Tim Cross from Australia looks good in his Kimono.

"Noko Sohai" is the tea name of "Nanbo style tea ceremony".

Tim Cross from Australia looks good in his Kimono.

He teaches classes on the tea ceremony at two universities in the city and has his own tea class.

He says, "I never expected that one day I would be lecturing about tea ceremony. This is like a dream."

Although he was originally interested in pottery, he was attracted to the performativity of tea at a hands-on tea ceremony class he was invited to, and he mastered the art of tea to the point of receiving a tea name.

At last, he even played a major role in Hakata's traditional event "Hakata Gion Yamakasa," offering tea to the gods.

Tim lives on Nokonoshima, a small island filled with nature, enjoying casual conversations with the islanders as well as the customs and traditions of Fukuoka and Hakata. He is living more like a Fukuoka person than anyone else.