Wellness Tour AA (Ayabe & Amanohashidate)

A wellness tour that is so much more than zazen meditation and hot springs

(though those are options too!)

2 nights 3 days

Kyoto by the Sea is a mecca of wellness and longevity. Just ask any one of the hundreds of people thriving over 100-years-old here. During your time here, you will learn some of the secrets to how and why people here are living so well for so long.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Stay in a Japanese farmhouse and participate in farm to table activities.

• Eat the freshest possible meal, with local ingredients that are sourced that day

• Stay in a hot spring hotel that sources ingredients for meals from a local organic farm that also rebuilds soil health

• Light hiking at Niomon Gate & Komyoji Temple (option)

• Ayabe Onsen, hot springs & restaurant (option)

• Kurotani Washi paper making experience (option)

• Zazen meditation in a bamboo grove or fall foliage grove with a temple monk (option)

• Fermentation experience or Pillars of Japanese Cuisine cooking course (option)

• Forest Therapy in a village reclaimed by nature (option)

• Takigyo: waterfall rituals (option)

• Barazushi making experience: make and eat a local delicacy that was first created here. (option)

day 1 the forests of kyoto

From Kyoto City take the 65-minute JR limited express train to Ayabe Station. Downtown Ayabe is a great place to explore. For those interested in martial arts, it is home to the birthplace of Aikido, a practice that unifies the spirit, mind, and body. The practice was designed not for fighting, but for unifying people. And unity and peace is a strong theme in Ayabe. Walking downtown visitors can visit Gunze Square, where buildings tied to the silk industry have been preserved. Centrally in the square is a rose garden with a very special rose, the seeds of which were given to Ayabe by Anne Franks father. You can see Anne’s rose in bloom both in June and October. Shorekiji temple is another location in downtown Ayabe where visitors can take part in an outdoor zazen meditation, or the special practice of “nezen,” which is a sleep-like meditation underneath the temples 600-year-old temple tree.

For those interested in food culture, the town has a host of excellent restuarnts, as well as a sake brewery that also makes a very unique plum wine.

The first night’s accommodation is a traditional Japanese farmstay. Pick-up can be arranged from central Ayabe (Ayabe station being an easy meeting point) with the accommodation. For those who want to attempt the short journey to the farm stay themselves, local buses are another easy option. Google Maps in Japan is a great tool that even accurately shows bus times and routes.

Once at the farm stay for the afternoon, guests can choose from a variety of different rural experiences, including plants and harvesting vegetables, rice planting and harvesting (depending on the season), chopping firewood, cooking with locals, nature walks, and more. For mini excursions, there are options to visit Kurotani washi, a paper making company started 800 years ago by a ronin samurai in the tiny village of Kurotani, where it remains today. Another great option is Ayabe onsen, a remote hot springs overlooking the forests. Ayabe onsen also offers e-bike rentals, and a massive, intricate wooden labrynth that you can attempt to navigate. Fun fact, mazes are actually a great way to maintain good brain function. Ayabe onsen is also the start of some great hiking in the region, including a route that takes visitors to Niomon Gate, one of Japan’s national treasures, as well as an ancient Great Horse Chestnut tree.
Dinner and breakfast are both provided at the farm stay.

There are a variety of farmstays in Kyoto by the Sea. Visit our farmstay accommodation page and choose which one fits you best.

day 2 The Bridge to Heaven

Amanohashidate is often considered the hub of the Kyoto by the Sea region. So many of the area’s premire experiences are in the area, and are either a short walk or short train ride away from Amanohashidate Station. For the second day, visitors will take the short train journey from Ayabe to Amanohashidate. Arrive early, drops bags off at the nearby hot spring accommodation and start exploring.

For those who want to stay close, walking or cycling along the pine forest land bridge is a great way to take in the fresh pine scented air. The sea breezes that blow from both sides keep the path cool in the summer and warmer in the winter. The land bridge itself is part of an ancient, 1300-year-old pilgrimage route, and for those interested they can make the journey to Nariaiji Temple, set up in the mountains overlooking the Japanese Sea. E-bike tours and rentals are also available with a reservation from Amanohashidate.

There are a variety of other experiences in the Amanohashidate area, and require a short 5-30 minute train ride depending on the activity. The activities that are wellness focused do include some of the ones mentioned in the WELLNESS TOUR AK, as the two areas are quite close (Amanohashidate and Kyotango). Read about a variety of the different activities for wellness and longevity below.

Check out other inspiration trips as well as a version of this wellness course that spends a night in Kyotango, where guests can immerse themselves in the area where longevity is a way of life.

See whats available in Amanohashidate by taking a look at some of our relaxing accommodations in the area.

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