Urasenke Tea House

If you are interested in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony then this is the place to be! Very informative and fun! Definitely a hidden gem in Waikiki.

Really cool experience! Despite being in the middle of it all in Waikiki, you feel like you are completely separate from the hustle and bustle in the quiet grounds of the tea house. You start off with a educational video about tea ceremony before they take you to the tea room where you remove your shoes and sit on your knees (or side/​hip if you can’t hack it!). This is the shorter version of the tea ceremony with the thinner green tea/​matcha and sweet biscuit/​wafer.
I think they only do tea ceremonies on certain days/​times and you have to book ahead, but definitely worth it.

So Kissaten is a nice modern tea house … and to experience a real Japanese tea house & ceremony (Chanoyu), can go to the Urasenke Tea House located on a side street in Waikiki across from the post office. The main office of Urasenke Foundation in Hawai’i is located on Beretania but I really like this tea house a lot. It is good to call ahead because if I remember right, this tea house only has tea ceremony on 2 mornings a week. There is a gated entrance on the left side and it is a bit subtle. As you walk thru the gate, the first door on the right is the entrance where you can register and pay a donation. Maybe take socks with you but if not I think they provide them. Traditionally tabi (split toe socks) are worn. There is first a cultural educational video about the tea ceremony, after which you can experience the real tea ceremony. In the tea room (chashitsu) there will be a scroll (kakejiku) and a flower (chabana) which have been thoughtfully selected by the host and carry a special meaning. You can ask about these at the end of the ceremony and it is good manners to admire/​compliment them as well. Tea ceremony typically begins with a sweet (kashi) which will be offered with a bow (shin bow), it is polite to bow the same way in return and accept the sweet, a small wafer, offered on Kaishi paper. You may then fold the paper over and make one break. As the host returns to make the tea, the wafer may be eaten. The host will then offer each guest a bowl of (macha) green powdered tea with a bow and the bow should be returned by the guest and the tea accepted. The guest may then drink the tea. It is polite to drink all of the tea. Asking for seconds will delight the host as well. Upon finishing the tea, it is polite to examine the bowl on the mat, then can pick up the bowl and examine in both hands. Then return the bowl to the mat and another bow. At the end of the ceremony you may also ask (about) to see the utensils (haiken) used in the preparation. If you are not sure what to do/​say during the ceremony, you can watch the head guest (shoukyaku). And no worries! :) … it is your first experience and you are learning so it doesn’t have to be perfect. I really love Chanoyu and feel very blessed to have met and talked with Soshitsu Sen XV, the Grand Tea Master, who has helped to spread and share Chanoyu. Through Chanoyu the pace of life is slowed, there is a simplicity and harmony that is found. A state of being present abounds and though the ceremony is set, Chanoyu enables the mind to adjust and be flexible, to work out a solution, arriving at a state of peace, respect and tranquility. Domo arigatou goziamasu Soshitsu Sen XV and Urasenke Foundation! :)