Tokyo was a calling and we were ready. We lazed around in the morning in our business hotel, got packed up and got to Matsumoto station. We were a little early so we went to... (cue Darth Vader Star Wars music)... Starbucks! Well it was the only coffee shop about and to be honest it might as well have been a different place the service was so nice.
After a pleasant train ride, we arrived in Ueno station (North Tokyo). We had cunningly noticed that this would be a better place to get off rather than going all the way into Tokyo's main station. One quick two stop ride on subway, a quick 10 minute walk and we were at our last stop for the whole blooming trip, Andon Ryokan.
It's a great little place. Unbelievely compact as you'd expect in Tokyo but it has won archecture awards and is a very modern hostel/Ryokan. Our room is probably the smallest we've stayed in Japan but comfortable ans cosy. Best of all it has a DVD player and LAN internet in each room and there are free DVDs down stairs. Good considering how expensive Tokyo is.
The next best thing about Andon is it does an official Tea Ceremony on a Thursday! We found out about this a couple of days ago and booked on after previous non-starters. So after checking in and moving in we went out for a little dinner in a tiny, tiny restaurant (space for 4 people at a counter) and got cooked a gorgeous dinner by a very lovely old lady. Then we were back at 18:30 to great the Master of Tea Ceremonies and our hour of tradition.
We were joined by four other people and the lady who works here explained some of the details of the ceremony just before we started. To begin with we were each given a piece of paper that we had to fold the top corner of. Then in turn you are passed a plate of Japanese sweet cakes from which you take one using chopsticks and a practiced little routine of passing the sticks between your hands. Then before you can eat your sweetie you have to bow and ask the person to your left if you can eat it before them. Once they say yes you eat it. Everyone does this using the proper Japanese phrases.
Then the tea master goes through a very precise ritual to make the tea. It's detailed so prepared to be bored...
1. First take the scoop in the right hand in a delicate way, take one full cup of water pour it into the bowl. Put back the scoop.
2. Take the bowl first with the right hand then the left, circle the water around the bowl slowly two times to warm / wash it. Pour the contents of the bowl using left hand into other pot.
3. Put the bowl down, left hand off first then right, pick the tea spoon in the right hand and the lid of the tea and the tea powder pot in the left.
4. Add 2 scopes of powdered green tea, spread the powder out in the tea bowl, place the tea cap back on the powder pot, place the pot back and the spoon.
5. Take the scoop in the right hand, fill 1/2 full and pour into the tea bowl. Put back the scoop.
6. Take the whisk in the right hand and hold the bowl with the left. Whisk the contents until bubbly. Put back the whisk.
7. Pick up the bowl, right then left, with the picture on the bowl facing yourself. Turn in two times so that the picture ends up pointed at the recipient and place in front of them.
So that's making the tea! Then the person with tea has to say can I drink the tea, then the person to their left says you can. You then pick it up in your right then left hand, turn the bowl so in 2 turns so that the picture is facing you. You then drink the tea in 4 slurps, finishing it on the 4th and slurping loudly (to indicate enjoyment). Then you wipe the bowl and turn it back in 2 turns to how it was and put the bowl back where it was.
After that intense fun, it was time for us each to take turns to make a tea for our partner. Amy went first and MC Tea talked her through it although she had watched and learned very carefully whilst he was making the last 6 cups.
She made me a right old lovely brothy cup of green tea! It was then my go...
We really enjoyed this, it was great to see how it works and to get to have a go. After these cups of tea we were buzzing as wed also been given two with dinner, a few that morning and a couple of cups of coffee that day. So we borrowed a silly film from downstairs to unwind in front of and eventually passed out. We set the alarm earlyish as we were excited to get out and about the next day.
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