Matcha and Kimono near Shinjuku: A Private Tea Ceremony with an Urasenke Master
Wear a kimono and steep yourself in the culture of matcha with a master tea expert near Shinjuku: taste, learn the tea ceremony, and master the art of making it at home.
Overview
Slip into a beautifully designed, easy-to-wear kimono and step into the refined world of matcha, guided by a highly professional tea expert just minutes from Shinjuku. Whether you arrive a complete beginner or already love Japanese green tea, this intimate experience opens the culture of matcha to you with clarity and warmth, all explained in exceptionally fluent English.
You explore matcha with every sense: its aroma, its texture, and the subtle character on the palate. Along the way you come to understand its cultural and agricultural significance, from the history of the tea ceremony and its quiet etiquette to how matcha is grown, shaded, and stone-ground, and why it differs so completely from every other tea.
Guided by your host, you learn to whisk a perfect bowl yourself and compare authentic Japanese matcha against imitation and overseas varieties, differences far greater than most travelers expect. You then taste your way through five matcha selected from more than one hundred, including a rare wild-grown matcha that accounts for only two percent of all production, until you find the one that is truly yours.
Every matcha is a hand-selected first flush drawn from premium tea regions across Japan, each with its own regional aroma and flavor. Set just six minutes from JR Yotsuya Station, this is the only place in western Tokyo to bring kimono, tea ceremony, and matcha tasting together in a single afternoon. You leave with a deeper appreciation of matcha's place in Japanese culture, the confidence to prepare it at home, and a refined palate for the nuances of every cup.
Details
Discover Organic Matcha with Your Senses
Experience Japanese organic matcha through sight, smell, and taste. You begin with the exclusive first-flush matcha at the heart of the workshop, carefully selected from premium regions across Japan. Much like fine wine or single-origin coffee, matcha carries distinct taste profiles shaped by where it grows, and you explore a wide range of varieties from the house collection.
Master the Art of Preparing Matcha
During the lecture you master the essential techniques for preparing matcha with a traditional bamboo whisk, learning the proper etiquette for making and drinking it in a tea ceremony setting. By the end you are equipped to whisk a perfect bowl of matcha at home.
Discover the Differences Between Japanese and Overseas Matcha
You will also learn the key differences between authentic Japanese matcha and its overseas imitations, and trust us, they are very different.
Dress in a Beautifully Designed Kimono
Try on a specially designed kimono that is genuinely easy to wear, unlike a traditional kimono, which can take up to forty minutes to put on. Your instructor shows you how to wear it correctly for an authentic experience, deepening your immersion in Japanese tradition.
Koumei Sunakawa / 砂川孔明
Founder of Saryūkai, Urasenke Tea Master
Having spent his childhood and student years in Canada and Peru, Koumei Sunakawa developed a deep interest in Japanese culture and his own roots. After returning to Japan he studied at the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University, then began formal training in the Urasenke tradition of tea ceremony. While running his own company he founded Saryūkai to make teaism a freer, more accessible part of everyday life. The organization hosts cultural events such as Tea Culture Exchange programs at embassies in Tokyo, Matcha Tasting sessions of single-origin matcha from across Japan, and relaxed open-air gatherings known as Aozora Nodate. Fluent in English, Chinese, Spanish, and Persian, Sunakawa shares the culture of teaism with a global audience, traveling throughout Japan to visit tea farms and source the finest single-origin matcha from each region.
OPTIONS
Notes
What to bring: Socks (you can buy them at the workshop if you forget).
Prohibited items: Alcohol, drugs, strong perfume, and disruptive behavior.
If you arrive more than 10 minutes late, your reservation will be automatically canceled without a refund.
This experience is not recommended for children under 5 years old.
Meeting Point
LUUP stand next to the ACN Yotsuya Building
A guide will be waiting in front of the LUUP stand next to the ACN Yotsuya Building, holding a workshop sign. The meeting point is about 6 minutes on foot from JR Yotsuya Station.
What's included:
Matcha experience
Kimono to wear throughout the experience
Teaism and matcha lecture by a tea expert
Matcha making lesson
Exclusive first flush matcha
Japanese traditional sweets
Welcome drink
Tea ceremony tools rental
English speaking teacher
Photos of tour participants
Local tax
What's not included:
Transportation costs
Hotel pick up and drop off
Free cancellation up to 8 days before the experience starts (local time)
Private experience
1
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8
Participants
Tokyo
From ¥12,000 /person
1:30 hours
Traveler Photos
From ¥12,000 /person
1:30 hours
Tokyo