Okinawa 2-Hours Genuine Kendo/Samurai Experience in Japan

What a pleasure to meet Our guide Taiji Yamakawa! My son and I took a bucketlist trip to Okinawa and wanted to learn more about the Kendo martial art. This Kendo experience was intimate, informative, and great exercise too! Our guide explained to us the importance of respect in the Kendo spirit and to be passionate with movements and your voice. We were fitted with our Dogi and Hakama (upper and lower garments) and taught step by step basic movements, strike points, equipment names, stances and how to use the Shinai (bamboo sword). If you are not Japanese speaking, it is helpful to bring a portable translator tool/app to ask more in depth questions easier. Our guide was very patient and helpful with corrections for a proper experience. This is a very physical activity so stay hydrated and prepare to sweat. Next, it was time to battle each other and exhibit all we had learned. Thank you Taiji for such a memorable experience! Thank you for opening the sacred space of the Dogo for us. We look forward to hearing of your championships! Go shidō itadaki kōeideshita. Arigatōgozaimashita!

Excellent and attentive teacher. Ex Okinawa champion. Made the whole experience fun and informative.

Amazing experience!!! I booked this trip before traveling to Okinawa from US and Kenshi was super helpful in answering all my questions and guiding me through scheduling, location and payment. Very considerate and informative. Taiji was the instructor for me and my son and he was an excellent teacher and guide!! He helped us to understand some of the history, all of the introductory moves, dressing in the dogi, hakama and respect for the Budokan. We also got to watch and learn competition moves and scoring system. Taiji is encouraging, professional, friendly and took all the nervousness away. We are so grateful to him for this experience we will never forget!!!

Our instructor was great! He was patient, funny, and attentive. He made our first Kendo class a fun experience! I highly recommend!

Fantastic experience with Taiji Sensei! Although his English is limited, his directions were very clear. I really enjoyed this experience and would do it again!

I highly recommend this session! This was a proper training for the beginers. I enjoyed learning basic moves and rules of kendo. My sensei was Taiji, very dedicated kendo practitioner with more then 20 years of experience. It was amazing to learn from him! Thank you!

What an amazing experience! Our instructor Taiji was incredible at teaching us the basic moves of Kendo and helping us understand the history. Would definitely recommend to anyone!!

We want to thank Taiji for such an amazing experience! So much fun, laughters and knowledge. Highly recommend it if you are in Okinawa and looking for a fun experience!

My cousin and I attended the class together on a weekend. The instructor we had was incredibly kind, knowledgeable, and fun. We learned the basic rules, customs, and moves involved in kendo. There were no additional fees involved I'm the activity. It lasted approximately 2 hours. Besides my group, nobody else was at the court where the practice happened. The location was wonderful as well, as right outside was a beautiful park.

It's kind of a "dreams come true" experience as we grew up with the comic talking about Kendo from Japan. If you are interested in sports in general or eagerly exploring surprise in the life, you should come and try!!!