To have reverence means to regard someone or something with deep respect. 

On a Hinoki trip with a Reverence theme, we present you with an opportunity to deepen your respect, awe, and appreciation of nature. We visit remote communities whose reverence for their environment is rooted in their spiritual traditions. With local spiritual leaders to facilitate our discovery of this connection, we find the lines blurred between what we feel and what we see, what is us and what is outside of us. 

Japan and its autumn landscape is our host of this adventure. Long-standing spiritual traditions that have transcended the modern era ground Japanese culture in a deep respect for their lands and waterways. The cultural practices of tea, onsen bathing, and even sake drinking are everyday rituals that connect the Japanese people to their land in intimate ways. On this trip, we will enjoy participating in these everyday rituals, and explore how they connect directly with the element of water. 

This will be a highly experiential discovery of Japan, with elements of Zen mindfulness woven throughout. We will start in silence and move toward more active engagement with one another as the experiences throughout the trip unfold. As some examples, we will: 

- Learn Zen meditation on our first day, to ground our whole journey in reverence from the start;

- Train with the Yamabushi mountain ascetics in the forest and on the sacred mountains of the Dewa Sanzan, and learn how they fortify their own personal lives with their trainings; 

- Eat foraged mountain vegetables and savor the subtle taste of every bite; 

- Soak in onsen hot spring baths and visit the source as we hike to a wild onsen; 

- Hike through the forests and fields and past lakes of Japan's first community-led conservation success in Oze National Park

For more details, please see the day-to-day itinerary below.

Your booking deposit is required to hold your space on this trip. Please book now to secure your space, as we have only 8 spots available for this group. 

Upon making your deposit, a detailed payment plan will outline when payments are due. We have divided them into multiple payments to spread out the amount due up until July 2024. 

All participants must be paid in full 90 days prior to departure. Any funds received cannot be refunded due to the demand and limited availability of this trip. We recommend purchasing travel insurance to protect your investment. 

Please review our Booking Terms & Conditions, found on our website under FAQ's here.

Today, you will need to plan to arrive at Shonai Airport. There are several flights a day that arrive from Haneda, starting at 7:05am. You can also travel by train if you prefer.

Upon arrival, take a taxi to your hotel for the night. Dinner is on your own, and can be had at the hotel if desired. In the evening, please don't miss the chance to try the incredible onsen bath and sauna at the hotel. 

Accommodation: Suiden Terrrasse (Shared room or solo room available)

Designed by the world-famous architect, Shigeru Ban, SUIDEN TERRASSE was designed so that the rice fields could be felt and sensed wherever you are in the building. Their chefs are experts in Shonai’s cuisine, and carefully select and cook fresh, seasonal ingredients from the Japan Sea, mountains, rivers, and the Shonai Plain. The onsite bath and sauna is not to be missed. Check-in at 3pm to make the most of your stay here.

Meals Included: None

“To study Buddhism is to study ourselves. To study ourselves is to forget ourselves.” 

– Dōgen Zenji, founder of the Sōtō school of Zen

Enjoy your breakfast at Suiden Terrasse. Shortly after, we will travel a short distance to Zenpoji Temple. Today, you will learn about the foundations of Zen and experience sitting meditation. 

Later, we will travel toward the Dewa Sanzan mountains and make our home for the next two nights as students of the Yamabushi. 

The Yamabushi are the ancient mountain ascetics of Japan. Their traditional role was to help guide people to find their true nature, and to teach discipline and the way of the warrior. Although they are mostly hidden from public life these days, and their numbers are few, the work they do has not changed. What they offer to the world is now more relevant than ever.

The Yamabushi practice Shugendo. Shugendo is an ancient belief with its origins in 8th Century Japan. It is a fusion of Shinto, Buddhism, Animism, and mountain faith. Shugendo has always been a path for those who want to strip away the excesses of the world, and who want to understand themselves better by immersing themselves in the power and strength of the natural world.

Accommodation: Daishinbo Shukubo (Shared Room - no solo room available)

Daishinbo is a Shukubo (Pilgrim's Lodge) for guests who have come to train with the Yamabushi. It is a simple but beautiful lodge, with a beautiful, peaceful ambiance.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

For the ancestors, times of strife called for a trip to the mountains. The Dewa Sanzan are known as a place of rebirth, and being in the three mountains provided a way to reassess the situation, reflect, and reset. If recent years are anything to go by, now is the time for many of us to enter the mountains.

After a hearty breakfast, we will head up Mt. Haguro under the guidance of a yamabushi. We will pay our respects at important locations along the way and hear lessons of the yamabushi that we can incorporate into our lives. Once at the summit, we will undertake official shrine worship, and have a quiet afternoon of reflection over a selection of locally-sourced tea and snacks. The climax of day two is the evening prayer session that may include Shinto-style meditation, a night walk, and other Yamabushi-led activities near our accommodation in Saikan. 

Accommodation: Shinto Shrine lodging (Shared room -- no solo option)

Tonight, you will literally overnight in a Shinto shrine lodge on the mountain. Once again, your surroundings will be simple, but peaceful and comfortable.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

This morning, we wake up early to partake in a shrine ritual dedicated to the kami (spirits of nature) and have a breakfast of Dewa Sanzan Shojin Ryori (mountain ascetic cuisine). 

Before making our descent down Mt. Haguro, we will explore the kitchens and storehouses of Saikan, one of the main providers of Dewa Sanzan Shojin Ryori. The descent down Mt. Haguro then begins, however we will be taking a special way down the mountain, visiting special yamabushi-related spots. Upon our return to Daishinbo, we'll have a celebratory lunch and return to friendly conversation (however remaining in mindfulness.)

After saying our goodbyes to our Yamabushi teachers, we will travel by train toward the town of Dake Onsen, where we will spend the next two nights. Upon arrival at our ryokan (Japanese inn) for the evening, hot onsen bath, dinner, and sake await.

Accommodation: Hanakanzashi (Shared room or solo room available)

Established 130 years ago, Hanakanzashi ryokan is rich with heritage but has also been thoughtfully kept up to reflect our contemporary times. Owner Akiko Nihei carries on her family's business, where she and her husband offer traditional kaiseki dinners in the evening and craft coffee in the lobby each morning. A lovely sitting area overlooks a garden courtyard, and free-flow sake is on tap in the evenings. With only 8 guest rooms, this is a quiet and intimate escape.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

After breakfast, we'll set out with our guide and hike up Mt. Adatara to take in the fall colors and views. 

We will have a bento box lunch on the mountain, and then will explore a wild onsen, which is the source of the onsen water in the town of Dake Onsen. The water travels 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) from its source to the town where it feeds the various onsen baths at each of the town's inns. Bathing in the wild onsen gives us a chance to appreciate where these bath waters come from when we return to town--connecting us again to nature and how it takes care of us even when we are far from it. 

Dinner tonight will be at a local Izakaya in Dake Onsen town.

Accommodations: Hanakanzashi (shared room -- solo option available)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today after breakfast and a relaxed coffee, we'll transit through a scenic area en route to Hinoemata Village. This isolated region of Okuaizu is surrounded by mountains, and offers a magnificent landscape of lakes and beautiful valleys. During this time, you have a chance to reflect and integrate on all of the trip so far. 

Hinoemata Village has a population of less than 600 people. It is known for having the lowest population density of any municipality in Japan. Tucked into a mountain valley, the village is the gateway to the Ozegahara wetlands, which we will discover the next day. 

Hinoemata is famous for its 100% buckwheat soba noodles, and its cuisine known as Yamodo. When we reach our inn for the night, we'll have a chance for hot onsen baths before tucking into an early dinner.

Accommodation: Seseragi no Yado Oseno 

(shared room - solo option maybe available)

Enjoy a Japanese-style room with a view of the beautiful seasonal scenery of the Hijigi River Valley, with the sounds of wild birds and the river flowing right in front of you. We serve handmade food made from the blessings of the mountains and fresh produce from our fields.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After an early breakfast, we'll depart Hinoemata Village and begin a 3-4 hour hike through Oze National Park. It is mostly flat hike, and passes through vast fields of wetland, a serene lake, and beautiful autumn mountain scenery. 

While walking, we invite you to contemplate your appreciation of yourself for gifting you with this experience. We also encourage you to consider that, long ago, this land's protection was the effort of concerned Japanese citizens, who fought against government and commercial forces to create its status as a National Park. Without their action, this biodiverse land would have been given up to industry development. As we enjoy being here today, we'll also talk with our local guide to learn more about the importance of land conservation and biodiversity, and how we can play a role in protecting such lands in our own communities. 

Upon completion of our hike, we'll drive to a sake brewery before reaching Hoshi Onsen, a historic inn and our home for our final two nights. 

Accommodation: Hoshi Onsen (Shared room -- solo option available)

Hoshi Onsen, tucked into a mountain forest, is a 140 year old inn that has been run continuously by one family over the generations. Possibly with a couple of Japan's most beautiful baths onsite, we are lucky to spend two nights here.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch (packed on hike), Dinner

After breakfast, we'll take a leisurely hike on the  Ichinokura trail to enjoy autumnal views of the mountains.

For lunch, we'll visit a craft village called Takumi no Sato, where we will make our own 100% buckwheat soba noodles and enjoy them for lunch. 

Before we convene for our final group dinner, you will have more time to enjoy the baths of Hoshi Onsen and its beautiful surroundings. 

Over dinner, we'll reflect together on all we have experienced and share how we might weave our reverence for the natural world into our lives at home. 

Accommodation: Hoshi Onsen (Shared room -- solo option available)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning, we'll check out of Hoshi Onsen and travel together to the Jomo Kogen train station. From here, you will be on your own to decide where to go next (we will arrive in time to catch an afternoon train to Tokyo, where you can transfer toward other destinations in Japan.) 

Meals: Breakfast