※これからたまに英語と日本語で書くことにしました。微妙に内容が異なりますが、ご容赦ください。
*I will start writing my blog in English and Japanese sometimes.
We spent about 2 weeks in Japan in April for my son's spring break plus an extra week off from school. I find early spring in Japan is one of the best times to visit as it is not cold or hot but just right (the other best time is autumn). We are accustomed to the weather in the Pacific Northwest, so 60-70F felt just great.
It was our first time to visit Kamakura in Kanagawa prefecture, and we totally loved it! There is nothing better than spending peaceful moments under trees flaunt new glorious green leaves in spring, and Kamakura was just perfect for that. It is compact, not busy, and entrance fee to beautiful temples and shrines was much cheaper compared to Kyoto near my hometown, Kobe.
After my mom joined us in Kamakura, we visited many temples that we only knew from history classes in school years ago and classic stories about Minamotono Yoritomo and his clan.
One of the things that my so didn't want to miss at those temples was their tea service. I can’t remember when it all started, but he really enjoys drinking Matcha and eating beautifully handcrafted traditional Japanese sweets (Wagashi). As we walked around the temples, he read the signs and found where it was served.
Here are some pics of Matcha and Wagashi we had at some temples in Kamakura.
So when I learned my son's Japanese Saturday School was going to offer a tea ceremony class after school, I knew he wanted to be enrolled. I was right. He was so excited and asked me to sign him up right away.
As I expected, he loved his first tea ceremony class last Saturday. He practices making frothy Matcha at home with his own Chasen, a bamboo tea whisk, that his Japanese grandma got him from Japan. It’s not easy, but he likes it anyway.
4月の中旬に2週間、日本に行ってきました。新緑の美しい、とってもいい季節でした。
日本が大好きな息子はかなり喜んでいましたが、鎌倉のお寺で抹茶と和菓子をいただく機会が多かったので、ますます抹茶と和菓子が好きになったようです。
鎌倉でお寺に行っては抹茶を点てていただいて和菓子や餡蜜を・・・
幸せ♪
お寺の方に、
「まあ！抹茶がお好きなんですね！茶道をたしなむようになっていただけたら嬉しいです」
とか言われたのが心に残っていたのかわかりませんが（きっと和菓子のことだけだと思われます）、そんなわけで、こちらの土曜学校で放課後に茶道クラスが始まり、ウキウキと茶道男子デビュー。かなり楽しんでました。自分の部屋に欲しいものは、畳、そしてドラえもんが寝てるような押入れだそうです。
*I will start writing my blog in English and Japanese sometimes.
We spent about 2 weeks in Japan in April for my son's spring break plus an extra week off from school. I find early spring in Japan is one of the best times to visit as it is not cold or hot but just right (the other best time is autumn). We are accustomed to the weather in the Pacific Northwest, so 60-70F felt just great.
It was our first time to visit Kamakura in Kanagawa prefecture, and we totally loved it! There is nothing better than spending peaceful moments under trees flaunt new glorious green leaves in spring, and Kamakura was just perfect for that. It is compact, not busy, and entrance fee to beautiful temples and shrines was much cheaper compared to Kyoto near my hometown, Kobe.
After my mom joined us in Kamakura, we visited many temples that we only knew from history classes in school years ago and classic stories about Minamotono Yoritomo and his clan.
One of the things that my so didn't want to miss at those temples was their tea service. I can’t remember when it all started, but he really enjoys drinking Matcha and eating beautifully handcrafted traditional Japanese sweets (Wagashi). As we walked around the temples, he read the signs and found where it was served.
Here are some pics of Matcha and Wagashi we had at some temples in Kamakura.
So when I learned my son's Japanese Saturday School was going to offer a tea ceremony class after school, I knew he wanted to be enrolled. I was right. He was so excited and asked me to sign him up right away.
As I expected, he loved his first tea ceremony class last Saturday. He practices making frothy Matcha at home with his own Chasen, a bamboo tea whisk, that his Japanese grandma got him from Japan. It’s not easy, but he likes it anyway.
4月の中旬に2週間、日本に行ってきました。新緑の美しい、とってもいい季節でした。
日本が大好きな息子はかなり喜んでいましたが、鎌倉のお寺で抹茶と和菓子をいただく機会が多かったので、ますます抹茶と和菓子が好きになったようです。
鎌倉でお寺に行っては抹茶を点てていただいて和菓子や餡蜜を・・・
幸せ♪
お寺の方に、
「まあ！抹茶がお好きなんですね！茶道をたしなむようになっていただけたら嬉しいです」
とか言われたのが心に残っていたのかわかりませんが（きっと和菓子のことだけだと思われます）、そんなわけで、こちらの土曜学校で放課後に茶道クラスが始まり、ウキウキと茶道男子デビュー。かなり楽しんでました。自分の部屋に欲しいものは、畳、そしてドラえもんが寝てるような押入れだそうです。