Duration
Book now, pay later
Guided tour
Meals included
- Experience authentic Zen meditation and stroll through tranquil temple gardens with a certified local guide in Kyoto.
- Step inside Tofukuji Temple, one of Kyoto’s five great Zen temples, rich with 13th-century heritage and tradition.
- Savor a Shojin vegetarian meal, a culinary tradition rooted in Zen Buddhist philosophy, at a local restaurant.
- Receive photos taken during your journey, capturing serene moments and memories from the tour.
- Lunch
- Shojin traditional meal
- Zazen meditation experience (1 hour)
- Entrance fee of all venues visited
- Certified local guide
- Photos during the tour
You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
Join a tour by MagicalTrip, proud winner of the Tripadvisor Best of the Best Award. Each experience is led by a MagicalTrip Certified Guide, professionally trained and carefully selected to ensure quality and authenticity.
What does Zen truly mean? On this tour, a local guide introduces you to the essence of Zen before meditation begins. Start by visiting a serene Zen garden, where you’ll learn how Zen principles are expressed through garden design and how to appreciate them in a calm, mindful way.
Next, visit Tofukuji Temple, one of Kyoto’s five great Zen temples with a history dating back to the 13th century. After exploring the grounds, continue to a smaller temple within Tofukuji dedicated to zazen practice, where you will take part in an authentic Zen meditation experience.
What to bring
- Bring water and wear a hat in summer, as the heat and humidity can be intense.
- Wear thick socks in winter because the temple floors can be cold.
What's not allowed
- Pets are not permitted on this tour.
- Infants must not sit on laps, and infant seats are not available.
- Leaning against walls or pillars is not permitted during the tour.
- Private conversations are prohibited during the zazen meditation session.
Accessibility
- This experience is not wheelchair or stroller accessible.
Additional information
- The tour ends near Chishaku-in Temple and does not return to the original meeting point.
- During the zazen meditation, you will sit for about one hour on a chair without a backrest or directly on tatami mats.
- If your tour starts at 10:45am, lunch will be served at 2:15pm after the meditation session, so please eat enough beforehand.
- The tour starts on time, and late arrivals cannot join, be refunded, or be rescheduled.
- Dietary requests must be made in advance by the day before the tour; no same-day changes are accepted.
- Allergy-free or special dietary accommodations cannot be guaranteed.
- Anyone over 12 years old can join this tour.
- Public transportation is available nearby.
- Your voucher will be emailed to you shortly.
- Display the voucher on your mobile phone with a valid photo ID at the starting point.
- Please check your final voucher for the starting point details & specific instructions.
