KIMONO TEA CEREMONY KYOTO MAIKOYA at NISHIKI

Great activity to try in Kyoto! We had a party of 9 and made reservations in advance & it was a smooth & easy process! Our matcha guide was incredibly kind and sweet! Plenty of opportunities for photos & videos. Got to pick out our own kimono’s & there were assistants available to help each step of the way. The matcha was delicious as well! Highly recommend!

A must do experience while in Kyoto!! Sono made our tea ceremony so special and personal. We had an amazing time!! Our kimonos were so beautiful! And the tea itself was so delicious. I loved watching Sono prepare everything and explain it all in great detail! She’s an excellent conversationalist and made us feel right at home!! Don’t miss this experience while you’re visiting!

I can absolutely recommend this beautiful tea ceremony experience. Kimono dress is a great option to really enjoy the experience. The kimono house is just around the corner and you are fully dressed by professionals, even down to hair, handbag and shoes. Prior to the tea making ceremony you are able to have photos taken in the most traditional and beautiful Japanese garden. The whole experience is amazing. Great location and easy access useing busses.

This was one of the top 3 experiences I was most excited about before visiting Kyoto. At first, I hesitated because it felt a bit pricey, but learning an authentic Japanese tea ceremony and wearing a kimono had always been a dream of mine, so I decided to book it. Before the tea ceremony, a team of staff helped me dress in a kimono. They paid attention to every detail, making sure everything looked perfect while keeping me comfortable. Then the tea ceremony. Our tea master not only guided us through the entire process but also shared the deeper meaning behind it. Tea ceremony is about cherishing a once-in-a-lifetime moment. It reminds us to appreciate every encounter—because you may never be in that place, or with those same people, again. By embracing the moment with gratitude, it becomes a memory to treasure forever. I’m so grateful for what I learned during this experience. It’s truly one of the most meaningful and unforgettable experience of my trip.

Our private tea ceremony was wonderful. It was led by Dodo and she was amazing. She walked us through everything very thoroughly and helped all of us have a very calm and informative time. She took so many pictures of us and our party we were so appreciative of the entire experience. I highly recommend trying this.

Attending the tea ceremony at this teahouse was a very beautiful experience. We booked the tickets online, and we had appointment at a fixed hour. You get dressed and your hair also gets arranged in the dressing room across the street (for the ladies, the men get dressed in the same building). They have a variety of kimonos from where you can choose. After that, you get some photos in one of the gardens. During the tea ceremony you receive background information about how the tea ceremony was taking place in the past, you learn some mindful phrases that are usually said during the ceremony and you learn to make the matcha tea by yourself. You can also drink it if you want. Heads-up, is very bitter. They offer you sweets to help with the bitterness but is still difficult for a person unused to it. After the tea ceremony you can have another photo session in another garden they have. You can also wander the streets dressed like that but we were too cold so we undressed. Overall the experience was wonderful and I’d do it again!

The tea ceremony was so enjoyable and entertaining! My brother went himself and recommended it to my mother and I, so we ended up going and enjoyed every moment! The kimonos we wore were so pretty, the ladies that helped us in preparing for the ceremony were so sweet and patient, and the host was very passionate when explaining more about the ceremony. The tea they served was bitter yet delicious, and the sweets were great! They are also very understanding! Since I was allergic to wheat, they reassured me that I would be fine and that the treats there are gluten-free. I would definitely come back again the next chance I get and even bring friends to experience this wonderful Japanese tradition! ❤️

We were skeptical to participate in a tea ceremony as we were unsure if it was ‘rude’ for foreigners to do so, however we decided to come to the ceremony here and were blown away by how welcoming the staff were. The staff here are so passionate about ensuring tourists deeply engage with traditional Japanese culture and they really make it their mission to share their wealth of knowledge. We were able to choose a kimono that suited us - we could pick the colour of each component to make a unique combination. The staff made sure it was fit correctly and carefully adjusted it to our figure. They encouraged us to take lots of photos in our traditional wear and even gave us fans and umbrellas to pose with! They taught us how to pose correctly, such as how to stand correctly and how to position ourselves to look polite, which really made the experience feel authentic and special. The tea ceremony was simply amazing. Dodo was our host and I must say she is such a kind and warm human being. She introduced us to the guidelines and traditions of the ceremony, the roles of the host and visitors, and guided us through the history of matcha tea! She even introduced us to Zen philosophy, encouraging us to breathe deeply and truly be present in the moment, teaching us some Japanese too! Emphasis was placed on ensuring we were relaxed and refreshed. The tea ceremony itself was beautiful, Dodo undertook a purifying ritual and then poured us water for us to mix our matcha powder in. The tea room is set amongst the backdrop of a beautiful tranquil garden with a minimalistic design and no furniture. Dodo always encouraged us to take photos and ask questions about the process, and was explaining everything as she went. The matcha was delicious! I was in awe the whole time at her mastery and delicacy with which she undertook the ceremony. After the ceremony, Dodo was so kind as to take photos with us and ask us about where we came from and what we do. Thank you Dodo for your amazing hospitality and service, you really made this an unforgettable experience. One chance, one meeting 🍵