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(563)
I had an amazing experience! Yutaka was a great guide, very knowledgeable about the area and answered all my questions. The meditation was a really cool experience and it was nice to chat with the monk at the end. The food was very yummy as well. Such a great day.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're so happy to hear that you had an amazing experience with Yutaka. It's great to know you enjoyed the meditation, chatting with the monk, and the delicious food. We'll be sure to share your kind words with Yutaka. Thank you for joining us, and we hope to welcome you again on another tour!
Yutaka was amazing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ He took me round lots of temples and a beautiful zen garden. Then we did a meditation with a monk which was a beautiful experience. We finished it off with a lovely traditional Japanese meal. Highly recommend he’s wonderful ⭐️⭐️
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're so happy to hear that you had a great time with Yutaka and enjoyed the temples, Zen garden, meditation experience, and traditional Japanese meal. We'll be sure to share your kind words with him. Thank you for your recommendation, and we hope to welcome you again on another MagicalTrip tour!
Yutaka was my guide and it was an incredible tour! I did this by myself for my birthday and I really felt like it helped me clear my mind and learn so much about meditation. He even met me when I was 20 minutes early and showed me around some extra places. 100% recommended this tour!
We had such an amazing time! Tour was great!
Thank you so much for your kind review! We're thrilled to hear you had such an amazing time and enjoyed the tour. We truly appreciate your support and hope to welcome you back for another memorable experience in the future!
Excellent experience visiting temples, attending a zen meditation, seeing the gardens, and traditional vegan lunch. It was wonderful!
Thank you so much for your lovely review! We're so happy to hear you enjoyed visiting the temples, experiencing Zen meditation, exploring the beautiful gardens, and savoring the traditional vegan lunch. It’s wonderful to know you had such a memorable experience. We hope to welcome you back on another tour someday!
The trip was amazing and so enlightening! Highly recommend!
Thank you so much for your kind words! We're delighted to hear you had such an amazing and enlightening experience. Your recommendation means a lot to us, and we hope to welcome you back for another tour in the future!
It was truly a special experience. The zen meditation with the monk in Kyoto was very beautiful and authentic. It was not easy; in fact, it was quite challenging, but for that reason, we enjoyed it immensely and it left us with something precious. A special thanks goes to our guide, Yutaka, who was fantastic! Very skilled, friendly, kind, and helpful. He made the entire experience even more interesting and enjoyable with his explanations and enthusiasm. We recommend this experience to anyone who wants to get to know Japanese culture and spirituality more closely. Thank you, Yutaka!
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're delighted to hear that the Zen meditation experience was so meaningful and authentic for you. It's especially rewarding to know that Yutaka helped make the experience even more memorable with his knowledge, kindness, and enthusiasm. We'll be sure to share your kind words with him. Thank you for your recommendation, and we hope to welcome you back to Japan again soon!
I really enjoyed my day learning about zen meditation and the opportunity to immerse myself in this through time spent in a zen garden and a meditation led by a Buddhist monk. Yakatura was a fantastic guide, knowledgeable and considerate. The lunch was delicious and beautifully presented.
Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed learning about Zen meditation and immersing yourself in the peaceful atmosphere of the Zen garden and temple experience. We’re especially pleased that our guide helped make your day so memorable. Thank you for your kind words, and we hope to welcome you again on another cultural journey in Japan.
Great experience. Our guide was very helpful and educational.
Thank you for your kind review! We’re glad to hear you had a great experience and that your guide was helpful and informative. We truly appreciate your feedback and hope to welcome you again in the future!
Really lovely experience to get to know Zen Buddhist culture better, as well as see several beautiful locations in Kyoto. Yutaka Yoshida was a wonderful tour guide for the full experience!
Thank you very much for your kind review! We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed learning more about Zen Buddhist culture and exploring beautiful locations in Kyoto. We’re especially happy that Yutaka helped make your experience so memorable. We truly appreciate your feedback and hope to welcome you again in the future!
