Bridging Cultures Over Tea — How a Mother’s Journey to Japan Brought Her Son Closer to His Dreams
About 10 minutes before the workshop was scheduled to start, I received an email. It said, “I’m in the lobby of the hotel across from Hankyu Arashiyama Station. Are you holding the workshop at this hotel?” Today’s customer was a solo female traveler. I replied, “My tearoom isn’t in the hotel; it’s at my home. I’ll come pick you up at Hankyu Arashiyama Station, so please wait there.”
Solo travel can be very stressful, with the constant worry of miscommunication with strangers or getting lost. However, isn’t that the beauty of travel? Perhaps these experiences lead to bittersweet memories that we cherish when we look back on our journeys.
Ruchika has Indian roots and currently lives in San Jose, California, with her husband and 15-year-old son. Apparently, her husband found Komurasaki An online and signed her up for this tea ceremony workshop. When I asked, “Do you keep in touch with your son while you’re traveling?”, she replied with a bright smile, “Yes, every day!” She added excitedly, “He asks me where I went, what I did, and what I ate. He bombards me with questions!” Her son is very interested in Japanese anime and history and culture. He’s even studying Japanese as a second language at school in the U.S. I’d love for him to experience a tea ceremony with me at my tearoom in Arashiyama someday.
