Kyoto Tea Quest: A Guide to Japanese Tea Culture with Context

(10 reviews)

Kyoto audio tour: Kyoto Tea Quest: A Guide to Japanese Tea Culture with Context

This is a 2.7mi walking tour

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Kyoto

Japan

$19.99

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About the Tour

Kyoto is the beating heart of Japanese tea. Join Context Travel Expert Nick Nauber on an enlightening walk to explore this age-old Japanese ritual. You’ll dive deeper into the traditions, history, and practices behind tea rituals while discovering the connection between your beautiful natural surroundings and the tea you’ll drink.

Starting at the Marutamachi Police Box, you’ll begin your tea odyssey by stepping through the historic Ainomachi Entrance and heading to the Shūsui-tei Teahouse within the Imperial Palace’s grounds. You’ll have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the over 200-year-old teahouse’s serene ambiance and hear stories about grand tea receptions hosted by the Kujo family centuries ago. You’ll trace the origins of tea cultivation from Southern China to Japan when Kyoto became a hub for cultivating ”Honchya” or ”original” tea. At the Sugawara-in Tenmangu Shrine, you’ll learn one of the secrets of tea production: the significance of choosing water from specific sources like underground freshwater streams, and the impact of sunlight on tea leaves’ taste. You’ll find the Rokkaku-dō Temple, with its distinctive six-sided roof, where you’ll hear about the Japanese art of flower arranging (ikebana). As our tour reaches an end, you’ll enjoy a final sip at the Horaido Tea Stall, renowned for inventing gen-mai-cha, a popular tea infused with roasted rice grains.

Along the way, you’ll have a chance to:

Learn why different teas are served in tea houses and restaurants, depending on the season
Discover the three main elements connected with a tea ritual and understand the importance of aesthetics within the practice
Enjoy Yamabiko restaurant’s fusion curry-udon, a blend of traditional udon noodles in sweet Japanese curry broth, with secret spices and toppings
Understand the Japanese fondness for tea, which makes up half of their beverage consumption
Discover the role of Japan’s climate in tea production, and how Uji’s hot and humid summers and mineral-rich irrigation led to it becoming a center for tea cultivation
Unravel the meaning of “wabi-sabi,” and learn why the Japanese celebrate the imperfections in nature
Grasp the importance of brewing time and uncover the secret of preparing matcha tea

Join Nick Nauber on this tea-infused journey through Japan’s tea capital, where every sip unveils layers of history, culture, and craftsmanship.

Tour Producer

Context Travel

92 tours

Context was founded in Rome in 2003 by Paul Bennett and Lani Bevacqua an expat couple eager to curate experiences for travelers, not tourists. Since then Context has taken over 200,000 people to 60+ destinations around the world – accompanied by thousands of leading experts. What started as a dream to create cross-cultural connections is now a worldwide network and community of thoughtful, engaged travelers and experts.

Join a live private or small group tour in destinations around the world at contexttravel.com.

Preview Location

Location 30

Rok-kaku-doh Temple 2

This temple is closely associated with its main patron, Prince Shoutoku, who lived from 574 to 622. He's said to have popularized the Buddhist religion through his writings, while at the same time visiting shrines devoted to Japan's native religion, Shintoism.

Prince Shouto... This temple is closely associated with its main patron, Prince Shoutoku, who lived from 574 to 622. He's said to have popularized the Buddhist religion through his writings, while at the same time visiting shrines devoted to Japan's native religion, Shintoism.

Prince Shoutoku has his face on various monetary notes and coins over the years and remains a popular figure in Kyoto culture.

Centuries later, in 1204, it's said that a monk named Shinran was visiting the temple, and saw a vision of a female Buddhist deity in his sleep. The deity was the Nyorin Kannon, who told him to establish a branch of Buddhism which would allow priests to marry. If you peer inside the temple, you can see two statues of Shinran, one seated in a stance for meditation, and one standing for making a pilgrimage.

This temple is also closely associated with the origins of the Japanese flower arrangement, called ikebana. The famous school which is associated with the temple, called Ikenobo College, is just around the corner and holds various flower arrangement exhibitions throughout the year.

As you may know, a flower arrangement is often combined with the ritual of making tea.

Perhaps you may remember that we saw on our first visit to the tea house in the Imperial Palace, there was an alcove where a host would place a painting or a scroll, and include a handmade vase with some seasonal flowers. So the practice of flower arrangement is very much linked to the presentation of tea.

At the time of this temple’s founding, the tea ritual was commonly practiced by samurai rather than by tea masters entertaining tourists. Samurai warriors would carry a tea caddy and some implements with them, and would often practice tea rituals, as a way of meditation to calm them from the stress of battle and the threat of death.

Tea rituals were also practiced by Buddhist monks in order to stay awake and concentrate during sessions of meditation.

Now, look up and notice the curved gable roof of the entrance gate, made of Cypress tree bark. Have you seen this roofing technique before? You might remember it from the Imperial Palace grounds. The bark is shaved from the tree and cut into slabs. This is a sustainable method of construction because the cypress tree remains healthy and grows a new bark that can be used for future construction. If you take the Context tour titled “Intro to Kyoto,” your expert can show you how this type of roof is constructed.

Next, let’s turn toward the main courtyard to see the central temple.

The roof at Rokaku-Doh is distinctive because it has six sides, in other words, a hexagonal design. In fact the name “Rokaku” in Japanese means six sides. You can light a candle, or a stick of incense here at the shrine, and reflect for a moment on the long history of tea culture, as well as ikebana flower arrangement, and the combined aesthetics within the tea ritual. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Shinodachiuri-Gomon Gate
Iriyama Tofu Shop
The Ando Japanese Doll Shop
Zuishoen
Yamabiko
Zen Kashoin
Nichicon
Horaido Tea Stall
Nishiki Market
Chōhōji (Rokkakudō) Temple
Marutamachi Police Box
Kyoto Gyoen National Garden
Kyoto Imperial Palace
Shūsui-tei Teahouse
Sugawara-in Tenmangu Shrine

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
424-2 Kasugachō, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, 602-8023, Japan
Total distance

4km
Final location
295 Higashidaimonjichō, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8043, Japan
Distance back to start location

2km

Directions to Starting Point

The tour begins in front of the Police box on the corner of Karasuma Odori Street and Marutamachi Odori Street near the Imperial Palace Gardens. Travelers can take the Karasuma Line to the Marutamachi Station to reach the Imperial Palace Gardens.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

The walking tour stops in front of the following establishments:
The Shusui-tei Teahouse, open from 9:30 AM till 3:30 PM from Thursday to Saturday
Sugawara-in Tenmangu Shrine, open daily from 6 AM till 5 PM
IRIYama tofu shop, open from 10 AM till 6 PM on Fridays and Saturdays
The Ando Japanese Doll Shop, open daily from 10 AM till 6 PM except when it's closed on the second and fourth Saturday every month and Sundays
Zui syo en Tea house, open from 9 AM till 6 PM, Monday through Saturday
Yamabiko, open daily 11 AM to 2:30 PM, and from 5:30 to 9 PM except when they're closed on Sundays
Zen Kasho-in, open daily from 11 AM till 6 PM
Sugata Art Gallery, open from 11 AM till 6 PM, Wednesday through Sunday
Rok-kaka-doh Temple, open daily from 9 AM till 5 PM
Horaidoh tea shop, open from 10:30 AM till 7 PM, Thursday to Sunday
This tour will conclude at the Nishiki Ichiba food market, open daily from 9 AM till 5 PM.

Best time of day

If you'd like to visit the recommended establishments along the way, the ideal time of day is from 10 AM till 4 PM everyday except Sundays as several of the recommended venues are closed.

Precautions

Please bring a pair of headphones and a bottle of water to cleanse your palate between tastings. Make sure to wear a clean and well-kept pair of socks and a comfortable pair of walking shoes in addition to several bills of 1,000 Yen, and coins of 100Yen, 50Yen, and 10Yen. It's also advised to bring either a collapsible umbrella or folding rain poncho, as the weather can change quickly.

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