Calligraphy, our 2nd day.

Traditional tea ceremony. A beautiful ceremony, very deliberate. A real ceremony would take up to 5 hours to perform. Ours lasted about 45 minutes.

Every tea ceremony has a "guest of honor." Somehow I ended up in that position, so I led the way. This is the "purification" part. The water is meant to purify your hands and mouth before partaking in the ceremony. First your left, then your right hand, then your mouth. It's the same process you would use when entering a temple or shrine.

Also, notice I'm not wearing shoes. This is one of my favorite parts of Japan. ;) Honestly, though, it is one of the factors that keeps this country so clean. No dirt being tracked in! It's also a sign of respect to remove your shoes.

Entrance to a shrine.

Yuka, our Japanese Delegation Manager. She handles all the nitty gritty details, so I just get to attend to the kids and enjoy!!!!