A commitment to Ichigo Ichie—the idea that every ceremony is a once-in-a-lifetime experience—has earned Tea Ceremony Juan a 4.9-star rating and allowed thousands of guests to experience the culture of Japanese tea as a living tradition.
For 13 years, Tea Ceremony Juan has introduced international travellers to the Japanese tea ceremony. During the 70-minute workshop, guests tour the Jōtoku-ji Temple in central Kyoto, learn the ceremony's history, watch a tea master perform the artistic ritual, and prepare their own bowl of matcha.
Tea Ceremony Juan welcomed only around 300 guests in its first year, when founder, CEO, and tea master Masumi Kirihata ran the experience alone. Today, the team has grown to seven, revenue is up 24% year over year, and Juan ranks among Kyoto’s top-rated cultural experiences on GetYourGuide.
“Our mission is ‘Peace to the World through the Japanese tea ceremony,’” Masumi says. “GetYourGuide has supported that mission in a way other OTAs haven’t. With GetYourGuide as a partner, you ought to have few fears.”
Here, Masumi shares how she rebuilt the business in a Buddhist temple, reached a growing international audience, and adapted its pricing and booking strategy without compromising the quality and meaning of the ceremony.
How did Tea Ceremony Juan get started?
We opened in the summer of 2013 inside a hotel garden in central Kyoto, using the enchanting tea house of the hotel owner's wife, who was a passionate tea master. At the time, there were only two venues in Kyoto that offered tea ceremony experiences designed for international travelers.
When the hotel's owner passed away and the property was demolished, we moved to Jōtoku-ji, a Buddhist temple in central Kyoto, where we still operate today.
One guest wrote a review that has stayed with us: “A once in a lifetime opportunity. The temple setting makes it feel sacred, not staged.”
How did the business scale after partnering with GetYourGuide?
We've partnered with GetYourGuide for seven years now, and it's been a pleasant partnership. Revenue is up 24% year over year, and our team has grown from two founders to seven staff members.
Our mission comes from a Latin motto, “Pax Mundi per Tisana Japonica”, meaning peace to the world through the Japanese tea ceremony. GetYourGuide has supported that mission in a way other OTAs haven't.
Commission rates have been more stable and more reasonable than other OTAs. That's part of why we decided to stop working with another OTA in favor of GetYourGuide.
How does a growing team keep quality consistent?
We never compromise on quality. We always aim to provide our guests with a genuine, traditional tea ceremony. Most of my time goes into sourcing high-quality matcha, seasonal sweets, tea utensils, and supporting our staff.
Thanks to that, we hold a 4.9-star rating across more than 3,500 reviews on GetYourGuide, and a 5-star rating across more than 500 reviews on Google Maps.
Many guests describe the experience as mesmerizing or the highlight of their visit to Kyoto. One guest even wrote that it was “worth coming to Kyoto for the Juan ceremony, alone.”
What booking patterns stand out today?
April and October are our two busiest months, but bookings stay consistent throughout the rest of the year.
Most guests plan well ahead, as around 64% book more than 31 days before our experience. At the same time, last-minute bookings have become more common.
Our focus has always been international visitors rather than Japanese visitors, and the number from the United States has been growing recently. The United States now accounts for 24% of bookings, followed by France at 19% and Germany at 12%.
How has GetYourGuide helped improve your business?
GetYourGuide helped us target last-minute opportunities. Now, in some months, reservations made one day before the experience make up a useful percentage of our bookings.
GetYourGuide also encouraged us to increase our prices relative to other tea ceremony experiences in Kyoto. That advice has improved our margin on every booking.
What GetYourGuide tools do you value most?
Overall, the platform is rich and intuitive. In particular, a messaging feature introduced a few months ago makes communicating with our mutual guests much easier than email.
Since the pandemic, GetYourGuide has significantly improved its performance reports.
What's coming next, and what are the current challenges?
We're exploring new products and new markets to grow the business further. At the same time, recruiting knowledgeable and bilingual staff remains our biggest challenge right now.
GetYourGuide will continue to play an important role in our growth.
Key takeaways
- Offer an authentic experience. Tea Ceremony Juan was one of only two venues in Kyoto offering a tea ceremony for international travelers when it opened in 2013. It has kept the experience genuine ever since.
- Build an international customer base with OTAs. OTAs have helped Tea Ceremony Juan build an international guest base. The United States, France, and Germany alone drive nearly half of all bookings.
- Use booking data to capture demand you're missing. GetYourGuide's data helped Tea Ceremony Juan target last-minute demand on top of its strong advance-booking base. In some months, bookings made one day ahead account for 15% to 20% of the total.
- Compare prices with the market. GetYourGuide helped Tea Ceremony Juan compare its prices with similar experiences in Kyoto and raise them accordingly. The business is up 24% in revenue year over year.
- Never compromise on quality. Tea Ceremony Juan keeps its ceremony genuine as its team has grown from two to seven. That discipline earned a 4.9-star rating on GetYourGuide and a 5-star rating on Google Maps.
