8-Day Yoga & Cultural Immersion Retreat in Rural Japan

The retreat takes place in Ukiha, a small city in Fukuoka Prefecture known for its fruit orchards and old merchant streets. Guests stay in a traditional Japanese house with a garden, about an hour's drive from Fukuoka Airport. The whole week is built around two things: daily yoga on tatami mats and real, hands-on contact with Japanese culture through local people. It's not a sightseeing tour — the group is limited to eight guests, and the workshops are led by the same tea masters, artisans and monks each season.

A typical day starts with yoga and meditation in the morning, looking out over the garden. Breakfast is vegan and homemade. Then there's either a cultural workshop at the house or an excursion — a Zen meditation session and sutra copying with a temple monk, matcha grinding with tea masters from Yame, a traditional dyeing workshop where you make your own scarf, kimono dressing and Japanese dance with an instructor, or a certified forest therapy walk through the Ukiha countryside. Afternoon might include a visit to a rural old town or a shrine. Evenings are for a seasonal vegan dinner, often with local guests joining, followed by free time.

What separates this from other Japan retreats is the small group size and the host's local roots. Haruka Sasaki was born in Fukuoka and teaches yoga in Australia; she started the retreat to bring international visitors to her home region. Because she grew up here, the workshops aren't tourist performances — the tea masters, artisan and monk are people she knows. Food is fully plant-based and uses local ingredients, and most meals are eaten at the house. Four lunches are included; on the remaining days guests eat out in the local area, which is one of the reasons the retreat feels more like living in Japan than visiting it.

The retreat runs for eight days and seven nights, with dates in spring (late March and April 2027) and autumn (late October and early November 2026; autumn 2026 dates are sold out as of publication). The house itself is a traditional Japanese home with tatami rooms and a garden; guests sleep on futons in shared or private rooms. There's no pool or gym — the point is the quiet, the garden, and the surrounding countryside. Fukuoka city is an hour away if guests want to extend their trip.

Since the group is capped at eight, the pace stays slow and the schedule has room to breathe. There's no obligation to join every activity, though most people do because the workshops are the heart of the week. The retreat is designed for adults who are comfortable with a simple, communal setup — shared bathrooms, plant-based food, and a fair amount of sitting on tatami. It suits solo travellers particularly well; the small group and shared meals mean nobody stays a stranger for long.

What's included

- 8 days / 7 nights accommodation in a traditional Japanese house - 7 breakfasts - 4 lunches - 7 dinners - Daily yoga practice and meditation - Matcha grinding and tea ceremony with Yame tea masters - Zazen meditation with a temple monk - Sutra copying calligraphy - Kimono and traditional dance experience - Traditional dyeing scarf workshop - Certified forest therapy walk - Shrine and temple visits - Free minibus transfer to and from Fukuoka Airport

What's not included

- Flight fees - Travel insurance - Any additional activities not listed in the programme - Lunches eaten out in the local area (3 days) - Personal expenses