes with admission, and the Tea Museum session costs 700 yen.
- Tea with a famous garden: Shigure-tei in Kenroku-en, the Nakajima teahouse at Hama-rikyu, or Murin-an in Kyoto.
Tea ceremony in Tokyo
The easiest tea in central Tokyo is in a garden by the bay. Tokyo's official tourism site says that the centre of Hama-rikyu Gardens is the Tide Inlet Pond, which is joined to the sea, so its level rises and falls with the tide. It is the only Edo garden whose pond uses seawater. "In the middle of the pond is the Nakajima teahouse, where you can sit down to enjoy a cup of matcha tea throughout the year." Entry to the garden is 300 yen, and the official page does not give the price of the tea, so this site does not quote one.
The gardens have been open to everyone since April 1946, and were completed, almost as they are now, under the eleventh Tokugawa shogun, Ienari. They are open from 9:00 to 17:00, with last entry 30 minutes before closing, and close over the New Year holidays. Admission can be paid in cash or by Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay or Alipay, and Shiodome Station, on the Toei Oedo and Yurikamome lines, is 7 minutes away on foot.
In autumn the city holds a tea festival. Tokyo's official tourism site calls the Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony "one of the most popular autumn events in the city", and 2026 is its 17th year. It is "Accessible for first-timers as well as regular tea ceremony enthusiasts", with tea ceremonies indoors and outdoors, workshops and performances.
A guided walk that ends in a tea room
Tokyo's volunteer guides run a tour called Route 1. It starts at the Tokyo Tourist Information Center in the Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal, walks through Shinjuku Gyoen, takes the train from Shinjuku-gyoemmae to Ginza, and ends with a tea ceremony at Toko-an in the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo. The tour page describes the tea ceremony as "a form of composite art that includes Japanese aesthetic feelings and philosophy".
Route 1 at a glance
- January to June, October to December: leaves at 1 p.m., takes about 3 hours, 7,560 yen, of which 5,680 yen is for the participant and 1,880 yen covers the two guides.
- July to September: a shorter route without Shinjuku Gyoen, leaves at 10 a.m., takes about 2.5 hours, 6,300 yen.
- Group: up to 5 people with 2 guides. At least one person must be over 20, and children under 13 cannot join.
- Booking: from 1 month to 3 days ahead, with a first and second choice of date. Shinjuku Gyoen is closed on Mondays.
"The guidance itself is free of charge." What you pay covers your own transport and entry, the guides' share of the same, and the guides' trip back to Shinjuku, so the amount changes with the size of the group. It is confirmed by email and paid in yen. A reply comes within a week, or by the day before if you apply less than a week ahead, and you can cancel up to the day before.
For a longer class, the tourism site lists The Koomon Pastoral, a tea house in Den-en-chofu that conveys the spirit of hospitality "through dialogue with the visiting guests". It also says: "This workshop will leave you feeling at ease and with a clear mind."
The Koomon Pastoral
- Price: 16,500 yen a class, in cash or by Visa, JCB, Mastercard or AMEX.
- Language: English is available.
- Hours: 9:00 to 18:00, closed on irregular days.
- Getting there: 4-16-16 Den-en-chofu, Ota City, 10 minutes on foot from the West Exit of Den-en-chofu Station on the Tokyu Toyoko and Meguro lines.
Tea ceremony in Kyoto
At MAIKOYA, in Nakagyo-ku, the tea is served in a historic machiya townhouse that the city has registered as a Tangible Cultural Property, looking out on a Japanese garden. You watch the host make each bowl and then make one yourself. JNTO says: "Sessions are intimate, with six or so people in a group and private options also available." The page gives no price, so this site does not quote one.
Murin-an, in Sakyo-ku, is the villa that Yamagata Aritomo, a leading politician of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, built from 1894 to 1896, with a garden, a main house, a Western-style house and a tearoom. Kyoto's official tourism site says the garden was named a national Place of Scenic Beauty in 1951, and that among the garden villas near Nanzen-ji it is the only one open to the public all year. The tearoom is a copy of En'an, a famous tearoom of the Yabunouchi school. Its tea ceremony includes a guide who shows you round the garden, must be booked, and has a fee that the page does not give.
Hosen-in is a temple in Ohara, built in the Heian period as lodgings for pilgrims. Its garden is known for a 700-year-old pine whose branches are held up on wooden supports. "Visitors are able to sip green tea (free with admission) while contemplating the garden from the main hall." The page does not give the admission fee, so this site does not quote one.
Getting to the three
- MAIKOYA: 7 minutes on foot from Exit 9 of Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Line.
- Murin-an: 31 Nanzenji Kusakawa-cho, Sakyo-ku. Book the tea ceremony before you go.
- Hosen-in: 187 Ohara-Shorin-in-cho, Sakyo-ku.
Tea ceremony in Uji
Uji is a tea town in Kyoto Prefecture, and its city-run tea house, Taiho-an, was built to promote Uji tea and spread the way of tea. It is named for the Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in, which it faces, and it reopened after a renewal in July 2020. It is open from 10 January to 20 December, 10:00 to 16:00 with last entry at 15:30, and closes on the last day of each month, or the last weekday if that day falls on a weekend or holiday. It is 10 minutes on foot from the Keihan and JR Uji stations, and has no parking.
Taiho-an's menu
- Usucha, thin tea: 1,500 yen. From one person, up to 10 a sitting, in the large room. You can book on the day.
- Hands-on matcha class: 3,600 yen, about 40 minutes, about 8 a sitting, at tables. You watch the teacher, have a sweet and a bowl, then make your own. Book 3 days ahead.
- Sencha or gyokuro: 1,500 yen for sencha, 1,800 yen for gyokuro, about 40 minutes each.
- Gyokuro and sencha set: 3,000 yen, about 80 minutes, booked 3 days ahead.
- Hands-on sencha class: 3,600 yen, about 80 minutes, booked 3 days ahead.
- Sencha days: the leaf tea menu is only served on about four days a month. On other days the tea is matcha.
You can book and pay ahead online, without cash, or buy a seat at the Uji City Tourist Center on the day if any are left. Either way you collect the ticket at the tourist centre, which is opposite Taiho-an, before you go in. Bookings for single bowls made by the day before are seated first. A single bowl cancelled on the day is charged in full, and so are the sets and classes cancelled from 2 days before.
Kyoto Prefecture's tourism page for the Yamashiro area of southern Kyoto lists more places in Uji where you can learn about tea. All four give their prices on enquiry, so this site does not quote them.
More tea in Uji
- Takumi no Yakata: classes in brewing tea, taught by Japanese tea instructors, with views of the Uji River. Open 11:00 to 17:00, closed on Wednesdays, at New Year and from 14 to 16 August, 3 minutes from Keihan Uji Station.
- Mitsuboshien Kanbayashi Sannyu Honten: grind fine Uji matcha in a stone mill and learn to whisk it in the tea room Sankyuan. On the approach to Byodo-in, open every day from 9:00 to 17:00.
- Fukujuen Uji Tea Workshop: roll tea leaves by hand or grind matcha in a stone mill. Open 10:00 to 17:00 on irregular days, by the Asagiri Bridge, 7 minutes from Keihan Uji Station.
- Marukyu Koyamaen Makishima factory: a video on matcha with an English version, a look at the factory and tea room, freshly ground matcha to taste, and a chance to whisk. Tours at 10:00 and 13:30 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, for 2 to 10 people.
Tea ceremony in Kanazawa: Shigure-tei
Shigure-tei stands in Kenroku-en, the garden of the lords of Kaga in Kanazawa, and its history is the garden's history. Ishikawa Prefecture says that in 1676 Maeda Tsunanori, the fifth lord of Kaga, built a pavilion here and laid out a garden around it, the start of Kenroku-en. The sixth lord rebuilt it, and it was known as Shigure-tei by the end of the Edo period before it was pulled down in the early Meiji years. It was rebuilt on its present site in March 2000, with its main rooms and the small tea room restored from a floor plan that survived.
Shigure-tei
- Matcha: 1,000 yen, with Shigure-tei's own fresh sweet, which changes with the season.
- Sencha: 500 yen, with a Japanese sweet.
- Hours: 9:00 to 16:30, last entry 16:00, but no entry from 12:00 to 13:00 while it is cleaned. Closed from 29 December to 3 January.
- Making tea yourself: not offered. Tea is served to you.
- Garden entry: 320 yen for adults and 100 yen for ages 6 to 17, cash only. Visitors over 65 go in free on showing their passport.
- Garden hours: 8:00 to 17:00 from 16 October to the end of February, and 7:00 to 18:00 from 1 March to 15 October.
Tea ceremony in Shizuoka: the Tea Museum
For JNTO, "there is only one tea capital, and that is Shizuoka Prefecture". The prefecture grows more than 40% of the tea made in Japan, and the Tea Museum, Shizuoka, in Shimada, has tea fields of its own.
The tea ceremony session
- 700yen, plus 500 yen museum entry
- 18sessions a day, from 9:30 to 15:30
- 16guests at most in each session
The session is held in the tea room Rinsuitei. You sign up at the reception by the tea room entrance, receive a card, and buy the ticket from the machine, in cash only. When groups booked in advance take over the tea room for a long time, the museum posts a notice on its home page. JNTO notes: "A number of schools take turns conducting the tea ceremony on different days." It adds that language "really is no barrier to appreciating its forms and structure".
The museum is open from 9:00 to 17:00, with last entry at 16:30, and the tea room from 9:30 to 16:00. It is closed on Tuesdays, or the next weekday when Tuesday is a holiday, and over the New Year. Entry is free for university students and younger, for people aged 70 and over, and for holders of a disability certificate with one companion.
The museum also has a tea house, Shomokuro, and a Japanese garden that recreate the work of Kobori Enshu (1579–1647). The museum calls him the daimyo tea master who, after Rikyu and Furuta Oribe, established the elegant style known as kirei sabi. There are also tea fields where you can learn to pick tea, and a class where you grind dried tencha leaves into matcha, which you can then use in the ceremony. The sources do not give prices for these, so this site does not quote them.
Getting there from Tokyo
- Shinkansen: the Tokaido Shinkansen to Shizuoka Station, about 75 minutes.
- Local train: change to the Tokaido Main Line for Kanaya Station, about 30 minutes.
- Bus or taxi: about 5 minutes from Kanaya Station to the museum, at 3053-2 Kanayafujimi-cho, Shimada.
JNTO puts it simply: "Shizuoka is roughly equidistant between Tokyo and Kyoto, making it an easy destination when traveling between the two." If you are using a rail pass or buying tickets, see Shinkansen tickets.
Learning the tea ceremony
A session for visitors teaches you the guest's part. The host's part takes much longer. JNTO says: "For anyone who wishes to learn more about this age-old tradition, tea schools across the country offer courses in tea appreciation and the precise steps that are a feature of the ceremony." It also notes that "it is widely accepted that becoming proficient in the art will take many years", and adds: "Even masters of the ceremony who have devoted much of their life to its intricacies will insist they are still learning."
You do not have to live in Japan to start. Urasenke set up its first chapter outside Japan in Hawaii in 1951, and its study groups, now called Tankokai associations, now meet in cities on every inhabited continent.
Where Urasenke has associations
- The Americas: across the United States, from Hawaii, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle to Chicago, Boston and New York, and in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Peru.
- Europe: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and more.
- Asia, Oceania and Africa: Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
Urasenke's English site lists the associations by country and points you to the nearest branch or liaison office for tea events in your area. If an association has no website of its own, the Urasenke Tankokai Federation's International Affairs Department will help you reach it.
The school also publishes study books in English. Its three tea procedure guidebooks, from Tankosha, are the English versions of the first three volumes of a Japanese series by the present grand master, Zabosai, and each one builds on the last.
Urasenke's guidebooks in English
- Guidebook 1, Introductory Level (April 2017): the Urasenke family line and the personal items a student needs.
- Guidebook 2, Usucha Tea Procedure (April 2018): making and serving thin tea, with a brazier or a sunken hearth.
- Guidebook 3, Koicha Tea Procedure (April 2019): the same for thick tea, with the way the host handles the fukusa for it.
- Buying from abroad: Tankosha books sent outside Japan are sold through Amazon.
There is a companion book too, the Urasenke Chado Textbook, for the first two guidebooks. To see a master at work before you sign up, the school's site has a video in two parts in which the grand master presents a procedure called Kakufukudate, one part for the brazier season and one for the hearth season, uploaded in June and July 2020 and open to all.
Is a tea ceremony worth it?
Yes, for most visitors, and the short sessions cost little. In this guide a bowl of matcha in a garden tea house or a museum tea room starts at 700 yen on top of the entry you would pay anyway, and at Hosen-in in Kyoto the tea comes with the temple's admission. For 20 to 30 minutes you sit still, eat a sweet chosen for the season, and take part in a ritual that goes back to Sen no Rikyu.
It is less of a fit if you cannot kneel, unless you pick a session with chairs, or if you are travelling with young children, since the Route 1 walk in Tokyo does not take anyone under 13. And a session for visitors is a taste, not a lesson. If it leaves you wanting more, the schools above teach the host's part.
Around your tea ceremony
- Sweets to take home: the boxed sweets and snacks sold all over Japan are in our guide to Japanese snacks.
- Tea as a souvenir: green tea is light and keeps well. Where to buy it is in our souvenir guide.
- A day in Kyoto: MAIKOYA, Murin-an and Hosen-in are all in the city. See our Kyoto guide.
- Fitting it in: many sessions for visitors take under an hour. To plan the days around one, see our Japan itinerary.
Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of the Japanese tea ceremony?
It is about host and guests sharing a moment over a bowl of matcha, with each step showing respect. Sen no Rikyu held that each gathering is precious because it cannot happen twice, and his principles are harmony, respect, purity and tranquillity.
How long does a Japanese tea ceremony last?
Sessions for visitors take about 20 to 90 minutes: 20 minutes at the Tea Museum, Shizuoka, 20 to 30 minutes for thin tea at Taiho-an in Uji, and 90 minutes or more at MAIKOYA in Kyoto. A full formal gathering with a meal can last several hours.
How much does a Japanese tea ceremony cost?
On 15 October 2026, 700 yen plus 500 yen museum entry at the Tea Museum, Shizuoka; 800 yen a seat at the Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony; 1,000 yen plus 320 yen garden entry at Shigure-tei in Kanazawa; 1,500 yen for thin tea at Taiho-an in Uji; and 16,500 yen for the class at the Koomon Pastoral in Tokyo. Some places in this guide give no price on their official pages, so ask when you book.
Do you turn the tea bowl left or right?
It depends on the school, and the official sources used in this guide do not give one direction. Turn the bowl a little so that you do not drink from its front, and follow the host or the guest before you.
What do you wear to a tea ceremony?
Everyday clothes are fine at sessions for visitors. Shoes come off, so wear socks, and choose clothes you can kneel in. A kimono is for formal gatherings, although MAIKOYA in Kyoto lets you come in one.
Do I need to speak Japanese?
No. MAIKOYA in Kyoto and the Koomon Pastoral in Tokyo offer sessions in English, and the session at the Tea Museum, Shizuoka, can be given in English. Hosts also overlook small mistakes by first-time guests.
Is the tea always matcha?
In the tea ceremony, yes, and visitors are almost always given thin tea, usucha. A separate tradition, senchado, uses tea leaves instead, and some tea houses in this guide, such as Taiho-an in Uji and Shigure-tei in Kanazawa, also serve sencha.
Is the tea ceremony religious?
It grew out of Buddhism, and Zen in particular: tea was used in Buddhist ceremonies from the ninth century, and the monks Eisai and Dogen and the priest Shuko shaped it. Today it is taught by schools of tea, and the sessions in this guide are open to any visitor.
Where can I try a tea ceremony in Kyoto?
MAIKOYA runs guided sessions in English, Murin-an serves tea in a garden villa by reservation, and at Hosen-in the tea is included in the temple's admission. Uji, the tea town in Kyoto Prefecture, has the city-run tea house Taiho-an.
Can I learn the tea ceremony outside Japan?
Yes. Urasenke has Tankokai associations in many cities around the world, the first of them in Hawaii in 1951, and its English site lists them by country. The school also publishes three guidebooks in English.
Sources
Official and primary sources used for this page. Checked October 15, 2026.
- JNTO: Japanese Tea Ceremony — what the tea ceremony is, its names, history from 815, Sen no Rikyu, the steps in the tea room, etiquette, what to wear, courses
- JNTO: The Definitive Japanese Tea Experience — bowls, three sips, cutting the sweet, schools, Shizuoka and the Tea Museum, getting there
- JNTO: An Authentic Tea Ceremony and Kimono Experience — MAIKOYA in Kyoto
- Urasenke: An Introduction to Chado — chado, host and guest, history, Rikyu's seven rules
- Urasenke: About Urasenke Chado — the three Sen houses, the grand masters, Kaga, Urasenke abroad
Show all 24 sources
- Urasenke: Konnichian, the Urasenke Home — the Konnichian tea hut
- Urasenke: Resources — Tankokai associations outside Japan, guidebooks in English, video
- GO TOKYO: Hama-rikyu Gardens — the Nakajima teahouse, hours, entry, access
- GO TOKYO: Hama-rikyu Gardens (in Japanese) — the teahouse, payment
- GO TOKYO: Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony 2026 — dates, places, prices
- GO TOKYO: Route 1, Strolling in Gardens and Experiencing a Tea Ceremony — the volunteer guide tour, fees, booking
- GO TOKYO: Tea Ceremony Workshop — the Koomon Pastoral in Den-en-chofu
- Kyoto City Tourism Association: Enjoying Kyogashi, the Traditional Sweets of Kyoto — sweets at a tea gathering, the bow, kaishi
- Kyoto City Tourism Association: Murin-an — the villa, the tea room, the tea ceremony
- Kyoto City Tourism Association: Hosen-in Temple — tea with admission
- Kyoto Prefecture: Tea experiences (in Japanese) — tea experiences in Uji
- Uji City Tourism Association: Taiho-an (in Japanese) — menu, prices, hours, booking, cancellation
- Uji City: Taiho-an (in Japanese) — first-timers welcome, koicha, access
- Kenroku-en: Shigure-tei (in Japanese) — prices, hours, history
- Kenroku-en: Shigure-tei — the English page and its older prices
- Kenroku-en: Guidance — garden entry and hours
- Fujinokuni Tea Museum: Tea ceremony experience (in Japanese) — price, times, the sweet of the day
- Fujinokuni Tea Museum: Visitor information (in Japanese) — hours, closing days, entry
- Fujinokuni Tea Museum (in Japanese) — the museum, the tea house and garden
Related guides
To cite or link to this page: The Japanese tea ceremony: what it means, how to behave as a guest, and where to try one in Tokyo, Kyoto, Uji, Kanazawa and Shizuoka — Japan Pocket Guide, https://japanpocketguide.com/culture/tea-ceremony/