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Kyoto Zen Meditation & Garden Tour at a Zen Temple with Lunch
About This Tour
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.
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.
What's Included
✓ Included
- Shojin traditional meal
- A Certified guide by MagicalTrip
- Lunch
- Entrance fee of all venues we will visit
- Zazen Meditation Experience (1hour)
- Photos during a tour
Good to Know
- 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.