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Our Mini Tabis Bring Good Luck!

Added on by the ikebana shop.

A little gift to those who like our tabi socks: mini Xmas tabis with good luck charm inside!  (「福」means "good luck"). All hand-made!  With a purchase of 2 pairs or more of tabi socks, you get our little gift.   

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Good while supply lasts!)

(Photo by the ikebana shop.  All rights reserved.)

Payment By PayPal Now Accepted

Added on by the ikebana shop.
Additional Options

ANNOUNCEMENT: To our mail-order customers, we can now accept payments by Paypal.  We understand if you are not comfortable about giving us your credit card information.   Paypal eliminates that need.  Just let us know you want to make your purchase via Paypal and we will send you a Paypal invoice.  You don’t need a Paypal account (though it is convenient if you already have one!) to make a payment.

http://www.paypal.com

Tanabata

Added on by the ikebana shop.

Tanabata (七夕) is a festival celebrating the reunion of two star-crossed lovers: Altair (the Cow-herd star) and Vega (the Weaver star). There are many versions of this ancient Chinese legend, but the main gist is about how Altair and Vega were forbidden to see each other again by Vega’s father, the Heavenly King. The two are separated by the Milky Way and were allowed to meet only on the 7th day of the 7th month. On this day, a bridge would appear on the Milky Way and the two could meet. However, if it rained that day, the bridge would not appear. 

In Japan, tanabata is celebrated by writing one's wish on a small piece of paper (called "tanzaku") and hanging the wish on a bamboo branch. If on on the eve July 7th, the sky is clear and you can see the stars, then your wish will come true!

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Next time you visit the shop, please make a wish and hang it on our bamboo branches. We've prepared the paper for you plus you get an origami star [while supply lasts] to remind you to watch the stars on July 7th!  (All free of charge of course...)

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(All photos by the ikebana shop.  All rights reserved.)

Our Tea Is Safe (Part 2)

Added on by the ikebana shop.

There has been recent news that radiation has been detected in Japanese tea leaves produced in Minami-ashigara City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Certainly a cause of concern but this place is still far away from Kyoto, where our tea is produced.  But to be prudent, the Kyoto Tea Industry Cooperative Association had this year’s new tea crop tested for radiation. Result: NO RADIATION DETECTED.  On top of this, our tea farmer went the extra mile and commissioned an independent test to check specifically the new tea crop produced in 2011 on their farm. Result: NO RADIATION DETECTED.

Copies of the certifications are reproduced here. 

 

We do our best to provide correct information.  But in the end, it is up to each individual to choose what to believe.  If one is not comfortable with Japanese tea at this point in time, we well respect that.  What we can promise is that we will not compromise safety and quality.

And by the way, at the time of writing, all the tea being sold in our shop are from last year’s harvest.  So far, we haven’t ordered any new harvest tea yet.  We will make it known to you when we start putting 2011-harvest teas on our shelves.  [See also “Part 1” of why our tea is safe: /theikebanashop/our-tea-is-safe-part-1]