Tea, as we all know, is very important to Japanese culture. Today we saw a traditional tea ceremony where a host makes and drinks tea with her guest(s). The process was slow, but showed tremendous respect for both the host and the guest (like wearing kimonos, bowing, cleaning the utensils even tough they are shining clean, or asking permission before drinking the tea). Sweets were served before the tea so that the sweet flavor of the dessert can be in "harmony" with the biter taste of the tea. This tradtional tea is considered light and is freshly grinded from green tea powder. I would have to say I liked the traditional unsweetened tea. Plus, its also healthy.
Next, we got to see a koto ceremony. A koto is a traditional Japanese instrument about 180 centimeters long with 13 strings made from thread stretched across the lenght. It's played by plucking. The musician wears an ivory or plastic picks on the end of their fingers. Thailand has a very similar instrument too. The sound of this instrument is the sound that you may have heard on traditional Japanese music. We got a chance to play twinkle twinkle little star. But yup...we butchered it.
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