Yoga & Zen Meditation Tour of Japan: Osaka, Mount Koya Temple, Kyoto & Tokyo

The trip starts in Osaka on Day 1, where you meet your Japanese guide and the rest of the group in the evening. Nothing formal happens that night — the retreat really begins on the morning of Day 2, when you leave the city early and head up 800m Mount Koya, the centre of Shingon Buddhism. You stay overnight in a working temple, eat a traditional shojin ryori dinner, and walk the Oku-no-in cemetery — roughly 2km of path lined with over 200,000 tombstones leading to the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi. The next morning you can get up early to watch the monks pray before a vegetarian breakfast.

From Koyasan you descend by bus, train and funicular, then take the bullet train to Hiroshima (about 5 hours), where you spend the afternoon in the Peace Park and Memorial Museum. Day 4 is a ferry ride to Miyajima island and a free afternoon — the floating torii gate is the main draw, but there's also the option to hike or take the ropeway up Mt Misen for views over the Seto Inland Sea. Day 5 moves you to Kyoto for Nijo Castle, a UNESCO site built in 1603, and an evening walking tour of the Gion geisha district. Day 6 is Fushimi Inari Taisha and its thousands of torii gates, with the afternoon free.

Hakone comes on Day 7: a 30-minute boat cruise on Lake Ashino-ko (clear days give you Mt Fuji), a traditional multi-course kaiseki dinner, and a soak in the natural hot springs. Day 8 takes you to Tokyo before noon, with the rest of the day free for Ueno Park, Akihabara, Harajuku, Ginza or the Imperial Palace East Garden. You depart Tokyo on Day 9 whenever you like.

What separates this from a standard Japan rail tour is the yoga and Zen meditation with Jaina, built into most days, plus the temple overnight — a genuinely different night's sleep rather than a hotel. The other thing to know is the luggage rule: Shinkansen trains cap bags at 160cm total (height + width + depth), roughly carry-on size, so you travel light and carry your own bag through train stations. That constraint is what makes the trip work — you move on bullet trains at 1.5 to 3 hours per leg instead of losing whole days to transit.

What's included

- 8 nights accommodation: 7 nights hotels, 1 night mountain monastery on Mount Koya (shared facilities) - 3 breakfasts and 2 dinners - Daily yoga practice with Jaina Portwood - Japanese Zen meditation sessions, including at Mount Koya - Overnight stay in a working Buddhist temple on Mount Koya - Traditional shojin ryori (Buddhist vegetarian) dinner - Hiroshima Peace Park and Memorial Museum visit - Miyajima Island excursion by ferry - Nijo Castle and gardens visit in Kyoto - Guided Gion walking tour, Kyoto's geisha district - Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine visit - Lake Ashino-ko boat ride in Hakone - Traditional multi-course kaiseki meal - 7-day Japan Rail (JR) pass - All transport between destinations and to/from included activities (bullet train, tram, ferry, public bus, walking) - Local Japanese guide throughout - Your Welcome Moment: meet your guide and group

What's not included

- International flights (fly into Osaka, out of Tokyo) - Travel insurance (mandatory, USD 200,000 minimum medical/repatriation cover) - Meals not listed — budget USD 390-510 - Optional activities (Mt Misen, Ryoan-ji Zen gardens, Meiji Shrine, Senso-ji) - Personal expenses, drinks and shopping - Visa fees - Tips for your guide (optional, guideline USD 5 per person per day) - Laundry (available at some hotels, expensive; coin laundries available in larger cities)