While visiting Kyoto, I stayed at the Nagomiyado Towa, a ryokan located between Higashi Honganji and Nishi Honganji temples, approximately 10 minutes walk from Kyoto Station.
Each guest is provided with freshly prepared matcha and a sweet when they first arrive. This was the first greeting with tea I've received at a hotel or inn during my years of travel and it really made me feel welcome.
Foreign guests are provided with helpful instructions for how to enjoy the matcha and sweet. These are the most basic steps for a guest to know in tea ceremony. The matcha is from famous Kyoto tea shop, Ippodo.
Each room is provided with a tea set, including loose leaf tea and yatsuhashi, a traditional Kyoto sweet.
I was pleased to discover that the tea provided to my room was hand-blended sencha and gyokuro from Uji. It was such a refreshing change from the generic foil pack teas provided at all the other hotels I've visited.
I hope to discover more hotels and inns with tea service in my future travels and will definitely keep Nagomiyado Towa in mind for future Kyoto visits.
Address: 〒600-8222 京都市下京区東中筋通七条上がる文覚町395
〒600-8222 京都市下京区東中筋通七条上がる文覚町395
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