Tokyo 2 - Hour Genuine Samurai Experience : Kendo i Japan

Awesome experience! As others have mentioned, be prepared to work and sweat a bit! This is an interactive experience. But you don't need to be an athlete to appreciate it -- just need a willingness to try! The guide / teacher was really enthusiastic and positive about the sport, which is exactly what you need when you're doing something out of your comfort zone.

My spouse, my two adult sons, and I had a fantastic time during a two-hour Kendo practice session. It ended up being just the four of us, which made for a very personal and engaging experience (though I am not sure how typical that is). If you are interested in an authentic Kendo practice, this is an excellent introduction. The instructor is highly experienced and guided us through every aspect: getting dressed, putting on the armor, proper stance and positioning, striking techniques, and how matches and scoring work. We learned the fundamentals, practiced drills, and even had several one-on-one bouts among ourselves and with the instructor. Facing the instructor was, unsurprisingly, a humbling experience. While Kendo is a serious martial art, the instructor struck a great balance—maintaining discipline while keeping the session approachable and welcoming. He was patient and happy to answer all of our questions. A few practical tips: 1) Review directions to the dojo in advance, as it is a bit of a walk from the station and can be confusing. 2) If you wear corrective lenses, contacts are preferable—glasses can be uncomfortable inside the helmet. 3) Be prepared to sweat. The session is fairly intense, and we were all quite sweaty by the end.

Professional and personal care

Getting there was hard. The gear was authentic and the room was air conditioned which was great. It's a real training school, so Sensei lives up stairs. Authentic as it gets. We started with the history of kendo, and then proceeded to learn technique and forms, and actual sparring and reps to practices. It was overall a great experience. I do want to add, for someone who is teaching novices and tourist, Sensei Kenshi did not have the warmest personality or patience that day. He's a master and sensei, so he takes his craft seriously, so I get it. I just took it as making the experience more authentic. LOL. Overall authentic real experience and very educating. Thank you!

It was a real treat to participate in something so traditionally Japanese. Not many people get to have this experience. I enjoyed it overall except the instructor wasn’t the most pleasant teacher. He didn’t even introduce himself and was very gruff. He seems like he did not want to be giving the class. His lack of English was not an issue. Only when I gave him a challenge coin did he slightly warm up and thankful. So if you go, go for the experience but do not think the teacher will be nice to you.

So fun and highly recommend! Highlight of the trip. Great workout and good times. Love how they video and take pics

My wife and I had an amazing experience. It was so much fun. Come ready for a workout and leave with a smile!

Most amazing experience to do kendo here. Anyone can do.

Great experience! Be ready to spend some energy, it's an actual sports experience! Very informative if it's your 1st exposure to the sport. But it is an extremely fun experience!

It was totally worth it very fun potentially a new hobby be ready to sweat a lot the master of the dojo (I think that’s who he was) was very nice but when practicing he is very stern but overall great experience.