Happy New Year and a warm welcome to 2024, the year of the dragon!

We want 2024 to be a prosperous year for you, so be sure to stick around until the end for a special offer for Lessons From Mountains subscribers.

But first, a recap.

Put simply, 2023 was a busy one for us on the mountains of Japan. Besides hosting multiple yamabushi experiences, we also did something we had wanted to do for a long time now:

We bought a pilgrim’s lodge.

The owners of Oebo, as it is called, had given over the running to another pilgrim’s lodge, and were preparing to demolish the building and give the land over to Dewa Sanzan Shrine. Understanding how big of a shame it would be to lose such an important cultural asset, Tak from the Yamabushido Team stepped in. One thing led to another, and we are now the owners of our very own Dewa Sanzan Shukubo pilgrim’s lodge!

Thankfully, Oebo was kept in a very good condition, and we’re looking forward to welcoming you in when we can. Stay tuned for more.

First prayer in Oebo lodge

2023 Recap and What’s Ahead

A big thank you to all those who joined our yamabushi experiences in 2023. We really enjoyed having you with us and believe you are utilising what you learned in the mountains well in your daily lives. Our participants are the main reason we do what we do, and we are gearing towards an even busier 2024 and can’t wait to welcome you all to the mountains of Japan.

Yamabushi Shugyo Programs

In summer last year we hosted three groups as they completed the Masters Shugyo Program. Many of our participants were kind enough to write testimonials, which we have put on this page. We’d hate to disrupt Master Hoshino’s flow, so we’ll be running the same programs in 2024 as well.

We also held two Basic Shugyo Programs in 2023. Though shorter, these trainings were just as intense as the Masters, and gave participants ample space and time to reflect on their lives, and gain a fresh mindset. For 2024, we wanted to create even more of an impact, and we will do that by extending the yamabushi training section to three days. We think this new Basic Shugyo Program is both a great way to ease into the world of the yamabushi, or a good refresher for those who have experienced our programs before, such as the Reset Training or Masters Programs.

But don’t take our word for it.

Hear directly from one of our participants, Karen:

"This experience is probably the best self love gift I have ever given myself. The Yamabushi team under the guidance of master Hoshino, whose words alone are enough to travel the globe to hear, have been exceptional in guiding us and pushing us to achieve what we did. I found myself 3 months after my trip a much more grounded, centered person. My fear of the unknown has completely vanished and my heart has expanded."

Reset Training Programs

Speaking of the Reset Training, this year we had many couples and groups of friends come join us on the mountains for a more intimate yamabushi experience. We also hosted a few Winter Reset Trainings ,and still have one in February and March respectively.

For 2024, though, we have introduced an entirely new experience. This is something we envisioned doing for a few years, but until now lacked the resources. Called CUSTOMIZED PRIVATE TRAINING , as the name suggests, this Reset Training takes you to all three of the Dewa Sanzan mountains with your very own bilingual yamabushi master in what we think is the ultimate in personalised yamabushi experiences.