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Train as a One-Day Dojo Student · Kyoto
Not the introduction. The training itself.
Three hours inside Yushin-sensei’s working Kyoto dojo — training beside his own students, in a small group of no more than three. Two full hours of katana practice, a real seminar on samurai history and lineage, and the master’s two-sword demonstration up close. This is the step beyond the 90-minute experience.
Reserve Your Training Day¥30,000 / 3 hours · Max 3 guests · Direct booking via Square
Beyond the 90 Minutes
For travelers who want the real thing, not a taster.
The 90-minute experience is the introduction. This is what comes after it — longer, smaller, and closer to the dojo than most visitors ever get.
Two Full Hours of Training
Not a single foundation kata, but the time to go further — the draw, the cut, the resheathing, and the drawing, striking, and blocking forms that follow. Two hours on the dojo floor, at a student’s pace, with a traditional iaitō in hand.
A Group of No More Than Three
Where the introductory session takes up to nine guests, the training day is capped at three. That means near-private attention — the master and his students correcting your form, hands-on, throughout.
You Train Beside Real Students
The name is literal. You are not placed on a stage built for visitors — you are received as a one-day member of the dojo and train alongside the people who practice here every week.
Which One Is For You
The 90-minute experience, and the step beyond it.
Same dojo, same master, same safe practice. What changes is how far you go.
| Samurai Experience90 minutes · ¥20,000 | One-Day Dojo Student3 hours · ¥30,000 · this page | |
|---|---|---|
| In a word | The introduction | The training |
| Time | 90 min · about 2 hr visit | 3 hours · 2 hours on the floor |
| Group size | Up to 9 guests | No more than 3 |
| On the floor | One foundation kata, then a personal exam | Foundation kata plus drawing, striking & blocking forms — repeated until right |
| History | A short lesson | A full history & lineage seminar |
| You train | In a visitors’ session | Beside the dojo’s own students |
| Practice sword | Traditional iaitō | Traditional iaitō |
| The master | Two-sword nito demonstration | Two-sword nito, up close |
| Best for | A first encounter · families · limited time | Real practice · returning guests · the discipline itself |
The Honest Difference
Most “samurai experiences” end just as they begin.
“An hour to dress, photograph, and leave is a memory. Two hours on the floor, beside students, under a master’s eye — that is training.”
Yushinkan is the working dojo of Yushin-sensei, a practicing master shihan in the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū lineage. On the training day, you are not a spectator who is handed a sword for a photo. You are given the time, the space, and the correction to actually begin to move like a swordsman — and to watch the technique that earned the master the name Modern-day Musashi from an arm’s length away.
Your Three Hours
A day in the dojo, from first bow to final form.
Two hours of training, framed by about half an hour on each side to dress, settle, and close — roughly three hours in all.
Welcome & Dressing
You are received at the dojo and helped into authentic training attire — Dōgi, Obi, and Hakama — the same gear the regular students wear.
History & Lineage
A real seminar — not a soundbite — on the history of the samurai and the Yushin-Ryu lineage, including the rare left-hand drawing technique the school still preserves.
Sword Handling & Etiquette
How to hold and carry the katana, the etiquette of the sword, and the principles every student learns before the first draw. Practice is with a traditional iaitō.
The Foundation Kata
Stance, the draw, the cut, and the resheathing — built slowly and correctly, with the time to repeat it until it feels right.
Drawing, Striking, Blocking
The forms beyond the basics — attacking and defensive movements that the shorter session has no time for. This is where the extra hours show.
Training Beside the Students
You practice alongside the dojo’s own members, under the correction of the master and his senior students — the heart of the training day.
The Master’s Demonstration
Kata at full speed, then the signature two-sword (nito) form — the technique that earned Yushin-sensei the name Modern-day Musashi, performed an arm’s length away.
Change & Close
Time to change back, take photographs in attire, and talk with the master before you leave. Total visit, about three hours.
The Master Shihan
Yushin-sensei
Yushin-sensei has trained with the katana since the age of twelve. With over two decades of daily practice, more than fifty students of his own across Japan, and a transmission rooted in the Edo Yagyū Shinkage-ryū — the school of the Tokugawa shoguns’ instructors — he stands at the meeting point of two of the great traditions of Japanese swordsmanship.
He is one of the rare living masters of nito, the two-sword technique most closely associated with Miyamoto Musashi himself. On the training day, the master who corrects your form is the same one who lives this tradition every day — and the students beside you are his.
Pricing & Booking
One price. Three hours. No more than three guests.
¥30,000 / person
- Full training attire (Dōgi, Obi, Hakama)
- Bottled water
- Professional English instruction · Max 3 guests
- Traditional iaitō for kata practice
- Two full hours of katana training, beside the dojo’s students
- History & Yushin-Ryu lineage seminar
- Drawing, striking, and blocking forms beyond the basics
- Master demonstration including the two-sword nito form
Direct booking · Instant confirmation · Best price guaranteed
Location & Access
In central Kyoto.
Five minutes from major Kyoto stations. Look for the blue torii gate next to a blue vending machine — the entrance is down a spiral staircase.
Address
Super Grand Bld. B1F, 452-4 Matsugaecho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8034, Japan
How to find us
Look for a blue Japanese-style torii gate. You will see signs for our dojo next to a blue vending machine. The entrance is down a spiral staircase.
Frequently Asked
Questions before you book.
It is longer, smaller, and deeper. The 90-minute session is the introduction — up to nine guests, one foundation kata. The training day runs three hours with two full hours on the dojo floor, a group of no more than three, a real history and lineage seminar, and the drawing, striking, and blocking forms the shorter session has no time for. And you train beside the dojo’s own students rather than in a tourist-only set.
No. Most guests have never held a katana before, and the master guides you step by step. The training day simply suits those who want more than a taste — travelers drawn to the discipline itself, returning guests, and anyone who felt 90 minutes would be too short.
You practice with a traditional iaitō — an unsharpened training katana built to the same shape and weight as a real Japanese sword. Authentic sharpened katanas (shinken) are presented for you to view.
No more than three. The small group is the point — it is what allows the master and his students to correct your form hands-on throughout the two hours of training.
About three hours in total. Two of those are training on the dojo floor; the rest is dressing, the history seminar, the master’s demonstration, changing back, and photographs.
Participants from 12 to 65 in moderate physical condition. The session involves standing, movement, and handling a training sword, so it is not recommended for those who are pregnant or have back or serious medical conditions. If unsure, contact us before booking.
Yes. The training day is led in English, with Japanese as needed.
Full refund for cancellations made at least 24 hours before the start time. Cancellations inside 24 hours are non-refundable. Please contact us as early as you can if your plans change.
Ready to train?
Spend the day as a student of the dojo.
Three hours, two on the floor, beside the people who train here every week — under the eye of the Modern-day Musashi.
Reserve Your Training Day¥30,000 / 3 hours · Max 3 guests · Direct booking via Square