Ku Day Ta

Milpitas is usually not a destination for me. It's straight up and down the 101, either to Santa Rosa or San Francisco, attempting to avoiding lunatic drivers and trying to not give in to road rage. However, I think I have found a reason to make a side trip. Ku Day Ta looks like an intriguing little tea shop, just right for washing away any vestige of road rage. Here's an offering from last April to entice you to visit their lovely web page:

Celebrate Spring With Ku Day Ta Tea Lounge –Oolong April! Ku Day Ta has assembled a delicious variety of premium, fresh Oolong teas during the month of April. 15% off all Oolong teas from April 1st – April 30th. Join us for Oolong April To celebrate spring and our rare premium, fresh and delicious Oolong teas, join us for Oolong tea tastings in April: APRIL 18TH AND 19TH 3-4 PM APRIL 25TH AND 26TH 3-4 PM Cost: $15.00 per person includes three selected teas from our Oolong tea collection. Taste small bites from our new food menu chosen to pair with your tea choices. 15% off our Oolong teas to take home for each tea tasting ticket purchased. Oolong Teas (pronounced Wu-Long, means "Black Dragon") are semi-fermented and express characteristics in-between Green and Black Teas. Because Oolong Teas have smooth, complex flavors, they are often a favorite among connoisseurs. Oolong teas have the health benefits of green tea. Oolongs can range from a buttery caramel taste, to milky, silky or smoky depending upon the type selected and region. The most widely coveted Oolongs are from Taiwan and China. Click here to register for our tea tasting or call us and make your reservation today! 408 935-9107 Visit our web site for more information. www.kudayta.com Go Green at Ku DayTa – Bring us your canister for a refill of your favorite tea and we'll take 10% off your purchase. KU DAY TA TEA LOUNGE 447 GREAT MALL DRIVE, #124 MILPITAS, CA 95035 (408) 935-9107 INFO@KUDAYTA.COM WWW.KUDAYTA.COM FACEBOOK GROUP: KUDAYTA

Shizuoka blog

I was time wasting on the internet and found this extremely cool blog that has now made be very hungry.

http://shizuokagourmet.wordpress.com/

Enjoy, and try not to drool on your keyboard like I did

Jeff

Bakumatsu koshashin

You have a photo of yourself in kimono, perhaps meandering the roji, and you say to yourself, "I sure wish I could make make my photos look like they're from the Meiji era!" Well now you can, with the amazing Bakumatsu Koshashin!

http://labs.wanokoto.jp/olds

Just upload your photo then click the button to see yourself transported back in time!

After you've converted your entire iPhoto library, take a look at this Japanese language blog, http://www.tofugu.com/ It's where Harvey originally found Bakumatsu Koshashin. The rest of the site is interesting.

Ukiah spelled backward is...

... Haiku!

And Ukiah has a Haiku festival in late April. Who knew? Not me! I learned about it only after the event was over. I'm putting it on the calendar for next year. It's only a three-hour drive for us and could be a lot of fun. Care to join us?

Read more about it:

SFGate.com
www.ukiahaiku.org
www.ahapoetry.com/aguide.htm

The Way of Tea in Tennessee

During an idle moment on Twitter I found myself typing "Chado" into the search box. I discovered the Memphis Botanical Garden and the Way of Tea in Tennessee:

http://www.memphisbotanicgarden.com/index.cfm?section=1&action=calendar&eventview&eventid=930

One of the gardens is the Japanese Garden of Tranquility (Seijaku-En) and also features a maple tree collection.

Socially networking

We have set up a Ning site for Horai. It seems like a good hub to post Tea practice info and update Facebook and Twitter feeds. Sign up, follow and let me know how it's working.

http://horaicenter.ning.com/

SF Asian Art Museum "Lords of the Samurai" exhibit through Sept. 20, 2009

http://asianart.org/Samurai.htm

The exhibition features more than 160 works from the Hosokawa family collection housed in the Eisei-Bunko Museum in Tokyo, and from Kumamoto Castle and the Kumamoto Municipal Museum in Kyushu. Objects on view include suits of armor, armaments (including swords and guns), formal attire, calligraphy, paintings, tea wares, lacquerware, masks, and musical instruments.

The Asian Art Museum is the only U.S. venue for this exhibition.

Tea wares!? A quick perusal of the website lead me to this link about Raku:

http://www.asianart.org/blog/index.php/2009/05/18/raku-with-a-big-r/

Also, there will be Tea ceremony demonstrations associated with the exhibit from several tea schools. General admission tickets are $17 + $5 surcharge (but there are discounts for groups of 10+).