The Art of Doing Nothing: Weekend Retreat to Reconnect With Yourself and Others
Details
A weekend of digital detox + mindful authentic connection at Kakurinbo Temple
Come join us for a weekend of unplugging, slowing down, and reconnecting with yourself and each other -- at Kakurinbo Temple, tucked in the foothills of Mt. Minobu in Yamanashi.
This is a simple retreat space to step out of your routine, get out of your head, and remember what it feels like to be human again: breath, body, nature, real conversation, quiet evenings, and good food.
The practices are straightforward, beginner-friendly, and surprisingly deep. We’ll do mindfulness meditation, gentle mindful movement to help the body unwind, and a few of my favorite human connection practices: eye contact, mirroring, and authentic conversations in pairs.
The emphasis isn’t on fixing yourself or “performing vulnerability.” It’s on learning how to be with another person without trying to impress them, solve them, or figure them out — and noticing what becomes possible when you just listen, feel, and let things be.
This isn’t a silent retreat, and it’s not therapy. It’s a reset with each other.
If you’ve been feeling overstimulated, scattered, or a bit alone inside your own head lately, I’d love to have you with us.
🔍 Details
- Dates: Sat Feb 7 – Sun Feb 8
- Location: Kakurinbo Temple (Yamanashi, near Mt. Minobu)
- Open to: all levels (beginner friendly)
- Includes: roundtrip bus from Shinjuku + breakfast & dinner
- RSVP deadline: Jan 30 (I need to book the bus tickets)
✅ What’s included
- One-night stay at Kakurinbo Temple (shared rooms, spacious tatami)
- Roundtrip bus ticket Shinjuku ⇄ Yamanashi
- Temple meals: breakfast + dinner (vegetarian tofu dishes, including yuba/tofu skin)
- Guided mindfulness meditations + mindful movement
- Group / pair practices (eye contact, mirroring, authentic connection)
- A short hike and outdoor practice
- Morning temple visit / chanting at Kuonji (optional but highly recommended)
- Onsen time
❌ What’s not included
- Lunch on both days (we’ll go to a nearby café with vegetarian + meat options)
- Extra snacks/drinks/ice cream, etc.
📵 Digital Detox
Phones will be handed in on Saturday and returned on Sunday afternoon. I’ll keep phones accessible if there’s a genuine emergency. The point is to give your nervous system a break from constant input and let your attention come back to something simple: breath, body, nature, and conversation.
💴 Price and RSVP / payment
I’m offering two rates to keep this accessible. If you can pay the supporter rate, it helps me keep community spots available.
👉 Confirm your RSVP and pay via credit card or bank transfer above.
🚌 Getting there
We’ll take the 7:45am bus from Busta Shinjuku (Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal) on Saturday morning. Please arrive by 7:20am so we can find each other and get settled without rushing. We’ll arrive around midday, have lunch nearby, and then head into the temple for the afternoon program. On Sunday, we’ll leave by bus at 3:30pm and arrive back in Shinjuku around 7:30pm.
🎒 What to bring:
Bring warm layers (heat-tech/thermals, sweater/fleece), a warm jacket, and thick socks. Gloves and a hat are a good idea too. For the hike, bring comfortable walking shoes (trail shoes or sneakers with good grip) and a small daypack if you have one. Also bring comfortable clothes for meditation and mindful movement, plus a water bottle.
👋 About Your Mindfulness Guide
Misha Yurchenko is a Tokyo-based certified meditation teacher with over ten years of meditation experience. He has spent time on retreat around the world and practiced a range of techniques. After experiencing extreme burnout from his venture-funded startup, he founded Tokyo Mindfulness and is dedicated to helping others break free from themselves. He takes an integrated and practical approach combining meditation, breathwork, and nervous system healing to help people let go of the ego, release old habit patterns and find inner freedom. He is the author of several books and lives in Nerima with his family.
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