Japanese Traditional Culture Workshop in Isogo, Yokohama 【Evening Program】

2023.11.18

Japanese Traditional Culture you can experience in Sugita only 20 minutes from Yokohama by train. A one-stop-shop for many cultural practices such as meditation, sutra reading, tea ceremony, ukiyo-e, kaiseki meals, geisha song and dance, and more!

Plan overview

A Yokohama traditional culture experienceat a temple which was once vibrant during the Edo and Meiji periods. You cantry traditional Japanese cultural practices at Sugita (Isogo Ward, Yokohama),only 20 minutes from Yokohama by train. This plan entails meditation andsutra-reading in front of the Buddha statue, in the main temple. Later, you canexperience the tea ceremony in the Japanese-style room with tatami mats. If the weather permits, youcan visit Gozusan, located within the grounds. The peak of the mountain, whichcan be reached in about five minutes, can be enjoyed by matching the landscapeillustrated by Hiroshige Utagawa and the current state of the Tokyo Bay. Guestswill be able to enjoy a banquet including a multi-course meal using Sugita Plum,and a performance recreating the liveliness once present in Yokohama and Isogoduring the plum-viewing boom. You can enjoy singing, dancing, and ozashiki asobi (traditional games).Please visit Sugita, Yokohama and fully experience Japanese cultural activitiessuch as meditation, sutra-reading, tea ceremony, ukiyo-e, course meals, andgeisha song and dance. (The noon program is scheduled to be held between 10:20am to 2 pm)

Plan experience image video

[Click here to apply] Traditional Japanese culture experience in Isogo, Yokohama

What is meditation?

It is a practice to relax the body and mindby quieting the heart and thinking of nothing. In this plan you will be able tomeditate in front of the Buddha statue in the temple building.

What is sutra?

They are chants passed down by disciplesthrough oral tradition so that anyone can chant them. The words are said to bethe teachings of the Buddha. You will be reciting the sutra after meditating.We will have the sutra texts in alphabets so that non-Japanese speakers canalso read along.

What is a tea ceremony?

In the traditional Japanese tea ceremony,the participants calm their minds and prepare tea for guests to enjoy. We willnot only be drinking the tea, but will also be feeling Japanese sensibilityfirst-hand, by experiencing the spirit of Japanese hospitality and wabi-sabi.

What is no-da-te?

No-da-te is the practice of preparing greentea or matcha outside. Guests will be experiencing the tea ceremony in theJapanese-style room in this plan. On days blessed with good weather, we willmove to the grounds of the Sugita Plum Garden, and enjoy some tea while sittingon red chairs under a large red parasol, with the temple and plum trees in theback, as a no-da-te experience.

Song and dance by Yokohama geishas and banquet

The restaurant in Isogo, close to Myoho-ji, which is afamous plum-viewing location of Sugita, was founded in 1907. Songs of the IsogoRestaurant District and Red-light District, Isogo Ko-uta and Hama Jiman, weresung and accompanied by dance to entertain guests of the restaurants. The IsogoRestaurant District was lively with the sounds of the shamisen, singing, and dancing until 1960. This is a specialprogram where foreign visitors can experience the vibrancy of the Edo Periodand Isogo songs and dancing throughout the year, in Sugita, Yokohama.

Kaiseki course meals using seasonal ingredients of Yokohama

Please enjoy the changing seasons of Yokohama throughkaiseki course meals which have been prepared by enhancing the flavors of thelocal produce. Tempura of seasonal ingredients, boiled dishes, sashimi withplum-salt, and delicious Sugita Plum preparations such as yukari can be enjoyed.

Bushu Sugita no Bairin (The Plum Forest of Bushu Sugita) by Hiroshige Utagawa I

Sugita's plum grove is said to have had 35,000 plum trees during the Edo period, and was introduced in books in the late Edo period, and many literary figures and artists began to visit. This ukiyo-e depicts beautiful women coming to see the cherry blossoms in Sugita Village, where the plum blossoms are in full bloom. Part of Kanazawa can be seen in the background, and the Boso Peninsula is also depicted in the distance. You can enjoy the modern landscape from the top of the mountain within the temple grounds (Source: Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of History).