Trial Programmes
Experience the world of ICPAExperience first —
the day will say more than words
ICPA offers Japanese and Western dining etiquette in Tokyo as a single day of private instruction. Its door stands open to those with the disposition for it — yet some may hesitate to proceed directly to the full programme, and rightly so.
The trial programmes offer a single day. Instruction in the principles, practice through the meal itself, and a private consultation with the Founding Principal at its close. All are given as private instruction, to one person at a time.
The venues are the Imperial Hotel Tokyo, the Tokyo Station Hotel, and the Palace Hotel Tokyo. Protocol is not learnt in a classroom alone; it is cultivated in the very settings where it is practised. The place itself is part of the education.
In every course, alongside the forms themselves, you will learn the foundations of manners and of protocol. The two are not the same. Manners govern what passes between one person and another; protocol governs what passes between nations, and between institutions. That distinction is grasped at the table.
The Western courses transmit the tradition received from the British finishing school. The Japanese course proceeds through fine kaiseki — the whole discipline of the Japanese table — to the foundations of Japanese protocol.
Five experiences,each upon its own stage
Chosen according to your standing and your interest. Each is complete in a single day.
The Art of Afternoon Tea
Three centuries of the English afternoon(three hours)
The English afternoon carries forms handed down across three centuries. The handling of the service, the order in which things are brought, the conduct of conversation. Drawing upon the tradition received from the British finishing school, we convey what is in fact practised in the circles about the Court. With it, the foundations of manners and of protocol — how the two differ, and where each is called upon.
French Dining & the Protocol of Society
The grammar of international society(three hours)
The French table is the fundamental form of international society. The carriage of the cutlery, the understanding with those who serve, the distance kept from one’s neighbour. Precedence at table, and the conduct of conversation. Drawing upon the tradition received from the British finishing school, we set out not only what is correct but why it should be so. The foundations of manners and of protocol, acquired course by course.
Five-Star Dining & the Protocol of Society
Where the two disciplines part(three hours)
Upon a stage that has received the guests of nations for over a century, we sit to dining of the highest order. The forms of the state banquet; bearing at official occasions. Upon the foundation of the tradition received from the British finishing school, we convey what is required at the summit of international society, within the formality that summit demands. Where the province of manners ends and that of international protocol begins — we shall show you the line.
Japanese Kaiseki & the Protocol of Japan
Available nowhere but here(three hours)
Through fine kaiseki, the whole discipline of the Japanese table is learnt. The handling of the vessels, the carriage of the chopsticks, the order in which dishes are brought, the keeping of the pause. From there we proceed to the thought that lies behind each of these, and to the foundations of international and of Japanese protocol. A course we commend equally to those who receive guests from abroad.
The Consummate Table — Wine & Society
The summit of the five(four hours)
Upon a stage overlooking the Imperial Palace, four hours are given to the finest of tables. To the forms of dining is added the discipline of wine — its choosing, its service, the speaking of it. Upon the tradition received from the British finishing school we lay the protocol required at the summit of international society. The whole of what passes at the world’s most formal occasions, experienced in a single day. The summit of the five.
The shape of the day —
principle, practice, and counsel
Each course is composed of three passages.
Principle
What international protocol is. Not the memorising of correct forms, but the reasoning that stands behind them. Only those who understand why it should be so arrive at the state of acting with conviction.
Practice
Through the meal itself, what has been learnt is proved upon the body. The Founding Principal is at your side and will correct you in the moment. To understand with the mind and to move with the body are two different things.
Private consultation
After the instruction, a private consultation with the Founding Principal. We ask after your standing, the situations you face, the bearing you would attain, and propose the fitting path. Whether to proceed to the full programme is decided after this conversation, not before.
Those who enrol within six months
are exempt from the admission fee
Six months are given so that you may pass the day first, and decide afterwards. There is no need to determine anything in haste. What you have seen with your own eyes deserves to be considered at leisure.
Those who come
to us for this day
Those with an occasion abroad before them
A dinner, a reception, a formal engagement. Where the date is already fixed, we compose the day around that very occasion.
Those who attend upon diplomats, royalty, and persons of standing
For those who carry the dignity of a nation, or who move upon the world’s most formal stages. Establish for yourself the standard required.
Those before an international marriage, and their families
The meeting of two families; a ceremony held abroad. Where cultures differ, the means to honour both sides properly.
Those considering the full programme
For those with an interest, who would first see for themselves. A day passed here will tell you more surely than any account of it.
Application
Tell us the course and dates you would prefer, and our office will be in touch.
What you write will inform how the day is composed for you.
Pass a day
with us
Before you commit, experience
Tell us the course and the dates you would prefer, and we shall advise you.
The content may equally be adjusted to your standing and circumstances.