Morning Meditation Retreat at Secluded Shrine
2026-05-15 08:00 - 12:30 (Europe/London)
Spend the morning in a quiet calm and magical area of Kyoto, hidden away from the crowds. We will practice a few forms of meditation throughout the morning to both relax and revitalize as Spring begins to flourish around Kyoto. Being in a quiet, hidden shrine with the sounds of a waterfall and birds in the background help set the mood of the space, as you are guided through a series of deep relaxation and kindness meditations. Whether you are new to meditation or very experienced, this morning retreat can offer adaptations to fit you.
We will meet at Tofukuji Station at 8am, and walk together from there to Gosh-no-Taki Shrine. You will also receive a short behind-the-scenes tour of the shrine with areas the public does not get to see.
Fees from the meditation also support repairs at the shrine

Meditation Guide: A Shingon Buddhist Priest, who previously trained extensively in Zen and Thai Forest traditions. “Jishin” has about 20 years experience guiding meditations. With a PhD in culture and history of religions, and experience teaching in several universities around the world, Jishin has both the academic and insider understandings of Buddhism and Japanese religion. Previously a researcher at Tohoku University and Ryukoku University on Buddhist chaplaincy, Jishin wrote about and volunteered in disaster and crisis care. Their books include Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Voices in Crisis Care and A Thousand Hands: A Guidebook to Caring for your Buddhist Community. Jishin was also certified as a Clinical Meditation Teacher.
For Questions and Inquiries, feel free to contact:

OPTIONAL ADDITION: For an extra donation to the shrine, those interested may also try “Taki-gyo” (waterfall meditation) after the retreat period. Taki-gyo is a about a 1300 year-old meditation tradition in Japan that involves chanting meditation while standing under a waterfall. The shrine will provide special clothing, laundry service and a warm shower, while Jishin will provide instructions. Please mention if you are interested in adding this unique experience.

Half-day Meditation Retreat: Compassion for body, mind, and world
2026-06-06 08:30 - 12:30
Spend the morning treating your body and mind right. We will begin with some basic relaxation meditations, but as the day goes on, you will learn a variety of compassion meditations, beginning with more self-compassion and release, gradually working with group compassion meditations for the world.
Learning a few compassion based meditations through the course of the morning, and working through them with a small group, can be perfect treat for your body and mind 😉 Also, through the meditations and discussions that follow, you can hopefully learn some tools for both meditation and human interaction to take into your daily life.
Proceeds from retreat will help maintain the primary venue, Gosha Shrine (smaller temples and shrines need support to survive, as they don’t receive the donations that bigger more popular places do) As both a beautiful, sacred place to host the retreat, and a place that needs more visitors, IJJ aims to support mutual beneficial connections like this. [For an optional extra 5,000 yen, we can also add a waterfall meditation on site at the end of the retreat].
Tea, coffee and snacks also included.

For Anyone interested in adding “Taki-gyo” waterfall meditation at the end of the retreat, please inquire.

Retreat leader: Jishin is ordained in the Shingon Buddhist tradition, but previously also trained at temples in Thailand, Taiwan, and Korea. Jishin has taught meditation for more than 20 years and also eared his PhD, researching meditation applied to healthy care and compassion.

{images of host shrine for the retreat}
For inquiries, contact:
Minimum participation age: 15
Discounts available for students, groups of 3 or more: please inquire.
NOTE: Venue will be at Gosha Shrine, but we will meet just outside Tofukuji Station and head there together.

Clinical Meditation Certificate Program and Retreat
2026-07-07 08:00 - 2026-07-14 17:00
Based on the Japanese clinical meditation program developed by Rev. Oshita Daien through nearly 40 years of work in applying meditation in clinical settings, we now offer an English version of the program.
Oshita Daien’s innovative system organizes myriad world meditation styles into four categories. So that rather than a one-size-fits-all application of meditation to needs of a patient or individual, meditation types can be better adapted to fit a person’s needs.
This is a very involved training program with 4 phases:
1) Application: Applicants submit detailed essays about their experience and intentions for joining such a program. Through the essays and an online interview, we will try to ensure this truly is the right program for you and be able to adapt certain aspects of it to fit your own professional needs.
2) Preliminary Remote/Online Training: Once you begin the program, you have access to a variety of readings and videos that introduce various parts of the 4 meditation categories, explain their background, and sample video meditations to follow. You will practice the different styles yourself and write journals about your journey with the practices, and reflections about how you think they can apply to your own life and work.
3) One Week Training Retreat: All participants from the cohort will gather at the monastery in Japan for an intensive week-long retreat. You get to stay at a 1000+ year old expansive mountain top temple complex, Hida Senkoji. We will have numerous in-person meditations together, along with dialogs about the practice and its application in different settings. the last portion of the week will also include role-playing activities when you will guide meditations for others in various conditions. The feedback from these exercises, along with follow-up advising and discussions, will help refine both your own capacity to help others through a meditative practice, and also help us reflect on our own meditation experiences in more depth.
4) After returning home, you will begin some practice with applying these methods with friends, colleagues, and others you know. You will submit further journals about your experience, and we will join you for online reflection and feedback about your experiences and any issues that arise. After accumulating 15 hours of leadership experience, and submitting all required journals, you will qualify for the initial certification.
Certification: After completing requirements for all stages of the program, we will issue your Clinical Meditation Teacher Level 1 certificate.
Included in costs are:
– All communications, consultations, and training before and after the retreat (includes bilingual Clinical Meditation Introductory book, other readings, and 40-day program with numerous videos)
– Room, board, and all training during the retreat (please note that as a retreat, food is lighter on purpose: 2 main meals plus snacks will be available; also please ensure we are aware of any allergies or dietary needs).
– Certificate at end of program
About Oshita Daien: Oshita Daien now has more than 3 decades working in and transforming hospitals and hospices in Japan. He opened one of Japan’s first university chaplaincy programs, created a public spiritual care training program, created the clinical meditation system and training program, and has authored or co-authored over 15 books. He ordained as a Shingon Buddhist priest in Japan, but also trained as a Theravada Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka. He then worked as a researcher at Kyoto University, studying meditation traditions around the world as well as psychology and care. He became the abbot of Hida Senkoji Temple for many years and a Maha-Acharya (high ranking priest), before recently passing on abbot duties of the temple.
About Jishin Michon: Jishin is also ordained in the Shingon tradition, but previously trained in Theravada and Zen, as well as ordaining as an interfaith minister. Jishin received a MDiv in Buddhist chaplaincy and a PhD in cultures and histories of religion, while researching Japanese innovations in spiritual care. Jishin teaches part-time at Ryukoku University, leads retreats through Inward Journeys Japan, and is editor of A Thousand Hands: How to Care for Your Buddhist Community and Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Voices in Crisis Care.
About Hida Senkoji Temple (retreat site): A beautiful, expansive and historic temple located on the edge of the Japanese Alps in Gifu Prefecture. The mountain top temple includes a forested pilgrimage route, numerous temple buildings and important cultural properties, and stunning mountain views. The temple also features the World Harmony Meditation Center, especially used for retreats and clinical meditation trainings. One of its most famous historical inhabitants was Enku, a Buddhist priest who traveled Japan hundreds of years ago visiting and caring for thousands of disaster victims. He is known to have carved many thousands of small Buddha statues to give to such people, and numerous famous old statues are still preserved at Hida Senkoji today.

[images of Global Peace Meditation Center located at Hida Senkoji Temple, and a center for training in Clinical Meditation]

[images of an Enku Buddha carving at Senkoji Temple, one of the famous temple trees, and some of the temple grounds]

[Rev. Jishin leading a prayer and reflection at a disaster site in Northern Japan]
