Sakura Sweets Making & Tea Ceremony in Ikegami Plum Garden
Learn to make traditional Japanese confectioneries shaped like cherry blossoms in this meditative sweets-making class and tea ceremony in Tokyo’s peaceful Ikegami Baien garden.
Highlights
Learn to make sakura-shaped nerikiri wagashi confectioneries in a traditional Japanese room inside the Ikegami Baien Plum Garden
Prepare, mold and shape two nerikiri confectioneries and partake in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, where you can enjoy the sweets you made with matcha
Your English-speaking host is a wagashi instructor passionate about mindfulness and wellbeing
This experience is suitable for vegetarians and those following gluten-free or halal diets
10 meals
Experience Details
Cherry blossom season famously lasts only around two weeks, but its allure continues to captivate year-round. The draw of the ephemeral sakura is so powerful that it’s reflected in countless works of art, from paintings to poems, and, of course, also in traditional Japanese sweets (wagashi). In this sweets-making experience, you’ll make a moist wagashi called nerikiri and partake in a tea ceremony. Celebrated for their intricate motifs, which in this case will feature a delicate cherry blossom flower, nerikiri confectioneries are not too sweet, and, combined with their smooth mouthfeel, are said to complement matcha perfectly.
The beauty of your sakura-shaped sweets will only be rivaled by that of the venue. This workshop takes place in a traditional Japanese-style room inside Ikegami Baien, a peaceful plum garden in Tokyo. Your host will be a wagashi instructor passionate about mindfulness and wellbeing. After a stroll through the garden, you’ll participate in a calming meditation overlooking the main pond before making confectioneries and participating in a tea ceremony. At the end of the experience, you will enjoy your sweet creations with matcha.
Experience Flow:
- After meeting your host, stroll the Ikegami Baien Garden with your host, who will explain more about the garden and the nearby Honmonji Temple
- Enter the Japanese-style room, get an overview of the day’s activities and engage in a relaxing meditation practice
- Nerikiri-making demonstration and workshop
- Tea ceremony
- Matcha and sweets tasting session
- Dismissal at Ikegami Baien (you can stay in the garden after the experience if you’d like)
Ikegami Baien Plum Garden in Southern Tokyo is perhaps known for being home to 350 plum (ume) trees, which bloom beautifully towards the end of February. While the garden is most busy during this time, its tranquil grounds are worth visiting year-round.
Inclusions
Initial stroll through the garden
Two pieces of nerikiri wagashi
English recipe
Traditional tea ceremony
Admission to the garden
Exclusions
Transportation to and from the experience location
Meeting Point and Meeting Time
Meet your host at the waiting room next to the reception of Ikegami Baien Garden, about 10 minutes walking from Nishi-magome Station on the Toei Asakusa Line. More detailed information and a Google Maps link will be provided upon booking.
Remarks
Participants are requested to please eat the wagashi during the experience.
You can opt to take your wagashi to home at your own risk (it’s better to eat them while fresh).
Guests who arrive late will have to pay the entrance fee separately.
Same-day cancellations will not be reimbursed.
You will be sitting on tatami mats, so it is recommended to not wear skirts or tight pants.
Cancellation Policy
Cancel your booking at least 48 hours before the experience start time to receive a full refund minus a 3.2% transaction fee.
Experience Location
Over 14 million residents call Tokyo home. Functioning as Japan's economic and cultural center, it's no surprise the metropolis often appears at the top of travelers' bucket lists. Here, you can find everything from traditional tea houses to futuristic skyscrapers.
I joined this workshop at the Ikegami Baien Plum Garden in Tokyo’s Ota ward. Sayaka-san, who offers sweet-making workshops in Minami-Magome, greeted us at the garden entrance and guided us to a tra...read more
I thoroughly enjoyed the sakura nerikiri class in a charming teahouse nestled in a traditional Japanese garden. The teacher, fluent in English, guided us gently through the art of making these deli...read more
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10 meals
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