Hello from Abracadabra Tours!
Abracadabra Tours recently planned and ran a special “English Tea Ceremony Experience” at Tobu Department Store Ikebukuro. It was a wonderfully indulgent collaboration: the hugely popular Japanese tea café Ginza Fukurokuju provided an original sweet along with carefully selected matcha.
Exploring the World of Tea Ceremony in English
On the day, an experienced Japanese instructor taught the history and etiquette of the tea ceremony in both English and Japanese. When the instructor performed a beautiful temae (the ritual preparation of tea), the participants watched with rapt attention.
Hearing directly — in their own language, or in English as a shared language — about the spirit of hospitality and the meaning behind each gesture of the etiquette gave everyone a deeper connection to Japanese traditional culture.
Whisking Your Own Matcha, Paired with an Exquisite Sweet
After the explanation, it was finally time to try it for themselves. Participants picked up a chasen (bamboo tea whisk) and whisked their own bowl of matcha.
The gentle sweetness of the original confection made specially by Ginza Fukurokuju was a perfect match for the fragrant matcha they had whisked themselves, and the room was full of smiles.
Kind Words from Our Participants
We received some lovely comments from the guests who joined us that day. Here are a few of them.
“I came with my 7-year-old daughter. Getting to whisk our own tea made for a really wonderful memory.” (USA, 30s)
“Drinking matcha together with people from overseas felt so refreshing!” (Japan, 20s)
“I came for Fukurokuju's original sweet. It was delicious, and getting matcha as well left me completely satisfied.” (Japan, 40s)
For guests visiting from abroad and for guests from Japan alike, it turned out to be an event enjoyed as a refreshing new experience: sharing tea together across nationalities.
Event Details
- Date: February 22, 2026
- Venue: Tobu Department Store Ikebukuro
- Special cooperation: Ginza Fukurokuju, Japanese tea café
- Language: English
Abracadabra Tours will keep creating programs that let people all over the world experience authentic Japanese culture in a way that is easy to follow and fun.
👉 Watch the highlights video from the day（https://www.instagram.com/p/DVLDe5kkbsl/）
👉 See all Abracadabra Tours tea ceremony programs and book here（https://abracadabra-tours.rezio.shop/en-US/product/QTEIS4）