Visit the Yumeyakata Gojo Shop in Kyoto to pick out the perfect kimono. Choose from a range of colors, designs, and sizes. Opt-for the add-on and ladies can complete their experience by having their hair-styled.

After you are authentically dressed, head to Yumeyakata Oike Bettei, a traditional machiya townhouse. Immerse yourself in a traditional atmosphere during a tea ceremony at a 100-year-old house with a tea master.

Start with an explanation of tea ceremony history, from its introduction into Japan from China about 1,200 years ago, until the form that is known today as the Japanese Way of Tea. Sit on a small chairs or feel free to sit on the floor.

Find out how to bow, use proper greeting words, eat sweets, drink the tea, and observe and appreciate the tea bowl. Get deeper into the experience when the master brings all the necessary items into the room and prepares the first tea for a guest.

After this first tea service, prepare the tea by yourself under the master’s supervision and serve it to the next guest. As in a traditional tea ceremony, the experience will continue with each guest preparing tea for the next. Finally, the master closes the ceremony.

Feel free to ask as many questions as you want and take a few pictures in the machiya house before you leave. Finally, you can wear the kimono and stroll around Kyoto before returning it to the shop by 5:30 PM.