Kanazawa: Private Koicha Ceremony with a Samurai Tea Master
- 1h 30m
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
• Receive koicha — thick tea, rarely offered to visitors to Japan • Prepare usucha (thin tea) with your own hands, under the guidance of a tea master of 19 years • Spend 90 minutes as the sole guests in a 1923 machiya — the home where your host Yuta lives and practices • Learn Enshu-ryu, the samurai lineage of tea founded by Kobori Enshu, tea advisor to the Tokugawa shoguns • Taste seasonal jounamagashi, handcrafted the morning of your ceremony by a Kanazawa artisan • Speak openly about tea, aesthetics, or the philosophy of a life devoted to the way — as much as you wish
Inclusions
What's included
- Fully private ceremony (no shared sessions)
- Hands-on matcha preparation
- Commemorative photo
- English narration and extended Q&A
- Use of a private tea room in a 100-year-old machiya
- Premium seasonal jounamagashi (handcrafted fresh sweets)
- Both koicha (thick tea) and usucha (thin tea)
- Tea ceremony demonstration by a practitioner with 19 years of experience
What's not
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Transportation to/from venue
- Gratuities (not expected in Japan)
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
5.0
- 54
- 40
- 30
- 20
- 10
Ratings come from 4 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Come directly to 2-3-28 Nomachi, Kanazawa. Look for a traditional wooden machiya with a small sign “TEA BASE” beside the entrance. Your host will greet you at the door. 10 min by taxi from Kanazawa Station, or 5 min walk from Nishi Chaya District. Please arrive 5 minutes early.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- Tea master
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
How it compares in Kanazawa
- Its from-price is 24% below the median of the 249 experiences we list in Kanazawa.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 94 of 249.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Kanazawa
Kanazawa is a castle city on Japan's Sea of Japan coast, with the celebrated Kenrokuen garden, geisha and samurai districts, gold leaf and fresh seafood.
Kanazawa was the seat of the Maeda clan, who ruled the rich Kaga domain through the Edo period, and it escaped the bombing of the Second World War, so its old streets survive. Kenrokuen, one of Japan's three great landscape gardens, spreads over a hill beside the castle, with ponds, stone lanterns and pines that are held up by ropes against the winter snow. The turrets and gates of Kanazawa Castle have been rebuilt.
Special offers in Kanazawa
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
30% offFree cancellation
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