Tea Ceremony

This fall Doug, John, Eric, Tanaka Sensei, and I went to Otsu where we viewed some temples and also participated in a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony. Tea ceremonies are a huge part of the Japanese culture. Everyone drinks tea here and tea ceremonies are very honorable. There are certain sets up rules that you must follow when participating. There are even specific "tea ceremony" rooms just devoted to serving and drinking tea. These rooms are always covered in tatami mats and have a wall scroll hanging from them. The women who make the tea actually have to learn how to properly prepare "tea ceremony" tea. The bowls where the tea is poured into are also very expensive. They are handmade and cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars. In fact, before tea is poured into the bowl you must pick up the bowl in your hands and rotate it while looking at every angle of it. This is done to show appreciation for all the hard work that went into creating that bowl. Once tea is poured into your bowl, you take two or three gulps to drink it down. Now this tea is not ordinary tea. It is like a green frothy mixture. To me it looked like melted green ice cream, but don't let this fool you. It does NOT taste like ice cream. Lets just say that I have had things that have tasted better.