A Warm Welcome to Kyoto and a Tea Ceremony Experience
“We have finally arrived in Japan after a long travel journey and are currently on the Shinkansen to Kyoto. Looking forward to the tea ceremony tomorrow!” This is an email from Róisín, who will be joining us for the tea ceremony the next day. Naoko and I excitedly went to a traditional sweets shop to buy fresh sweets. This is a customary event we always do the day before a workshop. Róisín and Kris have chosen Japan among the many wonderful tourist destinations around the world, traveling all the way from Ireland, over 10,000 kilometers away, to visit. We hope they create unforgettable and enjoyable memories during their visit.”
Meeting at 10 am in front of Hankyu Arashiyama Station. I was sitting on a bench waiting, holding a piece of paper printed with the Irish flag, when they quickly spotted me and approached. “Welcome to Kyoto!” I greeted them, and they returned a cheerful smile. They had traveled for 30 hours from Ireland to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, and then from Haneda to Kyoto by Shinkansen bullet train. “You must be tired!” I exclaimed, but they shook their heads and replied cheerfully, “Not at all!” They were young and full of energy, as expected.
I made a big mistake during the workshop. —– After Naoko had each of the two people pick out some Japanese sweets, I was supposed to say, “Let’s try the sweets now,” and everyone was supposed to enjoy them together. However, I didn’t give them enough time to savor the sweets, and I immediately started talking about “the ingredients of the Japanese sweets” and “the history of the tea ceremony.” Caring for me, they stopped eating, looked at me intently, and listened to my talk. After the workshop was over, I saw the leftover sweets and thought, “Oh, I’m so sorry! I should have given them more time to eat them! Or they could have eaten them while listening to me talk.” I’m so sorry.
Dear Róisín and Kris, It was a pleasure spending time with you both and I wish we could have had more conversations. I would be delighted to have you stay at my home for a night whenever you are next in Japan. I hope your trip to Japan is filled with fruitful and enjoyable experiences. With warm regards, Aki & Naoko at Komurasaki An
