I was so excited to be one of the first people to join the Virtual Green Tea Tour, a new and magical tour offered by Arigato Japan that has been the pioneer for English-speaking Japanese tours for many years, featured by the New York Times Travel Shows, CNN Travel and more.
In this article (and a bit of video), I want to share with you a small segment of the virtual tour, and my first-person experience of this brand-new experience hosted by Lauren, a partner of Arigato Japan, who has been an extraordinary tour guide for close to a decade. Read on and watch the amazing experience for any tea lovers and "Japan lovers" in the world.
With permission from Arigato Japan, they allowed me to share s short clip of the actual tour. This is only a short 1-minute clip of the part of the video so that you can see what it is like on the virtual tour.
Click here to jump to the Youtube Video
There are two elements in the world of tea that have helped drive a critical part of my love for tea generally: The experience of tea and the complexities of Japanese tea. Life is full of experiences.
When we explore the world of tea, for example, we see the labels, touch the products, smell the leaves, or perhaps try to understand what makes the tea stand out.
Perhaps, when we really think about our experience and tea, we have more questions than answers.
On the complexities of Japanese tea look no further than to these considerations:
Arigato Food Tours is here to
A) Provide experiences related to Japanese green tea and
B) Simplify the beautiful world of Japanese green tea for easy enjoyment
C) Teach some tips on brewing better green tea at home
D) Provide interactive experience of brewing and drinking tea together
While their offerings are not limited to Japanese green tea, I want to spend the next few moments outlining a virtual tour on Japanese green tea that helps to synthesize their organization’s value.
In fact, Arigato Food Tours has been providing all kinds of tours throughout parts of Japan and has a wealth of knowledge and expertise for those curious about learning more about what Japan has to offer.
Arigato Food Tours was featured by:
My session of the Virtual tour was hosted by Lauren.
Lauren is one of the partners from Arigato Japan. From Pennsylvania, Lauren considers Japan her second or, perhaps, her first home. Having lived there for multiple decades, Lauren has a deep passion for Japan, its history, its culture, food, the world of Japanese tea, and sharing the world of Japan through her organization’s many offerings.
This tour began with introductions and included individuals from the Czech Republic, Tokyo, and America. Immediately, I was connected with not only Lauren, but the presentation’s thesis: Online Green Teatime.
Everyone on the tour loves green tea or Japan in some way, so it was very nice to hang out with people with similar passions.
Lauren then moved to a short yet head-scratching quiz on tea. Without giving too much away, it will make most tea lovers dive into their knowledge of tea.
Of course, being on a tea tour, making tea is a critical element.
Her tour included the making of Japanese green tea, the “better” way.
She explained this so well in simple terms. My personal hero, Osamu Tezuka once said "A great teacher is who can explain the complex matter in simple terms". She did just that during the tour.
I happen to know a bit about this topic (about green tea), but there was something new to me, which I am thinking of writing a whole blog post about in the near future. (Thank you, Lauren!)
Walking through each of the steps, each participant made a delicious cup of tea and reviewed it accordingly. As Lauren details the health benefits of tea, her passion for education shines.
Participants clearly enjoyed their cup of tea. Again, weaving through the experience of tea and the complexities of tea, the tour then moves to the history of tea, and what makes matcha unique and concludes with participant questions.
The tour felt like and was clearly an extension of Arigato Japan’s tours. There were a plethora of added benefits.
As you may know, I am an extreme introvert. Shyness impacts some of my decisions when congregating with others.
On any bus tour, I am the one who sits at the very back of the bus and listens very closely, but never raises my hand to ask questions.
Lauren is welcoming, kind, and above all warm. As touched on, it was engaging, but not to the point of undermining my own enjoyment.
It was perfect for introverted people like me who wanted to enjoy the tour, but not to engage too much.
But she did engage with people who wanted to engage more during the tour, and answered every question with sincerity.
Being able to quickly judge the different personalities in the group and make the tour fun for everybody; is a skill that can only be performed by an expert who has been on the front-line of conducting tours and entertaining the world for years.
It is clear Lauren has done such tours so many times before, and her knowledge and expertise show naturally. Perhaps the best tour I have been part of, it was definitely worth my time, and overall a great time.
I feel that this virtual tour was a marriage between expert tour guides who are always out and "offline" in the field and the virtual reality "online" world which could only happen in this wired circumstance happening right now with COVID-19. I hate COVID-19 as anyone else does, but I am grateful for the newborn tour excitement that it created as a result.
The tour was a little over an hour, but it was so fun and engaging that I felt like I was on a bus in Japan moving from Japanese Tea farms to Tea shops.
The moment right after the tour ended; I felt lost for a few seconds until I realized that I was in my own living room. Lauren's tour magic really transported me into the true virtual world of tea in Japan. Wow!
If you’re looking to understand more about Japanese green tea, and want to get out to the magical world of Japan and tea, this is a perfect option that covers everything about Japanese green tea. In fact, you may find yourself looking at more of the organization’s services. Being confident in what you’re paying for can be difficult: Do they really know what they’re talking about? In part, the Japanese green tour was a show of Lauren’s passion and her knowledge and skills were clearly on display.
When it comes to different types of tea, matcha and sencha green tea are two many people have questions about! Get answers in this post.
5 Essential Storage Rules for Matcha and Japanese Green Tea
Read on to learn how to store matcha the proper way to ensure that you get the most out of this ancient elixir.