Veranda
Larger tea rooms often had a veranda (en) for viewing the tea garden. This was less common in the case of the smaller style of tea hut, but not unknown.
Guest entrance
Guests would enter via a small sliding door (nijiriguchi), usually about 65cm square and made of old timber, through which they would have to both step up and crouch to enter the room. It was felt that this low entrance reinforced the sense of refuge from the outside world and also forced guests to bow and have humility when entering.
Stepping stones led to the fumi-ishi (high stone) for stepping up to the entrance. After a guest crawled through the entrance, they would turn and remove their sandals. Once inside the room they would then see the alcove (tokonoma) with its hanging scroll (see below). The last guest was expected to close the door firmly enough to make a sound as it struck the frame, so that the host knew that all the guests had entered. This signalled the formal beginning of the tea ceremony.
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