Low clouds clung to the mountainsides flanking the city as morning broke wet and chilly; it looked like good tea weather to me. Read the rest of this entry »
Low clouds clung to the mountainsides flanking the city as morning broke wet and chilly; it looked like good tea weather to me. Read the rest of this entry »
I was just hung over enough to have a lousy day while maintaining the appearance of functionality. Read the rest of this entry »
The days are gradually getting warmer. Yesterday we emerged from afternoon practice into a moment of bright heat that soon had us sweating in our samue as we wiped down the 3rd-floor tatami. Today was cooler, but we know it won’t be long before we’re suffering through a still and sultry Kyoto summer. Read the rest of this entry »
Three half-sandwiches in today’s breakfast package: tuna, egg salad, ham.
Sean and I had heard that besides soaking, walking may do knees some good, so we left the dorm early and headed east toward a large swath of trees I’d seen from the roof of the building. Read the rest of this entry »
The Japanese are big on punctuality, and the tea world in particular requires great attention to timing. Here at Urasenke, everyone is expected to arrive ten minutes before the time they’re supposed to be anywhere. Thus it was that we left the dorm at about 8:15 to be at the school at 8:20 because we’d been told to be there at 8:30 to be ready for the ceremony that started at 9:30. Read the rest of this entry »