Japan Yoga + Meditation Retreat April 2024 - Ishigaki 2/2

Either you have been dreaming about going to visit Japan, or you love Japan and it is your return visits, Ishigaki offer something even more special. This traditional house used to be a Kimono gallery transferred from Gifu prefecture to all the way down to south of Japan in Ishigaki. With Maiko-san and Patrick's passion it has been transformed into Yoga wellbeing centre and offering the authentic experience of living in a traditional Japanese house with Tatami floor and sleeping in traditional manner with Futon. House is impressive with its traditional architectural structure that can hold 4 metre of snow (which was MUST in Gifu) and survived from powerful typhoons that Okinawa receive in autumn season for years. The house cares about environment and longevity so encourage all guests to be in part of its manner while staying.

Shiraho is famous for the biggest coral beach and being well protected by local community. It is quiet residential area with great local cuisines and market. You will see traditional Okinawa houses in the area. Also at night, you can see beautiful sky with millions of stars as well as natural fireflies in the beach while residents are keeping the lights to be in moderation. 

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, local cooking workshop, 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.

Practice & Level

It is Open level. There may be some challenging poses however we offer alternatives to accommodate all levels. 

Practice includes Asana (Poses), Pranayama (Breathing) and Meditation (Dharana / Dhyana). Asana styles are originated from Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Rocket, Mandala, Dharma, Yin.

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 your reservation when non-refundable deposit 50% is paid (we cannot guarantee any booking unless payment is made) and the full payment is required 14 weeks before the retreat. Booking less than 14 weeks before the start of the retreat day, we require full payment for bookings.

Price start from £750 pp to £1400 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.

We have 3 x Private rooms that can accommodate single occupancy or / and 2-3 ppl shared, and *1 large, shared room that has 6 spaces. (*It is a very large room which is made to be shared in Japanese traditional house. There are always plenty of space if you need time for yourself in the house.)

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 10:00am 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.

Food:

We have a designated local chef specially for us for the week to cook nutritious healthy local food with full of love and passion. Chi-chan strongly believe that local food can connect our body and mind to the soil where we stand to adapt the new land, so through the local ingredients we settle in and connect to the village and environment. We carefully choose fresh ingredients from the season to receive rich nutrition from them. Also, she believes that sharing the same food can build the friendship and connection and try her best to create the dish that can meet everyone’s requirements and requests.

*We do our best to 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 see you in my Yoga retreat in Japan and assist you be trained further in your yoga practice.

Lots of love

Namaste

Saori Funawatari