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View all Tokyo toursMake Nerikiri Wagashi and Drink Uji Matcha: A Tea Ceremony in Kanda in Tokyo
Colour and sculpt your own nerikiri sweets from Kyoto bean paste, then whisk and drink Uji matcha alongside them — for under twenty-three dollars.
Make Nerikiri Wagashi and Drink Uji Matcha: A Tea Ceremony in Kanda: Key Facts
| Price | From $23 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 95 minutes |
| Group size | Up to 35 people |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Mini Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
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Wagashi Making and Tea Ceremony
Full description
Nerikiri is the top of the Japanese confectionery tree: sweetened white bean paste, coloured by hand and sculpted into seasonal shapes — a camellia in winter, a maple leaf in autumn, a chrysanthemum in between. It is made to be eaten with matcha, because the sweetness is calibrated against the bitterness of the tea and neither works properly alone.
In ninety-five minutes you make two of them and then drink the tea they were designed for. The session starts with the colouring, which is where the creative decisions happen — you mix your own shades into the white paste — and moves on to shaping, using the small wooden tools that give nerikiri its characteristic ridged petals. The bean paste comes from long-established Kyoto makers, which is not a detail the operator needed to bother with.
The tea ceremony follows. You prepare Uji matcha yourself — Uji, south of Kyoto, has supplied the best green tea in Japan for eight hundred years — and drink it with the sweets you just made. Doing it in that order is the point: you understand why the sweet is that sweet only once the matcha hits.
At this price it is one of the best-value cultural experiences in central Tokyo, and the venue is in Kanda, a few minutes from Akihabara and Tokyo Station. Instruction is in Japanese with the process demonstrated step by step, which works fine for a hands-on craft session but is worth knowing in advance.
Two small extras are charged separately if you want them: a take-out box for the sweets, and a completion certificate. If you want your name on the certificate, give it when you book.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Introduction to nerikiri and Japanese confectionery
Colour your own white bean paste
Shape the first sweet with traditional wooden tools
Shape a second seasonal design
Prepare Uji matcha in the tea ceremony
Eat the sweets you made with your tea
Includes
- Nerikiri wagashi making session with all ingredients
- Kyoto-made white and red bean paste
- Tea ceremony with Uji matcha
- The sweets you make and the tea you prepare
Excludes
- Sweets take-out box (charged on site)
- Experience completion certificate (charged on site)
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Important information
Meeting point
Dai-2 Toei Building, 2-2 Kajicho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0044 — a few minutes from Kanda and Akihabara stations.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts
About this activity
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Traveler Reviews
A quick and very good learning about Japanese culture through the tea ceremonial. It was amazing, really enjoyed the 1 hour spent together! Thank you!
Our host was really friendly and welcoming. We learned a lot about the tradition of tea ceremonies
we had a lovely time making wagashi, grinding matcha and enjoying our efforts in a mini tea ceremony. I would highly recommend this experience
A fun family activity and very authentic. A little loud as other participants were chatting away but we could just about still here the host, who was very good at explaining in English. It quietened down when the sweet makers left which made the tea making part more enjoyable. Worth the money and definitely a great memory to add to our holiday
Great Experience! I love matcha tea so I was looking forward to this sadly we were English and the guide didn’t speak fluent English which isn’t something they can help, even so it was a absolute blast of a fun time! Great.
Excellent! The pace of the class was perfect. The teacher explained not only the process but also the 'why' and history. Fun!
It was a nice time. Not the super traditional ceremony but very educational and enjoyable
Our instructor Shunsuke was really good- our group was mixed Japanese and English speakers and he conversed in both languages and made sure everyone felt included. The session was relaxed and informative and we really enjoyed both the sweet making and matcha making
Great course! The teacher was really cute and we have learned a lot on the background of the sweets. The level of sweets making was appropriate too! Can recommend!
The instructor/teacher was excellent. She explained everything in Japanese and English. I really appreciated the information about the matcha and the sweets. And it was really a lot of fun! We really enjoyed it! It was well worth the time and the cost was very reasonable. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Japanese traditional culture.
It was super great! The instructor lead us by creating the two Japanese sweats and then explaining the matcha ceremony. Mostly it was in Japanese but she would often try to accommodate me for the English translations.