Camellia Tea Ceremony GARDEN
Camellia Tea Ceremony GARDEN
5
About
Camellia GARDEN’s striking surroundings provide a uniquely beautiful location to experience private tea ceremony in Kyoto. Our tea house is over 100 years old and situated amongst stunning gardens, less than a minute's walk from the serenity of Ryoan-ji. It’s the perfect place to enjoy this centuries old tradition.
Duration: < 1 hour
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Neighbourhood: Northern Kyoto
Hot springs and historic temples characterize the leafy landscapes of Northern Kyoto. Acres of tranquil residential streets are interrupted by some of Kyoto's most gorgeous architectural gems, including the majestic Golden Pavilion of Kinkakuji, the serene artistry of the Ryoanji Temple rock gardens, and the bold red paint across the structures of Enryakuji Temple. Once a religious core of the city, the district now boasts some of its most remote and peaceful hot springs, as well as a few of its best family-run mom-and-pop restaurants. A blend of extremely local at its outskirts, and highly peopled at its tourist centers, Northern Kyoto nonetheless retains a halcyon air in harmony with nature.
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5.0
130 reviews
Excellent
124
Very good
3
Average
2
Poor
1
Terrible
0
Bianca K
8 contributions
Nov 2019 • Couples
What a beautiful way to spend a perfect autumn afternoon in Kyoto! Our hose Atsuko was just amazing. So personable and outgoing. So knowledgeable and hospitable.
We chose the private experience at the Ryoanji gardens tea house where we were brought into the beautiful home and sat in a lounge area with views of a beautiful garden beginning to show its autumn colours. Atsuko introduced herself and went through a brief history of the home, tea ceremonies and the Kyoto area. She made us feel so comfortable and spoke perfect English with a great sense of humour.
After being given a small sweet treat to sweeten our palette, we were taken into the peaceful traditional room and sat on tatami mats with only the sound of the water boiling. Atsuko described the process beforehand so we knew what to expect and so she could proceed without interruption. She described the importance of the decorative setting of the room and crockery. And went ahead with the ceremony.
It was incredibly peaceful and beautiful watching how delicately but deliberately she performed each step and at the end we were able to have a go at making our own cup of tea.
Absolutely worth the time and money spent and we coupled this with a visit to the rock formations at Ryoanji and a few other sites in the area.
Thank you Atsuko. I hope I've remembered and spelt your name correctly. This was definitely a highlight of our trip and we would recommend this to anyone hoping for an immerisive traditional experience and some yummy tea!
We chose the private experience at the Ryoanji gardens tea house where we were brought into the beautiful home and sat in a lounge area with views of a beautiful garden beginning to show its autumn colours. Atsuko introduced herself and went through a brief history of the home, tea ceremonies and the Kyoto area. She made us feel so comfortable and spoke perfect English with a great sense of humour.
After being given a small sweet treat to sweeten our palette, we were taken into the peaceful traditional room and sat on tatami mats with only the sound of the water boiling. Atsuko described the process beforehand so we knew what to expect and so she could proceed without interruption. She described the importance of the decorative setting of the room and crockery. And went ahead with the ceremony.
It was incredibly peaceful and beautiful watching how delicately but deliberately she performed each step and at the end we were able to have a go at making our own cup of tea.
Absolutely worth the time and money spent and we coupled this with a visit to the rock formations at Ryoanji and a few other sites in the area.
Thank you Atsuko. I hope I've remembered and spelt your name correctly. This was definitely a highlight of our trip and we would recommend this to anyone hoping for an immerisive traditional experience and some yummy tea!
Written 21 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear b_kadzi,
Greetings from Kyoto, and a huge thank you from the team at Camellia Garden for such a thoughtful and generous review.
Atsuko passes on her very best wishes, and of course hopes you will have an opportunity to visit us again when you are next in Japan.
I am certain that future guests will find your review extremely useful. Some visitors are unsure of what to expect when they arrive at the teahouse, so your detailed explanation will set many minds at rest I'm sure.
It's wonderful to know that we added to the memories of your time in Kyoto, and we look forward to sharing another bowl of tea in the near future.
Best wishes!
Written 25 November 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Georgina
Adelaide, Australia158 contributions
Jul 2018 • Friends
There are two camellia garden tea ceremony locations in Kyoto-one near Gion and the other a 30 minute drive from city centre. Make sure your taxi driver takes you to the right one.
We booked a private ceremony and while the host was very nice and parts of it were interesting it was underwhelming and simply not worth the money. 50 minutes at $US60 plus $40 on taxi was a very expensive cup of tea.
We booked a private ceremony and while the host was very nice and parts of it were interesting it was underwhelming and simply not worth the money. 50 minutes at $US60 plus $40 on taxi was a very expensive cup of tea.
Written 13 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Georgina,
Thank you for joining us at Camellia Garden.
It's most unfortunate that your journey to Camellia Garden was less than smooth. Sadly, there are some things out of our hands and taxi drivers are one of those.
We are confident that the highly competitive price of our sessions represents excellent value, whilst reflecting the time, care and consideration each of our instructors puts into their performance. Please let me correct one point, your experience was indeed a full hour, as we always give at Camellia Garden. Also, we talked a lot about tea ceremony and how you enjoyed Japan and culture. I'm very sad that you would give me this rating.
Taxi fares in any country can be quite expensive, but we are also lucky at Camellia Garden to sit beside a bus stop with frequent and convenient bus services, and to be just a short walk from the traditional 'randen' tram line. Camellia Garden is located very near to some of Kyoto's most popular and famous destinations, such as 'Kinkakuji' Golden Pavilion, Ryoan-ji, and Ninna-Ji, so it is also common for our guests to schedule their visit alongside trips to those places. Our staff are always on hand to answer questions (in English) about accessibility, and if guests are unsure of the best way to get to our tearooms we will be more than happy to help. It's regrettable that in this case the cost of travel affected your enjoyment.
While we understand that not everyone enjoys Matcha, tea ceremony is much more than the act of drinking tea. Our hope is for all our guests to enjoy the traditional surroundings, the house and gardens, sweets and the professional demonstration of this important element of Japanese culture. Plus of course the chance to make matcha themselves!
Thank you for taking the time to write a review, and we hope you enjoyed your trip to Japan.
For others reading, I would like to add a little extra information about reservations and directions. Most bookings with Camellia are made via the online booking service on our website. We also take direct reservations by email, phone, or as in this case bookings can be organised via a hotel.
For all reservations we provide detailed information about which of our two locations has been reserved, and detailed ways to get there. When reservations are made via a hotel, the hotel staff will know the location they have reserved and be able to help with directions. These details can also be found on our website.
Unfortunately, for reasons we cannot know, in this instance our guest was taken to 'Camellia Flower' in Higashiyama instead of 'Camellia Garden' for which they had booked. Once the team at Flower understood the situation, they organised for the private ceremony at Garden to be rescheduled at a convenient time for our guest. We know our visitors often have limited time in Kyoto so we try to be as flexible as possible when a mix-up occurs, even if it means our staff opening our doors earlier or squeezing in a late session. In this case we were very glad to be able to see Georgina the next morning, before she left Kyoto.
Written 15 July 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Morgan Hagerty Stach
Spokane, WA21 contributions
Feb 2019 • Couples
We (two couples) had a wonderful private tea ceremony with Maya! We enjoyed listening to her give a robust introduction and quick background on the history of tea ceremonies in Japan, then got to relax as she performed the beautiful ceremony and we drank the lovely matcha. The house/garden that the ceremony took place in was gorgeous, and Maya was absolutely charming and engaging! Highly recommend this experience for anyone looking to relax and learn a bit more about an intimate and sophisticated part of Japanese culture.
Written 19 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Morgan,
Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful review. Maya will be thrilled to hear such kind words, and to know that you had such an enjoyable time here.
We are very proud of our teahouse and gardens, and it is a real pleasure for us to be able to share them with guests from all over the world.
Be sure to pop in and see us again when (*not if*) you are back in Kyoto!
Written 20 February 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
garretttompkins
Washington DC, DC6 contributions
Dec 2017 • Couples
My wife and I just had our first tea ceremony at this establishment and it was really amazing. My wife donned a traditional kimono and our host, Maya, began explaining the history of Japanese Tea Ceremonies and the general procedure. Right off the bat I can say the people here speak amazing English. My wife and I are learning Japanese but it was nice to not have to play charades to have this experience.
The staff are absolutely amazing. I accidentally scheduled the wrong day and Aya was able to quickly reschedule me at a time most convenient for me. Then the day of we got lost using the bus system (it's a bit confusing) and they still helped me get there and even though we were rudely late, they still gave us an amazing experience and we stayed later than our scheduled time.
If you're the type of person looking for a traditional Japanese cultural experience, a Tea Ceremony is essentially required and I cannot recommend this establishment enough. Even if you just want to visit famous sites, like Ryoanji Temple and Kinkakuji Temple, I strongly recommend you attend an afternoon Tea Ceremony as both of these temples are extremely close (walking distance).
We did not attend Camellia's Flower location (near Kiyumizudera and Ninenzaka district) but if they are even slightly like the people at the GARDEN location, I'm sure you wont regret it. We chose GARDEN because we wanted a private Ceremony so it could be more personal and educational.
The staff are absolutely amazing. I accidentally scheduled the wrong day and Aya was able to quickly reschedule me at a time most convenient for me. Then the day of we got lost using the bus system (it's a bit confusing) and they still helped me get there and even though we were rudely late, they still gave us an amazing experience and we stayed later than our scheduled time.
If you're the type of person looking for a traditional Japanese cultural experience, a Tea Ceremony is essentially required and I cannot recommend this establishment enough. Even if you just want to visit famous sites, like Ryoanji Temple and Kinkakuji Temple, I strongly recommend you attend an afternoon Tea Ceremony as both of these temples are extremely close (walking distance).
We did not attend Camellia's Flower location (near Kiyumizudera and Ninenzaka district) but if they are even slightly like the people at the GARDEN location, I'm sure you wont regret it. We chose GARDEN because we wanted a private Ceremony so it could be more personal and educational.
Written 22 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear garretttompkins,
It was a pleasure to welcome you and your wife to Garden. Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful review.
We want all our guests to feel at home while they are with us, and it is rewarding to know that you so thoroughly enjoyed yourselves.
I will certainly pass on your kind words to Aya and Maya.
Every now and again guests are delayed or unfortunately forced to cancel. In such situations we will try our best to accommodate guests when we can! I’m happy we were still able to welcome you and share tea ceremony with you.
(For future visitors who might be reading: we try very hard to be flexible if guests are delayed, but we cannot guarantee we will always be able to fit people in, especially during busy seasons, so please do check that you are booking the location you want, and ensure that the booking confirmation email shows that.)
We have only recently launched the Kimono plan you enjoyed at Garden, and we are excited to be able to bring this extra level of authenticity to the whole experience. In most formal tea ceremonies, it is typical for guests to dress in Kimono, and we are very pleased that we can now offer this service at Garden. We also feel very lucky to have a team that are so knowledgeable and passionate about Kimono here to dress our guests.
Again, thank you so much for review. We do hope that you will return if ever you are in Kyoto again.
Written 9 July 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Austin Chinen-Smtih
5 contributions
Jun 2017 • Couples
I actually have visited the other Camellia location two times prior (both amazing experiences) but their newest location, the Garden, is an absolute must see and do while spending time in Kyoto. The entire area just breathes traditional Japanese culture and you'll feel as though you've been whisked back in time as you seat yourself in the beautiful century old home. Lush gardens are to be seen from every windowed area which brings an air of tranquility truly unique to Japan. Lovely, yet minimal, decor that is found inside fulfills the ascetic. Atsuko is widely knowledgeable and as a plus to foreign visitors speaks fluent english. Very kind and extremely skilled in her craft you'll no doubt be captivated and drawn to a sense of meditation while embarking on the ceremony. I'll be certain to be making a visit again!
Written 25 June 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Austin,
Thank you for taking the time to visit Camellia Garden.
It's always a pleasure to see a familiar face returning, and I will be sure to pass your kind words on to Atsuko.
The team at Camellia are extremely proud of the house and gardens, and it is always a joy sharing this slice of Japanese culture with guests. We do hope that each visit has given you a fresh perspective on tea ceremony.
Everyone here is very much looking forward to welcoming you again.
Best wishes.
Written 12 July 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ryan
19 contributions
Dec 2023 • Family
We really enjoyed the tea ceremony here. We learned a lot, felt very relaxed, and enjoyed being there. Experiencing the tea ceremony in an environment like the Garden Teahouse was very soothing, calming - something we really enjoyed. Norie-san was an amazing host. She was so kind, helpful and clear in explaining everything, especially with our son in helping him make the tea.
I definitely recommend this place. The combination of the people, plus the environment made the tea ceremony a really amazing experience.
I definitely recommend this place. The combination of the people, plus the environment made the tea ceremony a really amazing experience.
Written 6 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
themadmadmadeline
Seattle, WA4 contributions
Oct 2023 • Couples
This was one of the highlights of our time in Japan. Our host (we missed her name, she was lovely, wore an autumn leaf kimono and is from Osaka) was an absolute treasure - she was delightful and knowledgable and lovely to talk to and she made our entire day. She was a beautiful conversationalist and the tea ceremony moved me to tears with its intentionality and purpose. Whole-heartedly recommend this experience!
Written 24 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Melanie L
10 contributions
Mar 2023 • Friends
This was absolutely amazing and beyond worth the price. It was so nice to learn about japanese tea making and the host was so so so nice! It was a moving experience
Written 12 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sara P
9 contributions
Nov 2021 • Couples
Everything about this experience was amazing. A beautiful ceremony to be apart of. Our host, Nao, was informative, funny, and kind. She spoke excellent English as well. The location was beautiful and tranquil. We plan on coming back again with family in the future. It is a must stop of you plan on visiting kyoto. Thank you again for the excellent time!
Written 19 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gary C
Sydney, Australia3 contributions
Nov 2019 • Couples
Our private tea ceremony with Keiko was truly amazing. Keiko met us at the front door of the beautiful house and gave us a very warm welcome.
Keiko gave us history of the house, the tea ceremony and also shared her tea ceremony deep experience.
Keiko then showed us how tea was made and then we got to make tea for each other.
Highly recommend taking the time out in Kyoto to do this as you will leave feeling enriched.
Keiko gave us history of the house, the tea ceremony and also shared her tea ceremony deep experience.
Keiko then showed us how tea was made and then we got to make tea for each other.
Highly recommend taking the time out in Kyoto to do this as you will leave feeling enriched.
Written 18 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Gary,
The warmest of greetings from Kyoto.
Thank you for taking the time to write a review, and for letting other guests know what to expect from their time with us.
I have passed on your kind words to Keiko, and she send her regards.
It is exceptionally heartwarming to hear how much you enjoyed your time here, and we truly hope you have an opportunity to return in the near future. We will be waiting for you.
Best wishes.
Written 20 November 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Is it necessary to book reservation? unfortunately, having very compressed times in the day, we don't know if we can until the day itself...
Written 29 July 2018
Hi Francesca G
Thank you for your message. For a private tea ceremony at Camellia GARDEN, a reservation is a must since we need to order sweets specially.
If you are not sure about the time, we recommend a group tea ceremony at Camellia FLOWER in Ninenzaka, near Kiyomizu temple. For a group tea ceremony, we can accommodate as long as we have rooms available. Please check our website for the latest availability and locations.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Best regards,
Atsuko
Written 30 July 2018
Veronica A
Sant Cugat del Valles, Spain
I would like to make a tea ceremony. We are 3 adults and a 7 years old boy. How much does it costs? And how long is it?
Thanks, Veronica
Written 5 February 2018
Dear Veronica,
Thank you for your inquiry. It costs 6000 yen per person and takes about 60 minutes, includes an explanation, a traditional Japanese sweet, a tea ceremony demonstration and a hands-on experience to make a bowl of matcha by yourselves.
Please make a reservation via our website.
We look forward to seeing you!
Atsuko
Written 6 February 2018
Anyone know how do I get to the tea garden from Ryoanji ?
Is there any tickets or entrance fee to the tea garden ?
Written 19 September 2017
It isnt a public garden, its a private home where you make a booking to experience a traditional tea ceremony. the tea ceremony is performed by a traditional japanese garden belonging to the home. i think bookings need to be made ahead of time.
Written 19 September 2017
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