(No availability) 7 Day Cultural, Creativity and Yoga Holiday in Kyoto
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Culture and Yoga Holiday in Japan
Eat.Pray.Move is returning again to the ‘land of the rising sun’, Japan. This time they’ll be accompanied by a private guide during your week and led through some of the more hidden, off-the-beaten-path experiences and sacred places in and around Kyoto. You’ll be exploring yoga combined with creativity classes; both practices designed to lead you to a closer look into the Zen mindset of simplicity, quiet inward focus, and being present. Yoga and meditation classes will be held daily to prepare your bodies and minds, and then your travel journal creation classes, led by collaborator Julian Hyzler, will help you find news ways of seeing.
Meet the instructors
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Highlights
- Private Zen Meditation led by a monk
- Daily creativity and travel-journal classes
- Daily yoga class at a 660-yr old private temple
- Visit the Golden Pavilion and Sagano Bamboo forest
- Japanese culture experience classes
- Walking tour of Higashiyama district
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- 6 nights accommodation
Skill level
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Yoga styles
Accommodation
You will be finding a nice balance of traditional with modern in your home for the week, a new modern hotel built with the spirit of the Japanese ryokan (traditional guest house) but with all of the modern conveniences.
Guests will enjoy western-style beds in the usual minimal Japanese style. The hotel offers a Japanese bath spa room for guests as well as an amazing restaurant, bar, and lounge, and it’s located in Kyoto’s famous Gion district, where one may spot a Geisha walking the streets.
Opened in 2017, the Celestine Kyoto Gion is unmistakably a contemporary luxury hotel, and while the name may not be well known outside of Japan, it’s the flagship product of an experienced hospitality group; the Celestine hotels, here and in Tokyo, are on par with the luxury hotels operated by the big international groups.
What sets this particular Celestine apart is the way it seamlessly integrates the look and feel of modern luxury hospitality with the tranquility and ease of ryokan life.
The setting is urban, but only just, with the Kamo river on one side and Mount Higashi on the other, and with several historic and cultural sites within walking distance. The soaring stone-clad double-height lobby, with its floor-to-ceiling windows and curvaceous modern furniture, sets an impressively stylish tone.
The rooms, meanwhile, split the difference between modern luxury and tatami tradition — you’re instructed to remove your shoes at the threshold, in case you’re not already in the habit. And the restaurant, while not strictly ryokan-style kaiseki, is a piece of history all the same; housed in its own separate classically-styled building is the new iteration of Yasaka Endo, a Kyoto institution for over a hundred years.
If you're traveling alone, you can choose the shared room and Eat.Pray.Move will match you up based on the guest profile. Rooms are spacious with separate beds and private bathrooms.
Program
Overview
All levels are welcome, and participation is voluntary. Projects and classes will be offered as a completely exploratory, unintimidating, and personal experience.
Yoga
Daily meditation and yoga classes will be offered in a way to relax, stimulate, and help you grow in your own personal practice. Classes are open to all levels, beginner to practiced, and can range from gentle, restorative, and more vigorous Vinyasa flow and Ashtanga styles. Style and class levels will be determined and molded to fit participants' needs, and with a small intimate retreat class size, you will be able to get personalized attention and comfortability to deeply explore their practice.
The yoga classes during your time in Japan will take place in a private next-door temple. You’ll enjoy the serene experience of a Japanese garden just in front of you, while you practice in the room of wood, paper, and tatami mats, where monks still meditate today.
One day you will be led through meditation by a monk as the start of your yoga class. This is a very special and unique experience, one of which many tourists will never have been able to participate.
The above is a tentative schedule, activities may be substituted based on weather and seasonability. All activities are carefully chosen based on the best experience for everyone.
Included excursions
- Walking tour of the Higashiyama/Gion district of Kyoto
- Visit the Nishiki Market to explore the street foods, shops, and market vibe
- Day to visit surrounding area sites including the Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji) and the Bamboo Forest
- Experiential Japanese cultural lesson (tea-ceremony, textile class)
- Private tour of the Fushimi Inari Red Torii Gates
- Sake brewery tour and tasting
- Luxury spa day with treatments
Instructors
Erin Lewis
Erin has studied various types of yoga disciplines since 1998, concentrating on the Ashtanga discipline since 2008. She received her teacher certification in Florence, Italy and has continued her education with various specialty certifications throughout the years. She now combines powerful movements with more anatomical-based core Vinyasa flow and Restorative movement in her personal practice and teaching style.
Julian Hyzler
From his home base in Italy, Julian leads many art retreats each year. Julian is the founder of Easel and Lens, where he leads painting and photography courses around the world and online. You will be sure to stay entertained with Julian’s witty banter and knowledgeable, artistic anecdotes during your retreat.
Retreat location
Come away with you for a week in the incredible and culturally-rich country of Japan where you’ll be staying in the cultural capital of Kyoto, the city with 1600 temples.
Surrounding Area
Not only will you take advantage of the amenities and beauty of your hotel and the neighboring temple for the week, but this retreat will also be full of culturally rich experiences that will give you a full taste of the offerings of Japan.
By being located in Kyoto, you 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 you will feel as if you've stepped through a Japanese painting; with cherry blossoms, bonsai trees, wooden pagodas, and rock gardens.
You'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.
Your days in the center will include a visit to the famous market, participation in a traditional tea ceremony, temple visits with on-site travel journal creation lessons, an evening walk through the Gion district where you'll keep your 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.
This Yoga Retreat is vegetarian-friendly
Click to see more vegetarian-friendly Yoga Retreats
Food
Healthy, vegetarian food is part of the retreat experience, including daily breakfast and select dinners and lunches, either hosted at the hotels or out and about in town.
Some meals will have an option for seafood as you're in the land of some of the freshest fish on the planet. Ingredients are local and seasonal, and your meals will be inspired by Japanese traditions. You'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!
All provided meals are vegetarian, with some seafood options on specific meals, special dietary restrictions can be accommodated.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
- Coffee
- Tea
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Pescatarian
- Seafood
- Other dietary requirements on request
Spa treatments
Spa day with treatments at luxury Kyoto spa is included.
What's included
- Walking tour of Higashiyama district
- Entrance to Kyoto sites, temple visits
- Experiential Japanese cultural lesson (tea-ceremony, textile class)
- Private Zen Meditation led by a monk
- Learn about and enjoy a Yudofu lunch
- Daily creativity and travel-journal classes
- Spa day with treatments at luxury Kyoto spa
- Visit a Japanese sake brewery for a tour and tasting
- Visit the Golden Pavilion and Sagano Bamboo forest
- Sample the local delicacies while strolling along the Nishiki Market
- Daily yoga class at a 660-yr old private temple overlooking a Japanese garden
- Private walking tour to the Fushimi district, with its iconic thousands of red Shinto gates
- 6 nights of hotel accommodation (Japanese luxury hotel, western-style bedding)
- Kaiseki (Japanese tasting) fine-dining welcome dinner
- Daily breakfast, most dinners, and selected lunches
- Transportation to/from day trips
- Welcome cocktail reception
- Included taxes
- Kimono textile weaving studio and souvenir-making
- Participate in a tea ceremony in a gorgeous Japanese garden
What's not included
- Flights
- Airport transfers
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Kansai International Airport
79 km
Transfer not provided
Arrival by airplane
Please book your flight to arrive at Kansai International Airport (KIX). Transfer from and to the airport is not provided. Please contact Eat.Pray.Move for more information about the airport transfer.
Eat.Pray.Move can assist in your travel plans upon booking and arrival is simple by train or shuttle from the 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.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 30% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.
