Day 12 Kyoto

 Chris and I got out of the house early and left the kids to catch up on some sleep. We wandered to the nishiki market street which was selling many interesting foods and wares. We invested in some Japanese knives for the kitchen and a beautiful teapot for me. ☺️ Next stop was a traditional tea ceremony where our host explained the custom and then performed a shortened version of the ceremony. The real ceremony can go for 3-4 hours ! We got to make our own cup of matcha tea which we are all really enjoying. Even Chris is drinking tea! The whole experience is very peaceful and calming. 
Afterwards we made our way to our next experience which was a bento box cooking class.  This was so much fun. We made the 6 different components of the bento box and then had to arrange them all in an attractive way in the bento box. And it was all taking place in a traditional Japanese style house. A fabulous experience for us all. AND then the best part - eating what we had prepared. Delicious!
The rain is falling quite a lot again this evening so we are staying in and resting up before more adventures tomorrow.