Nijo Castle teahouse – PHOTOS – Day 1 Kyoto itinerary – Backpacking Japan Travel

Hi there!

So if you want to visit a teahouse in Kyoto and try out some matcha green tea when you’re in Japan, you can do so with a visit to the Nijo Castle!

You’ll be able to make your own matcha tea straight from matcha powder.

You’ll want to highly consider a trip to Nijo Castle when you’re in Kyoto anyway, as this is one of the top UNESCO world heritage sites in Kyoto.

So, with a visit to Nijo Castle, you can also conveniently tick off the checkbox of making your own matcha too!

For more convenient tea experiences, try the Ginkakuji tea room if you’ll be visiting the Ginkakuji Temple, or try the Okochi Sanso teahouse if you’ll be visiting the Arashiyama bamboo forest. You can get matcha green tea at both places.

Japanese language tip: CASTLE

You might also hear Nijo Castle being referred to as Nijo-jo Castle, or just Nijo-jo.

The attached jo means castle.

But you wouldn’t use jo on its own to talk about a castle in general. This is used when attached to the name of a castle.

On its own, you would call a castle shiro or oshiro.

The Nijo Castle teahouse as part of a one day Kyoto itinerary

I made a visit to the Nijo Castle teahouse with an unlimited one day Kyoto bus pass:

• Nijo Castle
• Kinkakuji Temple
• Ryoanji Temple
• Yasaka Shrine
• Gion to Kiyomizu-dera walk (with Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka streets)
• Kiyomizu-dera Temple

Now…

On the Nijo Castle grounds

Walking towards the teahouse

So after you’ve entered the Nijo Castle grounds and made it past the Kara-mon Gate…

…and past the Ninomaru-goten Palace…

…and past the Ninomaru Garden…

You’ll start to come close to the teahouse!

You’ll likely see signs and you can make your way over as you walk along the castle moat.

So you’ve made it to the Waraku-an teahouse!

Now you can be seated and order your matcha!

How do you make matcha?!

It’ll come with instructions so you can give it a go.

Or you can go for regular green tea too.

Good luck, and happy drinking matcha as you sit back and relax!

How much does the matcha cost at the teahouse?

So this matcha cost 600 yen (US$5). (Green tea is the same price.)

You also have the option of ordering the matcha as a set that comes with small snacks for 1,200 yen (US$11).

Teahouse menu

The Nijo Castle teahouse can also just be a good place to rest a bit after walking around the castle grounds.

There’s a little bit of a variety to choose from if you want more than just tea.

HAPPY NIJO CASTLE TEAHOUSE VISIT!

Use this Kyoto tourist map to plan out your 5 days in Kyoto with Nijo Castle!

• Day 1: Top tourist spots with one day bus pass
• Day 2: Fushimi Inari Shrine hike through 1,000 torii gates
• Day 3: Philosopher’s Path walk
• Day 4: Arashiyama and Sagano
• Day 5: Kurama Kibune Ohara with one day pass

How to spend winter in Japan

• 10 day winter itinerary with the Japan Alps
• 7 day winter itinerary in Hokkaido

More quick tips for planning your trip to Japan

There are affiliate links on this page that take you to partner websites.

Among the top 3 things people get specific for a trip to Japan

• JR pass for quick and easy long distance train travel (see price here and see here how to calculate train routes to figure out it's worth it for you)
• Pocket wifi to make travel in Japan easier (see price here)
• Travel insurance for natural disasters just in case especially for travel disruptions (see price here and see here for past natural disaster that affected foreigners)

Use this Kyoto tourist map to plan out your 5 days in Kyoto!

• Day 1: Top tourist spots with one day bus pass
• Day 2: Fushimi Inari Shrine hike through 1,000 torii gates
• Day 3: Philosopher's Path walk
• Day 4: Arashiyama and Sagano
• Day 5: Kurama Kibune Ohara with one day pass

For more on planning your trip to Kyoto, see the 1-day, 2-day, and 5-day Kyoto itineraries. If you'll be in Kyoto in the spring, also see the 1-day cherry blossom photo walk.

Food in Japan

If you are in Japan for FOOD, then be sure to see where to try different types of Japanese food! (Sometimes for cheaper!)

And also have a look at some of these cooking classes in Japan too.

When the JR pass is worth it

In general, 2 long-distance shinkansen train trips will likely end up making it so the JR pass will be worth it. But here's how to calculate it to be sure. See the current price of a JR pass from an official vendor.

Natural disasters in Japan

Unfortunately, Japan can be prone to natural disasters which means risk for travel delays. So be sure to look at travel insurance for natural disasters.

My travel insurance took care of my accommodation and food costs when I was forced to stay extra days in Japan because of a typhoon. There have been a few typhoons that have hit Japan in the past couple of years and they can cause real travel disruptions!

See how much insurance costs for your trip.

Create your Japan itinerary

• 10 day Japan winter itinerary
• 5 day Kyoto itinerary
• Cost of climbing Mt Fuji from Tokyo
• Where to go for famous Mt Fuji views as seen in pictures
• Know before you go to Hiroshima
• One day in Miyajima with famous floating torii views
• 3 days in Okinawa, Japan's tropical islands
• Cherry blossom photo walk
• When is the JR pass worth it for train travel?
• Tokyo to Kyoto train
• Hostels in Japan

That's it for now!