August Weekend Temple Retreat (August 4-6)

Hi!

This meetup is for anyone who'd like to try an English-language meditation retreat at a Buddhist temple near Tokyo over the first weekend in August.

The retreat will be held from Saturday August 4 to Monday August 6 at Shokakuji temple near Hanno Town in Saitama prefecture. The temple is about 90 minutes by train and bus from Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo.

The retreat will be held through English. Anyone interested is welcome, and the retreat is suitable for beginners. The mountainous area surrounding the temple provides a cool and pleasant setting for a brief taste of Buddhist life.

The total cost for all accommodation and vegetarian meals during the retreat is 17,000 yen. A deposit of 5,000 yen is required to reserve a place.

It's also possible to come to the retreat on Saturday and leave on Sunday afternoon. The cost to attend for two days and one night is 8,500 yen.

Transportation and directions to the temple:

Hanno train station is approximately 45 minutes by train on the Seibu-Ikebukuro line from Seibu-Ikebukuro station in Tokyo. A bus service runs from Hanno train station to Nagou bus stop which is next to the temple. The bus ride takes about 60 minutes. The total cost for a one-way trip by train and bus from Seibu-Ikebukuro train station to Shokakuji Temple is 1,280 yen (train ticket is 470 yen and bus ticket is 810 yen).

Most of the people going to the retreat will meet up on Saturday morning (August 4) at around 9.30 am at Seibu-Ikebukuro station and take a Seibu-Ikebukuro line train that departs from platform 5 at 9:50 am. You're welcome to travel with this group. There are directions to the meeting place at: http://www.zen.ie/Retreat_Meetup_Spot.pdf

If you're going to Hanno station directly, we can meet you there at approximately 10.45 am and then travel together to the temple.

Email Peter at tokyozazen@gmail.com for more information or to sign up to attend.