Home stay and Japanese Tea Ceremony

We got up early on Saturday so we could leave on our homestay with a Japanese family. My mama-san (Japanese mother) is name Junko (with a long u sound). Her husband is a university professor and was at a conference so it was just the two of us at her home this weekend.

We began the visit by making lunch, okonomiyaki, but prepared Osaki style where everything is mixed together rather than layered. It was delicious! I was a little nervous when she said she was adding squid but cooked squid is much better than raw!

When I enter her home, I removed my shoes and put on slippers like everyone in Japan does. When I enter the bathroom, I remove my slippers and put on a different pair of slippers used only in the bathroom. When I enter rooms with the straw tatami mats, I must remove my slippers and go with stocking feet. It's hard to remember every time you leave one room for another!



We ran some errands and got to stop at the grocery store. It was very similar in size to a SuperTarget and that surprised me! I thought it would be much smaller. There were some very different foods but many foods that would be very familiar. Look carefully at the photos.









Junko invited her friend over for dinner, a combination of boiled items.



Then they surprised me by dressing me in a kimono for a traditional tea ceremony. They were shocked that this was my first tea ceremony. You can see that I'm a little taller than most Japanese women. The white "slip" is suppose to go down to my ankles!



The tea ceremony is a special ceremony that follows a very precise routine. I'm not sure what the meaning of every part is but I enjoyed the green tea. I first started with a small candy treat that I placed on a small stack of paper used as a plate. I was taught how to hold the cup with one hand underneath, the other cupped around the cup. I had to turn the cup in a circle before sipping the tea.



I watched carefully as Junko prepared the tea one cup at a time. In fact, there's only a small amount in the bottom of the cup. She put some green tea powder in the bottom of the cup, added boiling water, then whisked it quickly for at least a minute.



And then I had a try at it. I am proud to say that Junko said the tea was well prepared. I'm not sure how I could mess up but they did say that the tea can be prepared poorly.



And then it was time for bed. I was so tired!