The tea ceremony, was another great thing I have had the opportunity to experience and learn about during my travels.
The Japanese tea ceremony is preparing, serving, and drinking tea in a ritualistic and ceremonial way where it is used to promote wellbeing, mindfulness, and harmony.
The purpose of the Japanese tea ceremony is to create bonding between the host and guest and also gain inner peace. The tea ceremony is very important in Japanese culture because it used to be practiced only by the elite zen monks and noble warlords for most of history.
The tea ceremony is also a very significant cultural activity that combines silence, respect, and symbolic purification altogether. While some Japanese perform tea ceremonies as just a hobby today, most people consider it a form of traditional arts and call it the art of tea.
One may have to spend years practicing these forms to finally reach the point where he/she can perform every single step with very little mental effort. This way of thinking applies to martial arts and other Japanese customs and traditions as well.