Japan Yoga + Meditation Retreat 8-14 April 2023 - Ishigaki

Either you have been dreaming about going to visit Japan, or you love Japan and it is your 2nd, 3rd 4th visits, Ishigaki offer something even more special. This traditional house used to be a Kimono gallery and now converted into Yoga wellbeing centre.

I cannot address enough how beautiful the house, island and community are.

It is located in the tranquil island Ishigaki, in Okinawa region, 1957km away from Tokyo. It is unlike tropical island in southwest of Japan, my home country. Okinawa is famous for long living, quality of life, and Ishigaki has finest beach and clearest seawater with coral which is perfect for snorkelling and scuba diving you can experience on your free time during the day. It is so welcoming, spacious and friendly. You will have wonderful experience living in a beautiful traditional Japanese house hired just for ourselves, a minute walk to the beach. It is well equipped with amenities.

The typical day starts with half an hour meditation and 90 minutes dynamic yoga practice followed by breakfast, then you have free afternoon to explore.

7:00-7:30    Meditation

7:30-9:00    Asana (Dynamic Vinyasa)

9:30            Breakfast

- Free time -

17:00-18:30 Yin Yoga / Restore

19:00          Dinner

- Free time -

There are lots of activities during the stay you can sign up separately with the venue and locals.

The island offers handful activities i.e. Scuba dive, snorkelling, island tour, hiking, island hopping, night out in town to mingle with locals etc endless. The 7 days will fly with so much activities or you may want to enjoy the quiet time with your favourite books in the sun.

This is my home country, so I am doing my very best for you to have pure local cultural experience throughout your stay. We have amazing chef who will be spending all day in the kitchen for us, cooking nutritious healthy local food for any dietary requirement. House also provides massage, i.e. Ayurveda Yoga massage, Swedish and more that you can book with separate cost. (I really recommend it!)

The house provides very homey and welcoming environment as if you come back your own or family home. And it is very typical  home atmosphere for those who choose the stay in the shared room. It is very spacious house so you will also find your moment and space whenever you want.

Extra Stay - Travel around Japan

I also recommend for you to stay extra week or two before or after the retreat to travel around Japan. You can get special train deal called JR Pass, which allow you to travel around Japan with most of JR lines and bullet train lines for 7 days 14 days very reasonable price (it is only available for people who are non-resident in Japan. You will need to apply before you depart outside Japan). April is a Cherry Blossom season in Japan, and you see festivals under the trees all over Japan. It is something “MUST SEE”. October is also beautiful in Japan with red, yellow and brown leaves in the mountain and forest. Both seasons decorate the temples and shrines beautifully in old towns.

Booking is only confirmed when deposit £350 is paid fully which is non-refundable and the rest needs to be paid fully two months before the retreat. Any booking less than 2 months before the retreat require full payment for booking.

Price start from £700-1200 pp depending on the room choice. It is first come first take. Private rooms are limited so if you prefer those private rooms, please book sooner.

I highly recommend for you to apply for the travel insurance separately to avoid any stress in case of travel disruption, flight cancellation etc. Since it is long haul flight.

I am happy to advise your travel arrangements however I am not a travel agent, so accuracy is not 100%. (I do my best with my knowledge and experience!)

The first day is pretty much welcoming everyone’s arrival and we all have opening ceremony at the dinner to get to know each other. Check-in starts at 15:00pm however there are little more flexibility so if your flight is arriving earlier, no panic and just let me know. And the same for Check-out, it is 12:00pm on the last day but again, let me know of your flight detail and we will accommodate. If you would like to stay additional days, please let me know. It is additional cost but very reasonable.

Please check your VISA requirement, if you need any documents, please let me know.

Finally, we accommodate any dietary requirement so please let me know if you have any in advance.

If you have any further information and question, please do let me know.

Hope to have you in my school trip to Japan and let me assist you be trained further in your yoga practice.

Lots of love

Namaste

Saori Funawatari