I came to one of the largest Zen temples in Europe to participate in a 7-day mindfulness retreat. The scale of the event was amazing, with 1,000 people from 20 countries gathering in the first week alone. During the event, I was blessed with the opportunity to give a Matcha workshop. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Sister Chai Trai Nghiem Akemi Uchida. 🙏
Trying Anko paste
With our teacher’s picture
Thank you for listening very seriously
I am incredibly pleased to provide people from around the world with mindfulness matcha.
A sister showed me her whisk
I showed my group mindfulness matcha, too.
We drove 1000 km from Zurich to the Plum Village in East France. It was worth it!
She is a monk’s apprentice and a former IT technician. Nice talking to her.
We are proud of our Japanese culture with long and rich heritage through our parents and being born in Japan. Each day we spend our lives in Switzerland, we appreciate what we have inherited.
What if we are taking our heritage for granted and it is actually on the verge of extinction?
We would like to express our deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in the Noto Peninsula earthquake in January 2024, and our thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and communities who were affected by the natural disaster.
Disaster recovery around Wajima city has not progressed much.
We would like to dedicate our first World Matcha Forum to the Wajima lacquerware community.
All proceeds from the event will be donated to “Wajima Lacquerware Industry Association”, and we would like to encourage all who would like to support the recovery of the lacquerware association to participate in this event.
We will publish the details of donation after the event.
[Event] World Matcha Forum – Collection of Noto Earthquake recovery funds
[Language] English
[Location] Online (Zoom)
[Date & Time] Saturday, 19 October 2024 at 15:00 CET
[Tickets] https://world-matcha-forum.peatix.com/
Early discount is available until 31 July for JPY 2,500. There is a limited number. Once the discount tickets are sold out, the tickets will be available at JPY 3,000.
In addition, we would like to host such Matcha events annually and for at least 10 years.
This is a great opportunity for us to give back to the communities, meet new kimono friends and foster personal growth at the same time. We would like to make this an enjoyable annual event and looking forward to your participation.
Incidentally, the name “World Matcha Forum” takes after the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland 😄
[Agenda]
– Short introduction of the hosts
– Objectives of the event
– Why we are hosting the event
*Feeling guilty of playing ignorant, just like an SEP, “something we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s Somebody Else’s Problem. (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)” while earthquakes continue to erupt frequently in Japan
It is not unexpected for an earthquake to erupt, it can happen anywhere in Japan
*What is the current situation after the Noto earthquake?
*Very little progress on disaster recovery
*We’d like to collect recovery funds and donate to Wajima Lacquerware Industry Association
– Quiz “Matcha and Wajima lacquerware”
History of Wajima Lacquerware
– Short lecture on “how to serve flavorful matcha for guests”
– Moment of silence “Prayers to the deceased and hopes for the continuation of Wajima lacquerware activities”
– Fundraising and our upcoming activities
* How to donate (Japan and outside of Japan)
* Our plans to contribute to communities in the future
* Invitation to join our FB group World Matcha Forum
– Closing remarks
Guinness World Records? Tea making at 3883 meters!
My friend A-chan from junior high school came from Japan,
We decided to go to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn.
We decided to make tea on the way,
So, my first apprentice, Akemi, and I went to Zurich
We drove 4 hours from Zurich to Zermatt.
Usually, the weather in Switzerland is not as bad as it was this year.
The weather in Switzerland had been bad from April to June,
I was a little worried a week before the departure 😅.
But when I arrived there, I was surprised to see the Matterhorn clearly and distinctly.
I rushed up to the 3883 meter point by lift and gondola,
As I expected, the temperature was minus 😆.
We had no choice but to make matcha (powdered green tea) in the ice cave 🤩.
I have been to Zermatt many times, but this will be a memory I will never forget.
Matterhorn and me
Matterhorn and us
Matterhorn Glacier Paradise
Matterhorn
Tea party in Zermatt
“Do you know how to brew a good cup of matcha?”
I would like to announce my charity Event “World Matcha Forum”
【Date & Time】October 16, 15:00(CET)~.
【Event Details】
Me and my friend, Ms. Miki, who also lives in Switzerland and is perfect bilingual in English, in support of the Noto Earthquake Reconstruction, will be held at ZOOM.
【How to join】
The event page is now available. Please see the details. https://facebook.com/events/s/26014469798199164/
Early bird discount tickets are
2,500 yen until July 31. The number of tickets is limited.
Once they are gone, the price will be 3000 yen. https://peatix.com/sales/event/4024859/tickets
【Charity destination】
100% of the proceeds from the event will go to
Wajima-Nuri Lacquer Ware Industry Association.
We will disclose all the details of the money transfer.
【About World Matcha Forum】
We would like to continue this event once a year for 10 years,
I would like to make this an event that is both profitable and enjoyable and that will also allow me to make friends worldwide.
Thank you very much for your cooperation.
By the way, the World Matcha Forum forum is a copy of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 💦
Kimono Afternoon Tea Tea Party will be held in Osaka on Sunday, May 5.
Date and Time】5/5 3:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Place: A private room on the executive floor of the 5-star hotel “The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Osaka Midosuji. You will surely feel uplifted in this special space that is not accessible to the general public!
Part 1: Afternoon tea will be served on the executive floor.
Macarons, sandwiches, 2 kinds of cakes, breads, dried fruits, etc. can be taken freely. Coffee, tea, orange juice, grapefruit juice, red and white wine, shochu, whiskey, beer, sparkling wine, and liqueurs that you can make your own cocktails with free drinks at no extra charge.
Part 2: Move to a private room on the EXECUTIVE floor for matcha tea in a quiet space.
You will learn how to use Kaigami (Japanese paper used for tea ceremony), how to look at a tea bowl, and how to enjoy Matcha.
Fee: 7,500 yen. There are only a few seats left. Please register by DM as soon as possible.
Please send an email to info ( at )kimono-club.ch
Please register as soon as possible by sending an email to or by DM on Instagram,
Please send us an email to or send us a DM on instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/sushi_yoko_kimono/
https://www.instagram.com/sushi_yoko_com/
Tea ceremony at a table in a 5-star hotel in Osaka
Tea ceremony at a table in a 5-star hotel in Osaka
I started holding monthly Kimono Lunches in Zurich in January 2015.
I wanted to do something exciting for everyone, even if it was just going out in a kimono.
At the last kimono lunch party in Osaka, We had a tea ceremony in a private room on the hotel’s executive floor.
This time we held it in a suite room of a five-star hotel. The European-style furnishings matched the kimonos very well. And the theme this time was camellias. A camellia tea bowl.
The main pastry is “Tamatsubaki”, a famous pastry from my hometown of Himeji. Golden tea bowls were brought from Switzerland. 💦.
And I wrote thank-you notes on Japanese paper. I handed them out to everyone.
I hope to meet you again in May. Or I will show you online how to serve matcha.
This kimono meetup will be broadcast on YouTube as well!
We were thrilled to have Hong Kong residents join us for the first time at our last Live!
When we have often met online, we feel like friends even though we have never met in person.
When you participate in our classes many times, you will be able to wear kimonos.
You will be able to wear the kimono naturally and skillfully.
We hope you will join us again and again.
I especially want to thank those who have joined us despite the time difference!
Once again, the number of participants will be limited to approximately 20, so if you are interested in attending, please register as soon as possible.
Again, we would be happy to connect further with various people worldwide.
I met Sachiko-san, a resident of Canada who has been practicing the Urasenke style of tea ceremony since her teenage years, through the audio app Clubhouse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, we have loosely stayed in touch, and she has participated in online kimono tea parties.
After attending an online kimono tea party in April, she promptly applied for the instructor qualification course for the Table Style Tea Ceremony Tsubaki on the same day. Her decision-making skills were impressive! She completed the curriculum for Table Style Tea in three days, including seven lectures and 15 and a half hours of practice with me through Zoom.
Four days later, there was an event at a tea house the following Saturday, and she attended it.
This course is ideal for beginners or those who need to perform tea ceremonies at short notice. While learning the tea ceremony is a lifelong pursuit, having clear goals in sight enables even beginners to do their best.