Kyoto Zen Meditation & Garden Tour at a Zen Temple with Lunch
Description
Join a tour by MagicalTrip, proud winner of the Tripadvisor Best of the Best Award. Each experience is led by a MagicalTrip Certified Guide, professionally trained and carefully selected to ensure quality and authenticity. What does Zen truly mean? On this tour, a local guide introduces you to the essence of Zen before meditation begins. Start by visiting a serene Zen garden, where you’ll learn how Zen principles are expressed through garden design and how to appreciate them in a calm, mindful way. Next, visit Tofukuji Temple, one of Kyoto’s five great Zen temples with a history dating back to the 13th century. After exploring the grounds, continue to a smaller temple within Tofukuji dedicated to zazen practice, where you will take part in an authentic Zen meditation experience.
Tour Options
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- The itinerary for this tour includes some locations that are not accessible by a wheelchair or stroller.
- This activity ends near Chishaku-in Temple
- The itinerary states we will return to the meeting point, but the plan is to disband at the last shop.
- Leaning against walls or pillars is not permitted.
- During the zazen experience, you will sit for about one hour either on a chair without a backrest placed on tatami mats or directly on the tatami mats.
- Please refer to the tour photos for more details.
- Those who booked a tour starting from 10:45, the lunch time would be 14:15 (after meditation experience), so please have enough breakfast or brunch.
- Out of respect for other guests and to ensure the best tour for everyone, we must start the tour on time.
- You will not be able to join the tour, get refund or rescheduled if you are late for the tour and missed the group.
- Since other guests will be participating in the zazen experience, private conversations are generally prohibited. During this time, you will be given materials that can be read silently.
- Please note that we are unable to guarantee allergy-free or cater to dietary restrictions as the food is prepared in kitchens that do not belong to MagicalTrip. Additionally, there may be instances where substitutions are not possible at certain stops; however, we will make every effort to compensate at different stops throughout the tour.
- Summer in Japan is very hot and humid, so we recommend that you bring water and wear a hat to prevent heat stroke.
- Anyone over 12 years can join this tour
- For any dietary request, please request in advance (by the day before). We are unable to accept any request on the day of the tour.
- In winter, temple floors can be quite cold, so wearing thick socks is recommended.
Reviews(573)
Amazing expérience and introduction to the Zen and Zazen Meditation.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear that you had an amazing experience. We hope the experience gave you a meaningful and peaceful insight into Japanese culture. Thank you for joining us, and we hope to welcome you back to Japan again in the future!
Yutaka YOSHIDA is an excellent company to have , very informative and engaging. He made sure our experience was seamless and memorable , he went beyond any typical/ordinary tour guide usually provides .
Yutaka is an Excellent tour guide!! He is very patient, knowledgeable & very pleasant to his guests. He is definitely a 5-star tour guide!!
Yutaka was very accommodating, generous, and informative throughout the trip! He’s very knowledgeable and entertaining as a host, and the food he provided us was very delicious!
Yutaka was amazing tour guide. He told us a lot of information. The meditation was great. I recommend it to everyone!
Thank you so much for your kind review! We’re glad to hear that you enjoyed the tour and the meditation experience with Yutaka. We’re also happy that his explanations made the experience even more meaningful. We hope to see you on one of our tours again in the future!
Kana was our guide and she was very knowledgeable. This tour was amazing for all the senses… and for finding your inner peace! Highly recommend this tour would Kana! Thank you for a experience of a lifetime.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear that you had such a memorable experience with Kana. It’s wonderful to know that her knowledge and guidance helped make the tour a truly special experience for all the senses and gave you a chance to find your inner peace. Thank you again for your heartfelt recommendation, and we hope to welcome you again in the future!
Yutaka was amazing, kind, prepared and fun. Best tour of our trip to Japan!!!!! Highly recommend!
Thank you so much for your fantastic review! We’re thrilled to hear that Yutaka made your experience so enjoyable and was a highlight of your trip to Japan. We’ll be sure to share your kind words with him. Thank you for the strong recommendation!
Yutaka was incredible! Very knowledgeable and we learned so much about meditation. Highly recommended experience
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're delighted to hear that you had such a meaningful experience with Yutaka. It's great to know that you enjoyed learning about meditation and found his knowledge valuable. Thank you for your recommendation, and we hope to welcome you on another experience in the future!
Yutaka’s tour was amazing! We had so much fun learning from him and meditating for the first time. Highly recommend to anyone who is curious about exploring the religions of Japan. You won’t be disappointed
Our guide was knowledgeable, engaging and informative, sharing the history and philosophy behind the garden and nearby temples. The guided Zen meditation was the highlight of the experience, encouraging us to slow down, be present and appreciate the garden in a much deeper way. I left with a greater understanding of Japanese culture and would highly recommend this tour.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're delighted to hear you enjoyed the tour and that the Zen meditation was a meaningful part of your experience. It's wonderful to know you gained a deeper appreciation of the garden and Japanese culture. Thank you for your recommendation. We hope to welcome you on another MagicalTrip tour soon!
