In May 2026, Haruka opened Tea Tree, Tea Treaty, a contemporary teahouse at the Meentwerf, on the edge of the Naardermeer. Designed in collaboration with architect Barry van Waveren, it was built largely from recycled materials, including parts of the original Meentwerf building (a former fire station). Local volunteers helped Haruka collect clay from the Naardermeer. Advised by a stucco specialist living in the Hilversumse Meent, members of the King Arthur Groep, an organisation for people with early-onset dementia, helped mix the clay and create an earthen wall (tsuchikabe) in the teahouse, embedding centuries of sediment from the lakebed into its structure. Layer by layer, over repeated visits, the wall became a lasting, physical memory of the makers’ efforts and stories.

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Since opening the teahouse, Haruka has held regular tea ceremonies, some preceded by early-morning group walks in the Dutch tradition of dauwtrappen. Like the roji, the “dewy path” to a Japanese teahouse, the walk through the Naardermeer landscape prepares guests for the ceremony, while connecting people with each other and their surroundings. Other community activities have included sowing a flower garden for chabana (the seasonal flowers used in the tea ceremony), using soil donated by the Gemeente Hilversum.

 

Tea Tree, Tea Treaty was realised with the support of the Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie.

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