A Chaji Tea Gathering with the Sowa School's 18th Head

The Craft

Chaji is the full tea gathering, not the lesson version most visitors meet. It unfolds over several hours — a charcoal ceremony, a kaiseki meal, and finally a single shared bowl of thick tea — with the whole day composed around that one bowl.

The Supplier

Sokou Udagawa is the 18th head of the Sowa school of tea, an advisor to the Nezu Museum, and the author of Nantonaku Wakaru Cha no Yu. The Sowa school took hold among court nobles and grew by absorbing incense, poetry and the other arts, leaving it less bound by fixed form than wabi-cha.

What Makes It Different

Most people meet tea as a discipline of lessons and manners. Very few ever see what lies beyond it — the whole day of inviting guests, receiving them, and seeing them off. That day is what is opened to you here.

The Experience

A chaji is not a demonstration. It is a whole day built around a single bowl of tea — the charcoal laid, a kaiseki meal served, sweets brought out, and only then the thick tea shared. Every utensil in the room, and the scroll hung in the alcove, is chosen for this gathering and for the people in it. Udagawa hosts as a lifelong student rather than an authority, walking beside his guests rather than instructing from above.

A full chaji — charcoal ceremony, kaiseki meal, and a shared bowl of thick tea — rather than a shortened demonstration
The room, the scroll and the utensils composed for your gathering alone
The Sowa school's more flexible approach, explained by its 18th head
Entirely private — no other guests, paced around you

Itinerary

これは一例です — This Is a Sample Itinerary

Sample, not a fixed schedule Shown to illustrate the kind of layered day we build, not a fixed schedule. Exact timing is confirmed only after a private consultation.

Here's how a chaji typically unfolds, from pickup to drop-off.

Hotel pickup by an English-speaking guide, who stays with you for the visit
Arrival and welcome — a chaji begins with the receiving of guests, not with the tea
The charcoal ceremony, laying the fire that will heat the kettle
Kaiseki — a seasonal meal served course by course
Sweets, and a pause before the tea itself
Koicha — the single bowl of thick tea, shared
Time with the scroll and utensils chosen for the day, and conversation with the 18th head
Private transfer back to your hotel

What's Included

A full private chaji hosted by Sokou Udagawa

Kaiseki meal and sweets served during the gathering

Koicha — thick tea, prepared and shared in the room

English-speaking guide for the visit

Hotel pickup and drop-off

Not included: transportation beyond the pickup area, personal purchases

Enquire →

Meet Your Artisan & What to Know

Sokou Udagawa（宇田川宗光） 18th head of the Sowa school of tea — Isshisō, Tokyo Read the full interview on Our Masters →

Udagawa did not choose tea so much as find it already there. His grandmother kept company with the head of the Shino school of incense and tea, and from the age of two or three he was tagging along. He drifted from it in his teens, came back through a university tea club, and studied under Hori Soyu — who taught him not only the procedures but the utensils themselves. He never intended to make tea a profession; he took on students only when his own teacher fell ill. Asked how he could teach while still learning, a Daitokuji priest answered him with the Mahayana image of a boat: you reach for the person next to you even while you are going down yourself. He hosts the same way — walking alongside his guests rather than instructing from above.

The Setting

Shoes come off before entering; white socks or tabi are usual.
Please skip perfume — scent carries in a small room and competes with the incense and the tea.
Watches, rings and bracelets are best removed; they can mark the utensils.
Photography is welcome at some moments and not others — your guide will say when.
A chaji runs several hours and is deliberately unhurried. There is no need to rush.

About This Experience

Do I need to know anything about tea beforehand?

No. Chaji is normally met only by people already well inside the world of tea. Here it is opened to guests with no background at all, with an English-speaking guide throughout.

How long does a chaji take?

Several hours. The charcoal, the meal and the tea each have their own pace, and the day is deliberately unhurried.

Can I join if I don't speak Japanese?

Yes — an English-speaking guide is present throughout.

How many people can join?

The gathering is held for your party alone.

A Chaji Tea Gathering with the 18th Head of the Sowa School