On Monday we woke up, got ready, and got picked up by Miho because she had a car and it was pouring rain, for a tea ceremony class she signed us up for. It wasn’t a long drive but it took two trips since there were so many of us. When we got there we learned that none of the teachers could speak English. Thankfully Miho could translate very well for us. We learned that when you got to a tea ceremony you need to enter a room with your right foot and you shouldn’t walk on the tatami mat lines. Next we learned when you go to a tea ceremony you are supposed to bring your own small special knife for cutting your snacks. Look in the picture below to see the little pouch poking out of the front of her kimono. This is where you keep your small knife in its pouch and also a fan and a set of your own little napkin papers.
After that we ate some yummy green tea rice chestnut thingy it was pretty good and after that we drank some green tea.
This is a spot in the floor that you can open up the tatami mats and use the heat source for boiling water on a kettle. This would only be used in the winter because it will also warm up the whole tatami mat room.
After we went home and did a little school and relaxed. For dinner we went downstairs the a restaurant called Kyu Fun (fun is pronounced fuun). We bought some sweet chicken which was amazing and some soup which were pretty good and they were kind and gave us a dessert for free which was AMAZING! It was called ‘annin tofu’ but there was no tofu in it. It is actually an almond flavored pudding, almost tofu consistency, it was so good. My mom used google translate on her phone to talk to the employees and get the recipe for one of the dishes, as well as the correct name for the dessert so we can make it when we get home.
Bayus
It was funny that Elias, when the teacher asked “Any questions?” said “The only questions I can ask in Japanese are what’s your name and how old are you, both of which are inappropriate now.”
Btw please don’t forget to write that the main point of the lesson was “hospitality” – being nice n’ polite to each other!
Oh but wait… Everyone in your family is already very nice and polite. You don’t need extra lessons for that 🙂