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Jason Cohen

Jason Cohen

Master of Ceremonies here and on Tea Technique. Previously, Founder and Executive Director of the Tea Institute at Penn State (defunct).

http://teatechnique.org/

Extreme ChaXi: Seoul to Seattle

I had a bit of a unusual flight plan, stopping off back in Seoul for an hour (just enough time to swig some makgeolli and soy milk, separately) before jetting over to Seattle for a bout off coffee tastings. How could I resist joining the mile high chaxi club? Ya,

Shinto ChaXi

We hiked up behind one of the largest Shinto complexes in Southern Kyoto, walking along a stream, and stroling just fast enough to keep the mosquitoes at bay. We came to a beautiful spot on one of the many branching trails, Shinto shrines in every direction, and made chaxi by

Matcha Production at the ShunSho Factory

I was quite right to conjecture that matcha, even at its (available) best, is subject to very mechanized production. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; tea drinkers demand matcha of a certain quality, and companies rise and find methods to meet demand; much of the matcha is very good.

Omotesenke – Success!

And you thought I was done after these 2 punches? My meeting with the Secretary General of Omotosenke, Mr. Uzuoka, was an honor, went indubitably well, and extended far beyond me dwelling on their architecture. I am overjoyed to announce that the Omotesenke Chanoyu School, the oldest school in the

Japanese Architecture

Let me be upfront. Until this experience, I never understood Japanese Architecture. It didn’t click. I liked the gardens (who doesn’t like the gardens?), but their drab stucco-esq mud brown colors of walls, and their sizing never made me feel at “home” (though I did like the proportions)

Cormorant Fishing on the GiFu River

For the last 1,300 years (since the end of the Tang Dynasty), river runners have been fishing for sweetfish (ayu) on the Gifu river. Using Cormorants. The birds are tied to a rope and controlled off the bow of the boat by a Fishing Master. This is a serious

Chaxi at the 7 river bends

While not an extreme chaxi, this was a beautifully memorable one. Our host in japan, Mr. Yasuo Koike, has been of the most gracious sort, and we are now in Shizouka, a tea growing Provence. We made a special 2 part chaxi on top of Asahi Dan Mountain overlooking a

100 views of no Mt. Fuji

Clouds form far from sight, Rolling in to hide, The site. Mt fuji was meant to be, viewed, but perhaps not by me. This time. – Jason

Sumo

Sumo is unsurprisingly awesome! I got lucky, and happened to be in Nagoya during day 3 of the tournament. Each match starts with “cold warfare” – a stare down, where each wrestler gauges the other and decides when to strike. There`s a time limit of 4 minutes before the match

First Okapi Sighting

There it is. On a signboard for the zoo in the Tokyo Metro. They better higher some more security; because I`m going hunting.