Tour Schedule
1st day
9:30 Gather at Keihin Kyuko Yokosuka Chuo Station
Your guide will be waiting for you at the reception desk on the concourse in front of the east exit of Yokosuka Chuo Station on the Keihin Kyuko Railway line. After introducing themselves your guide will distribute materials and explain them to you. You will then transfer by chartered transport to Manshoji Temple.
10:00 Zazen experience at Manshoji Temple and viewing of the temple’s Buddhist statues.
Under the guidance of the temple’s Zen monks, you will experience authentic zazen. This will give you a sense of how samurai warriors quieted their minds. You will start with a tea ceremony using a special plum tea. There will then be two 15 minute sets of Zazen in the beautiful main hall of Manshoji Temple.
Manshoji Temple was built by Minamoto no Yoritomo to comfort the spirit of Miura Yoshiaki. He was the patriarch of the Miura clan and distinguished himself during Yoritomo's conquest of Japan. You will see a seated statue of Yoshiaki Miura that is the best representation of Kamakura Era a samurai. Because of its excellence it is designated as a national important cultural property. After seeing the lifelike sculpture and hearing the story of Miura Yoshiaki in the Manshoji Temple Treasure Hall, the priest will guide you up to the tomb where you can imagine the life of the samurai of the past.
12:30 Lunch and sutra recitation at Jorakuji Temple
At Jorakuji Temple, your will lunch will be “a military box meal,” called Negaimeshi. This may not sound appetizing, but it is actually an excellent vegan meal. The many ingredients include chestnuts, kelp, shiitake mushrooms. These symbolize the three consecration rituals that warriors performed as they ate and prayed for victory before going off to war.
After lunch, you will be invited to try your hand at copying the sacred Amida Sutra. This sutra highlights the virtues of the main deity of the temple, whose name is Amida Nyorai. Copying sutras is a meditative experience that starts by calming your mind as you rub your own ink stick. When the ink becomes a dark black you can then trace the sutra with a brush onto a fine sheet of Japanese paper.
At the temple, you can also view artificial reality cartoons depicting the history of the temple and the five Buddhist statues by Unkei. These are accessible on your own smart phone at the multilingual signboards placed around the grounds of Jorakuji Temple.
*Please note the manga cannot be viewed with some browsers that do not support AR.
Supported browsers are Safari or Chrome.
15:30 Special visit to the temple’s sacred treasure house to see the great Buddhist statues created by Unkei.
This is a unique opportunity to see these statues close-up in the sacred treasure house. You will be able to meditate and listen to drumming and chanting by candlelight, just as the powerful samurai did in the Kamakura period. The temple’s five Buddhist statues carved by Unkei are all designated as national important cultural properties.
When you are ready to leave the temple, your chartered transport will transfer you to your hotel where we will stay the night.
17:00 Arrive at your hotel (dinner not included)
Your hotel will be a 3-star or higher-class hotel convenient to Yokosuka Chuo Station on the Keihin Electric Express Railway. After checking in you will have free time to explore the Yokosuka Chuo area and find an interesting restaurant to your preference.
2nd Day
10:00 Departure from Hotel
Your guide will meet you at your hotel and escort you by chartered transport to the Aikido dojo. Upon arrival, the Aikido Master instructor will give you a brief talk about the Aikido and the spirit of the samurai. Afterwards, you will be instructed on how to put on your special Aikido wear, called dohgi and hakama. You will then learn about the special etiquette of Aikido, which is the essence of Japanese martial arts “BUDO”.
11:00 Experience the spirit of Bushido in the Dojo
In the morning, you will learn the basics of Budo. You will start by learning the natural posture that allows Ki to flow up from the toes to quiet the mind. You will learn how to use the mind and body as one, while experiencing a state of true human power, just as the samurai did in the past.
You will be surprised to experience how the body is instantly affected by the attitude and focus of your mind.
13:00 Lunch and rest at the dojo
At the dojo, your will lunch will be another excellent Ikusameshi, “military box meal” The many ingredients symbolize the three consecration rituals that warriors performed as they ate and prayed for victory before going off to war.
14:00 Martial arts “BUDO” experience in the dojo
After lunch, you will learn the special technique of chest thrusting, called kote-oroshi that allows you to influence your opponent's ki energy. You will also learn breathing exercises to increase your ki energy. You will also be provided a wooden sword to experience the feeling that your mind and sword are one and the same, just as the samurai practiced martial arts “BUDO”.
After this you will wrap up and change back into your own clothes. After the tour, we will be escorted back to Yokosuka Chuo Station on the Keihin Kyuko Railway, where you will be dropped off to continue your journey.