Nakajima no Ochaya ...
... a very traditional Japanese tea house dating from 1704, in the middle of Hama-rikyu Onshi-teien, a cool little garden oasis in the middle of busy Tokyo, for a little more tea and traditional sweets. Very regimented way of drinking matcha according to the traditional way, where you need to spin the cup in a particular direction a certain number of times, and drink the matcha from the front of the cup. The tea must also be finished in two to three long sips, and only after first finishing the sweets.
In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Fol... ... read more 
