"Upon request from the City of Belmont, we conducted a tea ceremony experience at the Ruth Faulkner Library. The program consisted of four 30-minute sessions, running from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM.

Belmont City, having a sister city relationship with Adachi Ward in Tokyo, planned this event for its citizens to experience Japanese culture. At the venue, we placed Ryukyu tatami mats and a kettle at the center, with tables and chairs arranged in a U-shape around them. After briefly introducing the history of the tea ceremony, we performed a Hirademae demonstration and offered participants sweets (Wasanbon) and tea to enjoy.

Approximately half of the participants were experiencing matcha for the first time. They shared comments such as, ""I thought it would be bitter, but it wasn't at all"", ""The balance with the sweets was excellent"" and 'It was delicious, and the movements in the tea ceremony were impressive."" There were also attendees who had previously experienced a tea ceremony on their trips to Japan. We received questions including about the differences between sencha and matcha, why hojicha has a different color, and where to buy matcha in Perth. Through the four sessions, we were able to interact with 26 participants."