Hmm as for content suggestions for now I'm mainly curious how the Miko Shugyo went for the women who participated from abroad (did they come from abroad to do it)? On another level I want to know what program they did and the step-by-step specifics of actually applying and getting your gear for it/getting there. I was surprised to see it cost 60,000 yen for the 4? day Miko Shugyō! Does it cost something similar for you to participate? I'm also curious what the daily schedule is like on it, what do you eat, when do you bathe and sleep etc. I wonder if the average person might find that kind of thing boring. XD
The average person should not be doing this training in the first place! I don’t think they’d find it boring, frustrating in parts maybe :p but overall extremely rewarding!
The details of the training you can only know if you join, that’s part of your training! I’m sworn to secrecy. But also, I don’t know exactly what what goes on during the Miko Shugyo, I’ve only heard rumors!
Yes the women all traveled from abroad to join. The male version had people come from England, The Netherlands, and Australia, and in the past there have been Americans and even a Brazilian participant. I’m talking specifically about the trainings run by Dewa Sanzan Jinja, which is a religious entity that has been running these trainings for over 150 years, hence the low participation costs.
I was viewing the 60,000 yen as a high participation cost, I don't remember what I saw the male version being. I believe you when you write it's extremely rewarding.
Sep 17·edited Sep 17Liked by Tim Bunting - Kiwi Yamabushi
I sense that there's something important to you that wasn't honoured in what I wrote and I wonder whether it's related to you maybe seeing me as questioning the value of the practise in writing what I did about the price? I am not trying to change the cost of it. You don't have to agree with me in how I view it either. I am also able to discern what I'm willing and able to pay for.
Yep, fully understand. Trust me when I say it’s not expensive. That cost covers all accommodation and food, gear rental, guides, and a whole lot of other stuff for a truly life changing experience. I think it’s a bargain. The reason it is so cheap is because it is religious of course. For reference, the Buddhist version can cost upwards of 200,000yen due to various other things you need to organize.
I walked with a Yamabushi monk who runs a b&b in Hongu for part of a day as part of a larger 4 day self-guided tour on the Kumano Kodo and really enjoyed it! After I saw an image of a bunch of people clad in white in a gift shop on Mount Yoshino I began wanting to walk this route as well. I am planning a yearlong working holiday visa as of September 2025 and am wondering whether I could and how to join this practise as a woman.
Hi there, that sounds like a wonderful experience! We offer more serious experiences at yamabushido.jp, and some people who have joined these yamabushido experiences go on to join the autumn’s peak or the female version called Miko Shugyo (even though they are yamabushi). We’ve had quite a few coming back repeatedly actually, every year that they can.
If you speak Japanese, you can apply directly to Dewa Sanzan Jinja, although in recent years it’s been getting much harder for first timers to get in.
Thanks for replying as fast as you did and for the information! The Miko Shugyo definitely looks like something I'd like to join. Would you be able to link the shrine website? I'm a bit confused which one it is. Also by apply directly do you mean email them or send them a snail mail asking to do it?
This year an Italian and American woman joined for the first time, and a French woman joined for the second time. All three of them we helped get in because they did a yamabushido program in the past. There’s a lot of background stuff to do, as I’m sure you can imagine, that for non-Japanese speakers would be impossible. One of which is getting an introduction. Although if you can speak Japanese, it should be possible to bypass that, but your chances of getting in would be greatly reduced.
And thank you, I’m open to making more content on this stuff if you have some suggestions!
😱 Oh gosh, thanks for the link. I read in a recent article that there's women from America and Europe joining this year - I hope one of them will write about the process soon online! Also, I regret it took me this many comments to say this but I am enjoying slowly reading through your articles around this online. Thanks for sharing!
Yamabushiness — I love it!
Good luck!
Thank you!!
Hmm as for content suggestions for now I'm mainly curious how the Miko Shugyo went for the women who participated from abroad (did they come from abroad to do it)? On another level I want to know what program they did and the step-by-step specifics of actually applying and getting your gear for it/getting there. I was surprised to see it cost 60,000 yen for the 4? day Miko Shugyō! Does it cost something similar for you to participate? I'm also curious what the daily schedule is like on it, what do you eat, when do you bathe and sleep etc. I wonder if the average person might find that kind of thing boring. XD
The average person should not be doing this training in the first place! I don’t think they’d find it boring, frustrating in parts maybe :p but overall extremely rewarding!
The average person may not be doing this training but I can't say whether the average person would be reading about what people who do it eat. :P
The details of the training you can only know if you join, that’s part of your training! I’m sworn to secrecy. But also, I don’t know exactly what what goes on during the Miko Shugyo, I’ve only heard rumors!
Yes the women all traveled from abroad to join. The male version had people come from England, The Netherlands, and Australia, and in the past there have been Americans and even a Brazilian participant. I’m talking specifically about the trainings run by Dewa Sanzan Jinja, which is a religious entity that has been running these trainings for over 150 years, hence the low participation costs.
I was viewing the 60,000 yen as a high participation cost, I don't remember what I saw the male version being. I believe you when you write it's extremely rewarding.
The men’s one is 70,000 for 7 days. If you think that’s expensive, this may not be for you.
I sense that there's something important to you that wasn't honoured in what I wrote and I wonder whether it's related to you maybe seeing me as questioning the value of the practise in writing what I did about the price? I am not trying to change the cost of it. You don't have to agree with me in how I view it either. I am also able to discern what I'm willing and able to pay for.
Yep, fully understand. Trust me when I say it’s not expensive. That cost covers all accommodation and food, gear rental, guides, and a whole lot of other stuff for a truly life changing experience. I think it’s a bargain. The reason it is so cheap is because it is religious of course. For reference, the Buddhist version can cost upwards of 200,000yen due to various other things you need to organize.
I walked with a Yamabushi monk who runs a b&b in Hongu for part of a day as part of a larger 4 day self-guided tour on the Kumano Kodo and really enjoyed it! After I saw an image of a bunch of people clad in white in a gift shop on Mount Yoshino I began wanting to walk this route as well. I am planning a yearlong working holiday visa as of September 2025 and am wondering whether I could and how to join this practise as a woman.
Hi there, that sounds like a wonderful experience! We offer more serious experiences at yamabushido.jp, and some people who have joined these yamabushido experiences go on to join the autumn’s peak or the female version called Miko Shugyo (even though they are yamabushi). We’ve had quite a few coming back repeatedly actually, every year that they can.
If you speak Japanese, you can apply directly to Dewa Sanzan Jinja, although in recent years it’s been getting much harder for first timers to get in.
Thanks for replying as fast as you did and for the information! The Miko Shugyo definitely looks like something I'd like to join. Would you be able to link the shrine website? I'm a bit confused which one it is. Also by apply directly do you mean email them or send them a snail mail asking to do it?
This year an Italian and American woman joined for the first time, and a French woman joined for the second time. All three of them we helped get in because they did a yamabushido program in the past. There’s a lot of background stuff to do, as I’m sure you can imagine, that for non-Japanese speakers would be impossible. One of which is getting an introduction. Although if you can speak Japanese, it should be possible to bypass that, but your chances of getting in would be greatly reduced.
And thank you, I’m open to making more content on this stuff if you have some suggestions!
I'm not sure I got what would reduce your chances?!
It’s becoming much harder for first timers to get in, but a recommendation from us would increase your chances dramatically.
Oh, I see! I also forgot to mention that I am an intermediate level speaker but not quite fluent yet.
This one. http://www.dewasanzan.jp/smarts/index/43/
And yeah I think you need to apply by snail mail. They aren’t very up to date with everything!
😱 Oh gosh, thanks for the link. I read in a recent article that there's women from America and Europe joining this year - I hope one of them will write about the process soon online! Also, I regret it took me this many comments to say this but I am enjoying slowly reading through your articles around this online. Thanks for sharing!