About The Retreat

Our newly redesigned Japan itinerary is set for the colorful & picturesque autumn season in the land of the rising sun. Stay in a boutique hotel, and enjoy cultural activities, tastings, yoga in a temple, a Japanese spa day, and more!. Stay in the historic heart of the city, and enjoy cultural activities, tastings, yoga in a temple, and a Japanese spa day.

This time we’ll be accompanied by our private guide during our week and led through some of the more hidden, off-the-beaten-path experiences and sacred places in and around Kyoto.

We’ll be exploring yoga combined with creativity classes – both practices designed to lead us to a closer look into the Zen mindset of simplicity, quiet inward focus, and being present.

Accommodation

Come away with us for a week in the incredible country of Japan, where we’ll be staying in the cultural capital of Kyoto, the city with 1600 temples. We will be finding a nice balance of traditional and modern in our home for the week, a newer hotel built with the spirit of the Japanese ryokan (traditional guest house) but with all of the current conveniences.

Guests will enjoy western-style beds in the usual minimal Japanese style. The hotel offers a serene meditation room designed by a Zen monk, as well as an amazing restaurant, bar, and roof-top lounge. It’s located in Kyoto’s famous Gion district, where one may spot a Geisha walking the streets.

Though its meaning may have drifted in translation, the Nohga Hotel Kiyomizu Kyoto promises an insider view of what it calls “hot Kyoto” — the vibrant, modern city that is informed, but not constrained, by a long, long cultural evolution.

In more concrete terms this means a youthful, stylish version of Kyoto, and one that admits of plenty of Western influence as well. Cicon, the restaurant, features Italian dishes prepared in a Josper charcoal oven, made from Kyoto-grown and -produced ingredients.

The bakery, too, is a loving tribute to European breads, though made from Japanese wheat. And the rooftop bar, with its far-ranging views of the city, is a concept that transcends cultures.

Day trips

Not only will we take advantage of the amenities and beauty of our hotel and neighborhood for the week, but this retreat will also be full of traditional experiences that will give guests a full taste of the offerings of Japan. By being located in Kyoto, we get the balance of the city amenities, but also really get to sense the calm and spiritual side of Kyoto and the neighboring countryside.

Here, guests will feel as if they’ve stepped through a Japanese painting – with colorful leaves starting to change for autumn, bonsai trees, wooden pagodas, and rock gardens. We’ll take a tour outside the city to the famous “Golden Pavilion” Kinkakuji and walk the way of the “Thousand Torii Gates” at the Fushimi Inari Shrine.

Our days in the center will include a visit to the famous market, participation in a traditional tea ceremony, temple visits with on-site yoga classes, evening walk through the Gion district where we’ll keep our eyes open for passing Geisha, and even a spa day at Kyoto’s premier luxury spa, complete with treatments and relaxation time fit for a Zen master.

Wellness & Yoga

Daily practices will be offered in a way to relax, stimulate, and help guests grow in the mindfulness nature of the trip. Classes are open to all levels, beginner to practiced, and can range from gentle and restorative, to vinyasa flow.* In addition, yoga nidra, guided meditation and a walking meditation will be offered.

We will have the rare opportunity to attend a led zen meditation as well. This week is uniquely designed to incorporate wellness practices woven throughout our activities and day trips instead of just having a daily morning yoga class.

Japan’s culture lends itself to take things slower, be more mindful and intentional, and we will embrace just that as we experience the week and how we approach the itinerary.

Style and class levels will be determined and moulded to fit participating students’ needs, and with a small intimate retreat class size, students will be able to get personalized attention and comfortability to deeply explore their practice.

Our yoga classes during our time in Japan will take place a couple of times at a centuries-old temple in town, while another day we’ll have meditation at the specially designed meditation room at our hotel, and we also will be taking a group meditation walk in the red torii gates.

At the temple, we’ll enjoy the serene experience of a Japanese garden just in front of us, while we practice in a room of wood, paper, and tatami mats, where monks still meditate today. This is a very special and unique experience, one of which many tourists will never have been able to participate.

This retreat will be led by Alison Sager who is certified 500-hr RYT in mindful vinyasa, movement studies and restorative yoga through New England School of Yoga Therapeutics and has completed advanced studies in the intersection of Yoga, Mindfulness, Neuroscience, Psychology, Movement Studies, and Contemplative Practice.

She studied under the guidance of Bo Forbes and mindfulness teachers, Bill and Susan Morgan, founding members of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy in Cambridge, MA USA. Her extensive background includes trainings with Leslie Kaminoff, Judith Hanson Lasater, Tom Myers, Tias Little and Chelsea Roff. She is a certified Radiant Child Yoga Teacher and certified in Eat Breathe Thrive’s Yoga, Food & Body Image Intensive.

Cuisine

Healthful, vegetarian food is part of the retreat experience, including breakfast and dinner daily, and select lunches, either hosted at the hotels or out and about in town. Some meals will have an option for seafood as we’re in the land of some of the freshest fish on the planet.

Ingredients are local and seasonal, and our meals will be inspired by the Japanese traditions. We’ll enjoy a traditional coursed “kaiseki” menu, a sushi dinner, a ‘yufodu’ lunch, as well as some modern selections at newer restaurants, a tea-ceremony, and even a sake-tasting!

Retreat Price

Prices are in US Dollars
7 days / 6 nights (Oct 27 – Nov 2, 2024)

Inclusive Retreat Price = $5,980 (shared room*), +$990 (single room)

Deposit to hold space = $1,500

Max # Guests = 14

Includes

• Hotel accommodation (Japanese luxury hotel, western-style bedding, private bathrooms)
• Daily yoga class at a 660-yr old private temple overlooking a Japanese garden
• Daily creativity and travel-journal classes
• Private Zen Meditation led by monk
• Daily Breakfast
• Most dinners and selected lunches
• Welcome cocktail reception
• Kaiseki (Japanese tasting) fine-dining welcome dinner
• Learn about and enjoy a Yudofu lunch
• Visit to a Japanese sake brewery for tour + tasting
• Transportation to/from day trips
• Visit to the Golden Pavilion and Sagano Bamboo forest
• Walking tour of Higashiyama district
• Entrance to Kyoto sites, temple visits
• Sample the local delicacies while strolling along Nishiki Market
• Private walking tour to Fushimi district, with its iconic thousands of red Shinto gates
• Japanese culture experience classes
• Kimono textile weaving studio and souvenir-making
• Participate in a tea ceremony in a gorgeous Japanese garden
• Spa day with treatments at luxury Kyoto spa
• Taxes

Does not include

• Airfare
• Insurance

How to get here

The nearest major international airport is Osaka Kansai International Airport (KIX). Search and book for flights here .
We can assist in your travel plans upon booking and arrival is simple by train or shuttle from airport
For those wishing to arrive/depart in Tokyo and/or extend their travel by adding some time in the capital city, this is easily reachable by direct bullet train to/from Kyoto.

Booking

To book this Yoga and Creativity Retreat in Japan, send your enquiry to the team who will get back to you within 24 hours.