Samurai Experience in Osaka

 9:30 You will be met by our guides at Sennan Izumi Sunagawa Station, which is around a 40-minute train ride from Osaka Tennoji station 

10:00 We will head over to Toyotomi Temple. Here we will have a meet and greet with the head monk of the monastery. 

10:30 Demonstration and wearing of traditional samurai clothing. This will take place in the samurai wing of the monastery. Here you will have the opportunity to wear authentic samurai apparel. Your guide will also give you a thorough understanding of the production and purpose of each item that the samurai wore. 

11:30 Tour of Toyotomi Temple. During this guided tour, you will be shown the daily practices and rituals of the monks living at the temple. You will get insight into how Buddhism is practiced in Japan. 

12:00 We will head up to the mountain for lunch. We will drive 20 minutes into the mountain to a village built like an Edo period settlement and learn about katana studies - ”The Way of the Warrior.” You will know what life was like for the samurai warrior, specifically focused on weapons use and the honor code the samurai were expected to live.

13:00 lunch we will cook by ourselves 

14:00 Zen and meditation study 

14:30 Samurai swordplay. Learn the katana (sword) techniques of the samurai warrior. Hold genuine, expertly crafted samurai swords and learn about how they are made and their importance to the samurai warrior. After that, we will return to the temple. 

19:00 Dinner. We will cook a samurai hot pot dish. 

05:20Wake up 

06:00 Join the monks for a morning payer. 

06:30 Prepare breakfast for the team 

08:00 Further zen meditation study by putting on full samurai clothing. 

09:00 Test of the katana (sword) training. 

10:15 We will visit the nearby temple built for the Tokugawa Shogun three hundred years ago. Here we will tour the temple itself and gain an insight into the importance and purpose of ringing bells and a Buddhist temple. 

12:00 You will return to your room to pick up your belongings and head over to Izumi Sunigawa Station

 · Everyone will sleep in a shared room on futons and a traditional tatami mat floor.

· The room is used by sumo wrestlers when they arrive in Osaka.

· Currently, there is only one shower and bath to be shared by the group

· No alcohol during the tour.

· Respect to your fellow tour attendees and the monks in the temple is a MUST.

· The experience is available only on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays

· As sumo wrestlers sleep in their respective sumo stables in February and March, guests on tour will be provided with traditional, Edo-era-style accommodation in a village in the mountains. 

· An English-speaking guide will be with you the whole time.

· The minimum age is 15.

· Note that the provided accommodation is not a hotel; however, we can arrange a hotel for guests who would like to stay in a hotel. This arrangement is charged extra and subject to hotel room availability.