Matcha, Kimono & Tea Ceremony Experience in Yotsuya, Tokyo | A 90-Minute Workshop to Whisk First-Harvest Matcha Yourself

A 90-Minute Cultural Experience for Discovering Matcha in Depth

The setting for this experience is a calm, traditional tatami-floored room.

On a low, round table sit tea utensils such as chawan (tea bowls) and chasen (bamboo whisks), with greenery visible through a large window.

Rather than a large-scale tourist show, this is an intimate setting where you can focus closely on the matcha and each individual tool as the instructor explains.

Choose Your Own Simple Kimono to Begin

Before the workshop starts, you choose your favourite kimono from those on offer.

With kimonos available in a variety of colours and patterns, picking the design that catches your eye is part of the fun.

The kimono used is a simplified style that can be put on much faster than a full, formal kimono fitting.

Since it takes only about 5 minutes to get ready, you won't spend too much time dressing, leaving plenty of time afterward to learn about matcha and tea ceremony.

Wearing a kimono lets you step into the world of tea with a slightly different feeling than if you simply joined in everyday clothes.

Starting With "What Is Matcha, Exactly?"

This workshop doesn't jump straight into whisking matcha.

First, you'll learn the background: the different types of tea, its history, the philosophy behind tea ceremony and chanoyu, and how matcha itself is made.

By touching on the differences between green tea, black tea, Chinese tea and more—and how processing methods affect colour, aroma and flavour—the unique characteristics of matcha become much easier to understand.

Rather than simply drinking matcha as "green tea," understanding the story behind it is one of the biggest highlights of this experience.

Savour Carefully Selected First-Harvest Matcha with All Five Senses

During the experience, you'll taste high-quality matcha chosen from a wide selection gathered from across Japan.

One especially notable feature is the "ichibancha," or first flush.

This is tea made from the very first leaves picked each year, and you'll savour it while paying close attention to its aroma and umami.

Look at the colour, take in the aroma, then taste it in your mouth.

Even matcha you might normally drink without much thought reveals a different character when you engage with it this mindfully, one step at a time.

Whisking Your Own Matcha with a Chasen

After absorbing the knowledge, it's finally time to put it into practice.

Using tea utensils such as a chawan and chasen, you'll prepare a bowl of matcha entirely by yourself.

The instructor will guide you through the key points for making delicious matcha—not just the amount of matcha, but also the amount and temperature of the water and how to move the whisk.

As you move the chasen, the matcha blends with the water and a fine, delicate foam forms on the surface.

The joy of this workshop lies in actually using your own hands to complete a bowl of tea, rather than simply watching a demonstration.

Handling the Hot Water Yourself, Too

Making matcha involves more than just handling the chasen—you'll also experience the process of handling the hot water.

Through hands-on practice, you'll learn key points that affect the flavour, such as how much water to use and what temperature works best.

Knowing these basics makes it easier to recreate the experience not only during your trip to Japan, but also when enjoying matcha at home after you return.

Touching on Tea Ceremony Etiquette and "the Spirit of Welcoming a Guest"

Tea ceremony is not simply a culture of making and drinking matcha.

It embodies the idea of hospitality toward others through a single bowl of tea—expressed through how tea utensils are handled, the respect shown toward guests, and how one engages with the surrounding space.

In this experience, you'll learn not only how to make matcha, but also the basics of how to drink it and the ideas underlying tea ceremony.

Wearing a kimono and actually experiencing the movements on tatami makes it much easier to picture Japanese tea culture than simply listening to an explanation.

Knowledge You Can Take Home to Enjoy Matcha There Too

What you gain from this workshop isn't limited to a one-time tea ceremony experience.

You'll also learn practical basics for whisking a bowl of matcha at home, such as how to choose matcha and how to use the utensils and hot water.

When buying matcha after your trip, you'll be better equipped to consider its origin and tea leaves, not just its colour or packaging.

The appeal here is that this becomes a cultural experience that continues after you return home, rather than something that ends the moment you leave Japan.

Things to Check Before Booking

• The experience lasts approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes
• The workshop is conducted in English
• Both group and private participation options are available
• You'll wear a simple kimono during the experience
• Socks are required to protect the tatami flooring
• Follow the on-site instructions regarding the matcha and tea utensils used
• Please check the meeting point in advance on the booking page
• Allow plenty of time so you don't arrive late for the start
• If you arrive more than 10 minutes after your reserved time, the booking will be automatically cancelled without a refund
• Please check the booking page for the latest cancellation policy and plan details

The meeting point is listed as in front of the LUUP electric scooter station near the ACN Yotsuya Building. Please check the designated landmark and any day-of instructions on the booking page.

Summary

The matcha, kimono, and tea ceremony experience in Yotsuya, Tokyo is a roughly 90-minute workshop where you wear a simple kimono, learn about matcha and Japanese tea knowledge along with the philosophy of tea ceremony and chanoyu in English, and whisk a bowl of matcha yourself.

Rather than simply tasting high-quality matcha, learning about its origin, quality, the utensils, the water, and the whisking technique lets you enjoy the world of matcha on a much deeper level.

This experience suits anyone who wants to enjoy Japanese culture during a trip to Tokyo, as well as those who want to keep enjoying the matcha they learned about in Japan even after returning home.