Kyoto Zen Meditation: Garden Tour at Tofukuji Temple

Discover Zen at Tofukuji Temple: Meditate, explore serene gardens, and savor a traditional lunch. Immerse in Kyoto’s rich Zen heritage.

Duration: 4 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • 15-chōme-795 Honmachi - Engage in Zen meditation at one of Kyoto’s five prominent Zen temples.
    Learn the art of zazen or Zen meditation from a local expert.
    Explore the Zen garden (dry landscape garden) with insightful commentary from a guide and embrace the serenity.
    Savor traditional vegetarian cuisine that has been served by Zen monks for centuries.
What's Included
  • Sho-jin Buddhist Vegetarian Lunch
  • 4.5 hrs with a local guide
  • Lunch
  • Entrance fee of all venues we will visit
  • Zazen Meditation Experience (1hour)
  • Photos during a tour
Additional Information

What comes to mind when you think of Zen? Before engaging in Zen meditation, a local guide will lead you to a garden where you can immerse yourself in the essence of Zen.
“Zen” is an inherently esoteric Buddhist concept, even for the Japanese. While the word “Zen” may conjure thoughts of Zen meditation, this tour will initially guide you to a garden…

Location
12-chōme-232 Honmachi
Outside of Tofukuji Station EXIT 2, Next to the Family Mart [From Kyoto stn. to Tofukuji stn.] JR line:You can use both rapid trains and local trains. [From Shijyo keihan to Tofukuji station] Keihan line : You can use sub-express, semi express and local trains. Please DO NOT USE express trains.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(97 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Leamn7958wl
Dec 8, 2024
Calm and Meaningful - I’ve long been interested in Buddhism, and this was a gentle and meaningful dive a little further into it. The meditation practice was wonderful (and not too hard!) and the garden we visited was lovely. My guide, Yutaka, was knowledgeable and personable. I greatly enjoyed the morning and highly recommend it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V5558byrobertg
Dec 4, 2024
Great pick! - Yutaka was a wonderful and knowledgeable tour guide. I loved all of the temples he took me too and the meditation class was just lovely. Lunch was vegetarian which is not my normal go-to, but it was a very good. A fantastic morning / early afternoon in Kyoto.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
I4358frmatts
Dec 2, 2024
Nobu was the best guide! - Our tour guide Nobu was so fantastic, we got so much out of our Zen Meditation and Garden tour. My wife and I planned to see a bunch of temples and shrines while in Kyoto, but our time with Nobu really put everything in context and perspective, and I couldn't imagine wandering around without all of the additional insights she provided.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Faraway16405959692
Nov 26, 2024
Don't miss this tour! - Our guide, Yutaka Yoshida, was fantastic. He really catered to all individual needs and was interested in us as well as imparting really interesting facts during our Zen meditation tour. The meditation itself was a really wonderful experience. Not understanding the Japanese speaking Buddist priest was not an issue as Yutaka had provided all the necessary information in English for us. The temples we visited were carefully chosen and the lunch was delicious . I can highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Departure40438137449
Nov 25, 2024
Very good tour, very knowledgeable guide - Our guide Yutaka is very knowledgeable and nice. He answered all our questions about the temples and any general questions we had.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Firstalways
Nov 25, 2024
Highly recommend this tour. Memorable half day - Amazing tour we learned a lot and felt very good. Our tour guide Yutaka was very well prepared very thoughtful and very professional. I will definitely recommend it
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Loren
Nov 25, 2024
Great zen experience - Loved the zen experience especially during this busy season in Kyoto. Guide yutaka was very professional, knowledgeable and friendly
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Taylorjf5826hm
Nov 24, 2024
Comfortable experience! - Tammy was a wonderful tour guide. Very knowledgeable and made our experience so special! You can tell she really wants her participants to have a good time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Saputrasugeng
Nov 22, 2024
Unique meditation experience - Quite a unique experience. You can ask the monk to hit you if you feel you can’t concentrate on meditation. But a lot of walk
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Paradise67195739066
Nov 15, 2024
Perfekt 👌 - The Zen Meditation was realy fine. Our guide „Yutaka Yoshida“ is an cool perfekt man and hey is so friendly. He did a great Job. Thank you for this perfekt experience. Great wishes Rene + Justin
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Select Date and Tickets
up to 7 guests
1
Adult
December 2024
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Today