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Kimura Tea Ceremony Museum was inaugurated in Shoun Sanso Garden, on Nov. 3, 1984 (Showa 59) by Mr. Kimura Kankoanshigeyoshi Okina (1896-1990), a late philanthropist, who had donated his entire collection of teawares and his ancestral estate to his hometown, Kashiwazaki. By giving up all of his possession, he finally gain perfect freedom from human emotions.


The most impressive part of Kimura Tea Ceremony Museum is the daily tea party held in 18 tatami (- 30㎡). The host presents tea made by the collected tea wares for guests while introducing meaning and etiquette of the tea ceremony. This allows guests to enjoy the real tea culture. Though we don’t have national treasures, which you usually can only see through a glass shield, our guests can appreciate the teaware by holding them with their own hands in our tea ceremony. Since the founding of the museum, we follow the teaching of Mr. Kankoan Okina that “wares are meaningful when they are used. If not, they become dead and meaningless.” Those guest who visited us appreciated our tea ceremonies and some were thrilled by them.


In addition, the changing color of maple leaves in autumn has a long-standing excellent reputation, and a huge number of guests from other places flood here to enjoy the colors. In November, the light shows are held every year at night in the courtyard which fills with casting shadows around the maple leaves, making them look beautiful. This is a great destination for families as well as couples to share time together.

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❖Add. : Midoricho 3-1, Kashiwazaki, Niigata
❖Directions: 20min walk from JR Kashiwazaki station on JR Shinetsu Main Line (5min by taxi)
❖Tel.: 0257-23-8061
❖Hours: 10:00-16:30
❖Closed: Mondays (except when a national holiday falls on a Monday, the museum is open on the holiday and is closed the next day, Tuesday), Winter (Dec.-Mar.