Tea Ceremony & Mt. Fuji Sweets Making in Ikegami, Tokyo
In this mindful experience, meditate and learn to make beautiful Mt. Fuji-shaped nerikiri confectioneries and matcha in a Japanese-style room in the serene Ikegami Baien garden.
Highlights
Connect with traditional Japanese culture in this mindful experience that includes a stroll through nature, meditation, traditional sweets making and a tea ceremony in a Japanese-style room
Explore the relaxing lush grounds of the Ikegami Baien Plum Garden, located near Honmonji Temple in Southern Tokyo
Make two nerikiri confectioneries and engage all senses in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, then enjoy your sweets 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
The tranquil grounds of Ikegami Baien Garden are the perfect setting for this experience that combines mindfulness with traditional sweets-making and tea ceremony.
After meeting your host at the meeting point, you’ll start the experience by strolling together through the garden. You’ll then enter a traditional Japanese-style room overlooking the main pond, where you’ll engage in a calming meditation. Next, it’ll be time to prepare traditional confectioneries and participate in a tea ceremony. At the end of the experience, you will enjoy your sweet creations with matcha.
You’ll be learning to make nerikiri, a traditional Japanese sweet (wagashi) that is made by combining white bean paste and glutinous rice flour into a soft dough. Famous for its intricate motifs, which vary to reflect the beauty of the seasons, nerikiri is commonly served at Japanese tea ceremonies, and its delicate sweetness is said to balance the bitter taste of matcha perfectly. In this class, you'll make Mt. Fuji-shaped nerikiri.
Experience Flow:
- Meet at the waiting room next to the reception of Ikegami Baien Plum Garden
- Stroll the garden
- Enter the Japanese-style room and engage in a relaxing meditation practice
- Nerikiri-making demonstration and workshop
- Tea ceremony
- Matcha tasting session
- Dismissal at Ikegami Baien (you can stay in the garden after the experience if you’d like)
In February, before the highly-awaited cherry blossom season, Ikegami Baien Plum Garden anticipates the spring with a fragrant display of plum blossoms (ume). Home to over 350 plum trees, the garden sees most of its visitors during this time, but it is worth visiting in any season.
Inclusions
Initial stroll through the garden
Two pieces of nerikiri wagashi
Admission to the garden
English recipe
Traditional tea ceremony
Exclusions
Transportation to and from the site
Meeting Point and Meeting Time
Meet your host at the waiting room next to the reception of Ikegami Baien Plum Garden, 10 min 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)
Late arrivals will be treated as a same-day cancellation, and the experience price will not be reimbursed
Cancellation Policy
Cancel your booking at least 2 days 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.
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 30 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 1 |
10 meals
Learn how to make wagashi, traditional Japanese sweets! Learn about its history and enjoy crafting one yourself, guided by an expert. Enjoy these morsels of tradition and art with Uji matcha tea, and bring your creations home as a nice souvenir.
Have 30 minutes to spare? If so, why not learn to make traditional Japanese sweets (wagashi)? In this fun short class with a friendly instructor near Aoto Station, you’ll use healthy, plant-based ingredients to make 2 types of nerikiri sweets.
Only two stops from Shibuya is Sangenjaya, a retro area bustling with shops and cafes in Tokyo’s Setagaya district. Learn to make nerikiri sweets with Sakura, a certified wagashi instructor, and enjoy your treats with matcha tea in her tatami room!
With the careful guidance of a certified wagashi expert, you can learn how to make nerikiri wagashi, or, as we like to call it, edible art. Shape the dough into a seasonal motif and enjoy with a cup of freshly brewed matcha.