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 - Discover the art of Zen meditation at one of Kyoto’s five prominent Zen temples. Gain valuable insights into the practice of zazen or Zen meditation with guidance from a local expert. Delight in the serene Zen garden (dry landscape garden) accompanied by a guide’s informative commentary. Savor a traditional Buddhist meal, a…
What's Included
  • 4.5 hrs with a local guide
  • Lunch
  • Entrance fee of all venues we will visit
  • Zazen Meditation Experience (1 hour)
  • Photos during a tour
  • Shojin traditional meal (Dashi-fish broth is used for some dishes, a bit of dairy for a dish)
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
FamilyMart Nakai Tofukuji
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
(246 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Tonia
Jul 13, 2025
Very memorable experience - Yutaka was an amazing tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and funny right off you felt completely comfortable and knew you were going to have a great experience. Super friendly and kind. He made sure everyone was taken care of! Highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Noahsp5387bd
Jul 13, 2025
Amazing Experience for Meditation - Yataka was an amazing guide, it was a great experience for me and my family. Would absolutely do it again. Ended with some amazing food to try.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Flameingrodyt
Jul 13, 2025
Great Zen experience - Wonderful meditation session with shinto-buddhism explained in detail. Our guide Yutaka was open for questions an danswered with a smile. Couldnt have asked for more honestly.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jasmine-alexxus0416
Jul 13, 2025
Relaxing/informative zen experience! - This was an amazing and ethereal experience that was truly grounding and a great way to end our Japan trip on a relaxing note! Yutaka was very friendly and provided us with great knowledge. I recommend choosing him as your tour guide!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jennifer
Jul 12, 2025
Extraordinary experience - We had a great time with our guide Yutaka. He first showed us some impressive zen gardens and explained us zen meditation. The meditation with the monk was a great experience. Later we had a tasty meal. Yutaka was a very friendly and knowledgeable guide. Thank you for this experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dylanmq9823yf
Jul 12, 2025
Tour with Yutaka - Our guide was Yutaka. We were shown many interesting Buddhist buildings and learned a lot about Buddhism. We took nice pictures and had a very interesting meditation session with a Japanese monk. Afterwards we ate a wonderful meal and learned even more. It was very educational, but still very interesting.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dm123452014
Jul 12, 2025
Perfect Zen experience tour with Yutaka - Fascinating and informative tour with a very friendly and knowledgeable guide who speaks excellent English. We visited numerous shrines, a zen garden and a temple for a Zen meditation session with a monk. Here Yutaka acted as our adviser and translator, including for a Q and A session with the monk afterwards. The experience concluded with a vegetarian meal such as a monk would eat in a temple, where Yutaka summarised the monk’s sermon and answered numerous further questions. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
851alainag
Jul 12, 2025
Zen Buddhist meditation and temple tour - This trip was amazing! I learned so much about zen meditation on this trip. The guide, Yutaka Yoshida, was very knowledgeable and fun! He helped translate the guided meditation from a Buddhist Monk which was the highlight and afterwards we got to ask the Monk questions. Lunch was also great. I 10/10 recommend this experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Journey25243169288
Jul 10, 2025
Tofukuji Temple & Meditation w/ Monk: Friendly Faces, Peaceful Moments, Lasting Memories - What an absolutely wonderful experience we had at Tofukuji Temple here in Kyoto! Our guided tour was simply fantastic from the get-go. We received such clear explanations of the temple's fascinating history and processes, and every single question we had was patiently and thoroughly answered. The meditation with the monk was a truly special highlight – perfectly paced for beginners, even including a thoughtful break. The monk himself was incredibly friendly and approachable, answering all our questions at the end without any prejudice. This was such a warm, welcoming, and enriching experience that I would wholeheartedly recommend and absolutely do again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
384martinw
Jul 9, 2025
Wonderful meditation tour! - We had an absolutely amazing Zen Meditation tour. Our guide Yutaka was beyond knowledgeable. Was at the pickup spot as arranged. We had a wonderful tour, great conversations about history, culture and religion. We also had a lovely meditation session under the guidance of a monk. Would highly recommend this tour!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $97
up to 7 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).