Kyoto · Jōtoku-ji temple
A tea master guides a small group through chanoyu in the Grand Tearoom of Jōtoku-ji temple.
Likely to sell out. The tea master explains each step, and guests get the chance to practise the technique themselves.
The ceremony in four facts
Gate to tearoom
The organiser's description follows a short path through the temple grounds. You will find start times by choosing a date, and again in your confirmation.
Weather decides where you wait: in fine weather the red benches, in rain the shop's gable or the Grand Tearoom itself.
You walk in through the temple's main gates. The entrance to the Grand Tearoom is on your left, with a parish shop beside it.
Your guide waits at the red benches nearby. Until the ceremony starts you can look at the architecture, stand by the purification fountain or sit and take in the grounds.
The tour of the temple begins with a traditional purification ritual, before anyone goes into the tearoom.
At the entrance to the Grand Tearoom you remove your shoes and go in with your group. The tearoom is up three steps.
You take your seat. If sitting on the floor in the traditional position is not comfortable, seats and stools can be provided.
The Tea Master guides you through the ceremony and explains each step. You sample matcha, learn how to drink it and hear why the ceremony matters.
Tea and temples
Wikipedia dates the first documented evidence of tea in Japan to the 9th century, when the monk Eichū brought it from Tang China, and says powdered green tea was first used in religious rituals in Buddhist monasteries. Buddhists also used tea to prevent drowsiness during long meditations. Holding a tea ceremony in a temple fits that long history.
The ceremony starts at the gate. You meet your guide at the red benches, begin with a purification ritual and take off your shoes at the Grand Tearoom. Wikipedia says purifying the hands and mouth before tea is influenced by the Shinto ritual of misogi. By the time you sit, the pace has already slowed.
Japanese Wikipedia lists Jōtoku-ji as Jōdo-shū, the Pure Land school. The famous Zen link with tea runs through temples such as Kennin-ji and Daitoku-ji, which the tea and Zen guide explains. What this ticket gives you is a temple setting and a Tea Master who explains each step.
Wikipedia says a formal chaji, with its meal, can run to four hours, while Japan-guide.com notes that most ceremonies today are much shorter. This is 70 minutes for a small group: an introduction, with room for questions. Read the guides below for what to expect and how to prepare.
Seats, steps and small print
Six practical points from the booking page, in plain words.
How you can take part
| Choice | What the booking page says | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Sit on the floor | The traditional position, on the floor of the Grand Tearoom. | Seiza is hard to hold for long if you are not used to it. |
| Take a seat or stool | Seats and stools can be provided for anyone not comfortable on the floor. | Tell your guide first. The tearoom is still up three steps. |
| Rent a kimono | A kimono can be rented separately. | Optional, and arranged apart from the ceremony. |
| Bring a child | Not suitable for children under 5. | Best suited to guests aged 5 and over. |
Tea, temples and tearooms
A garden tea setting, a thatched teahouse in a Kyoto temple, the tea monument at Kennin-ji, a sweet on tatami, a basin for washing hands and tea being whisked. Each description says where the photograph was taken, and none shows Jōtoku-ji.
Three tea ceremonies, three settings
The first card is the temple ceremony this page describes. The second seats guests on chairs, which may suit you better if floor sitting or steps are a worry, and the third is a shorter lesson on tatami.
A 70-minute group ceremony in the temple's Grand Tearoom, with seats or stools for anyone who cannot sit on the floor.
Matcha and sweets at tables and chairs in a Kyoto townhouse in Fushimi, south of the centre, so no floor sitting at all.
A shorter lesson in a Kyoto tearoom, led by a host the organiser describes as a licensed Urasenke tea master. You watch, make tea yourself and finish with sweets.
More to do in Kyoto
Getting ready
The meeting point is 556 Motoshiogamachō, Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto 600-8119. Japanese Wikipedia says the temple can be reached from Kiyomizu-Gojō station on the Keihan line, or from the Kawaramachi-Gojō bus stop.
Start times are not fixed on this page. The booking calendar shows the options for each date, and your confirmation repeats the time you chose.
Shoes come off at the Grand Tearoom entrance. Modest clothes you can bend your knees in are easiest, and Japan-guide.com advises removing jewellery and avoiding strong perfume.
You wait in the grounds before the ceremony. In rain you can stand under the gable of the parish shop or wait inside the Grand Tearoom.
If you would like a seat or stool, say so at the benches. It is a stated option for anyone not comfortable on the floor.
The tearoom is up three steps. The table-style ceremony on the second booking card is built around chairs.
Before you go
FAQ
Yes. This ticket is a 70-minute chanoyu workshop in the Grand Tearoom at Jōtoku-ji temple in Shimogyō ward. You meet your guide at the red benches inside the temple grounds.
Seats and stools can be provided for anyone not comfortable sitting on the floor in the traditional position. Tell your guide before the group goes in.
No. The temple is wheelchair accessible, but the tearoom is up three steps, and the organiser rules the ceremony out for wheelchair users.
No. Japanese Wikipedia lists it as a Jōdo-shū temple, the Pure Land school. The Zen links with tea come from temples such as Kennin-ji and Daitoku-ji.
Not children under 5. The ceremony is best suited to guests aged 5 and over.
You can. A kimono can be rented separately, and it is optional. Reviewers mention arriving in kimonos they rented beforehand.
It lasts 70 minutes. Choose a date to see its start times; your confirmation repeats the one you picked.
No. Japan-guide.com says regular tourists are not expected to know the rules in detail, and the Tea Master explains each step.
Choose a date and the fare appears in your currency.