TOKOTOKO'S
TEA HOUSE
TOKOTOKO'S
TEA HOUSE
JAPANESE TEA CLASS FOR ALL
The annual Saratoga Hakone Garden Tea Ceremony
Sunday, October 26, 2025
Once again, our annual Saratoga Hakone Garden Grand Tea Gathering was held on Sunday, October 26, 2025.
For more about Hakone Garden, please see here. https://www.hakone.com/
This Hakone Day Chakai grand tea event has been held for over twenty years. Under the guidance of Omotesenke teacher Mr. L, the participating groups included Omotesenke, Urasenke, Urasenke Foundation, Mushakouji-senke, and the Chado Gakkai. Altogether, eight tea venues welcomed guests with tea and sweets.
Although the preparations from the previous day through the event itself require tremendous effort, the dedication and teamwork of the women involved were truly admirable.
Our group hosted tea this year in the “Lower House,” a Japanese-style building constructed in 1920 by an American architect and builders. It features a tea room called Tansō-an and a spacious wooden-floored area.
In the eight-mat tea room, we served koicha (thick tea, served individually), while in the adjoining hall we offered usucha(thin tea) using the Washin-dana tea shelf. We were delighted to serve many guests throughout the day. Both the experienced and newer members of our group worked together wholeheartedly, and it became a wonderful learning opportunity for everyone.
Hakone Garden Tsukimi Festival Moon viewing
2025 October 6
Oliver and Isabel Stine purchased an 18-acre (approximately 73,000-square-meter) property to build a summer retreat.
In 1915, Isabel was deeply impressed by the exhibits at the Japanese Pavilion of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco. Later that same year, she visited Japan, where she was profoundly moved by the beauty of Hakone. Inspired by her experience, she decided to create a Japanese-style garden on her estate modeled after Hakone.
She invited landscape gardeners and architects from Japan to design the garden and several structures, including the Upper House, which was built for moon viewing.
Later, in 1922, the Lower House was completed, and over the years, additional buildings were added by the Stines and subsequent owners.
This year, Hakone Garden’s resident gardener graciously prepared this moon-viewing setting for us.
In fact, the pampas grass (susuki) you see here was brought from my own garden.
Hakone Garden Lower House
Tansoan-Tea Hose
2025 October 26
n 1922, the “Lower House” was added by an American architect and builder at the request of the Steins. This addition consisted of a Japanese-style residence with three rooms.
To the right of the main alcove (tokonoma) is a Yoshino-mado window, and the atmosphere of this Tansō-an tearoom evokes the charm of the tearoom once owned by Yoshino Dayū in Kyoto.
Please click here for more details.
Synergy School
Japanese Culture - Introduction
May 19, 2025
At the request of Synergy School, a private school in San Francisco, we, Tokotoko, introduced the tea ceremony to approximately 40 fourth and fifth graders and their teachers as part of an introduction to Japanese culture.
This time, we used a Ryurei Style, prepared tea and sweets, and had the children experience the tea ceremony through the preparation of the tea ceremony. After many trials, we also came up with a way to gently convey the spirit of "Wakei Seijaku" using slides. When we explained using examples familiar to the children, such as Pokemon and samurai, the children's eyes lit up and they listened intently.
After a brief introduction to the history of the tea ceremony, a demonstration of the tea ceremony using a Ryurei table was given, and the teachers and students actually tried the tea and learned how to drink it.
The most popular experience was for the children to make tea using a bamboo tea whisk and serve it to their friends. As the children only had a concentration time of about 10 minutes, we tried to come up with various ideas to keep them entertained and interested.
We concluded the day with a simple greeting in Japanese. We hope that this day will become a fond and lasting memory for the children, and that they will think back on Japanese culture in the future.
PAST EVENTS
~ Past events ~
May 10, 2025
What kind of tree is this Curious tree 🎵
Kono ki nan noki kininaruki????? - Along with the girl's dream
The 1960s and 70s were still Showa - quiet time.
That melody that was coming from the TV
The memorable song "What kind of tree is this? A curious tree♪" remains in the hearts of many people as the theme song for Hitachi Group's TV commercials. The music, which plays along with images reminiscent of foreign landscapes, made me, as a young girl, long for faraway lands, thinking, "Are there places like this in the world?" and "I'd like to go there someday."
In fact, this tree is known as the "Hitachi Tree" and exists on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, USA. It is located in a private garden called Moanalua Gardens, close to Honolulu Airport. Its scientific name is Samanea saman, and it is a large tree commonly known as "monkeypod." Its large, spreading branches and beautiful green leaves are impressive, giving it a presence worthy of being called an "interesting tree."
This masterpiece was written by the collaboration of Akira Ito (lyrics) and Asei Kobayashi (music).
The song goes, "What kind of tree is this? It's a curious tree, I don't even know its name~♪," but now many people know its name and cherish it in their hearts. Detail click here
November 10, 2024 Thanksgiving Shogo Tea Ceremony
On Sunday, November 10th, our association held a noon tea ceremony, inviting the executives who helped us in 2023 and 2024. Since we were expecting more than 10 guests, we quickly had DMS send us a tea ceremony set from Japan and prepared for the 10 guests.
There were two hosts, each in charge of five guests. It was hectic and we weren't able to take many photos on the day, but we will contact you again at a later date and share the photos.
I was worried at one point about what would happen, but I was able to complete the project safely and learned a lot. I have once again reflected on the fact that I need to use my brain more and think more creatively. Detail click here.