Today we returned to downtown Kyoto and visited the Urasenke Chadō Research Center. Their museum had an exhibit (entitled 古筆と極め) of chagake (tea ceremony scrolls). I couldn't read them very well, so I just tried to appreciate that they looked really old. Another visitor spent a long time studying each scroll behind the glass through binoculars (no photography allowed). In the next room, we each enjoyed a bowl of tea prepared by my teacher's friend, Yoko Sato. Finally, we went upstairs to the library to see gifts given to the tea school by leaders of various nations and to browse through some of the books. One of my favorites was a children's book, Hajimete no Chadō, with nice little diagrams. Another book, Chadō: the Way of Tea, is sort of the bible of tea ceremony; I want to get my own copy at some point.

Afterward, we walked along Teramachi-dōri in search of an appropriate gift for my tea teacher. I found one, along with a kensui and a pretty fukusa for myself, at a little shop, the name of which I can't find at the moment. It had a really nice selection of 茶道具 (tea utensils).

And for dinner, something completely different: an Irish pub by the name of The Hill of Tara. Awesome Irish stew.