There are some famous Shinto ritual festivals in Kyoto. Our matcha "Houn" was selected as a tea to present to God at the famous shrine "Imamiya shrine" in Kyoto.
You may find Shinto something "strange" if you are religious people in western countries. We Japanese believe in that Gods exist in every nature like inside river, mountain, trees etc. We call them like "God in the mountain or maybe God in the river". There a lot of shrines to celebrate Gods in nature and those shrines usually have festivals in August for praying for good harvests in coming autumn.
Imamiya shrine is one of the most famous shrines in Kyoto. They like the taste of our matcha so they use our matcha "HOUN" to present to the God of the shrine. I was very honored that experience.
These are pics of the festival. It's exclusive festival.
