Slow & Easy Days
in Fujieda, Shizuoka 🌸
(Sakura season) (Women-only)
6D5N: 30 March to 4 April 2025
Hi you!
Thank you for coming to explore our Yukkuri Countryside Retreat.
ゆっくり (yukkuri) is to be slow and at ease. My friend’s one year old baby, Maholo-chan has somehow picked up this word and would repeatedly babble it to me when I visited them in June this year. Little guru knows I needed this piece of wisdom.
We all need to slow down, do you feel so too?
This is a really special project for me and my two dear Japanese friends.
For this Slow & Easy Days Retreat, we will be visiting places and attending events that are mostly accessible to the locals living in Shizuoka. ✨ I can’t express how grateful I am to Shiori and Sumiechan for welcoming us so warmly into their community. ✨
We’ve put in our heart and soul dreaming about this retreat and planning it. Now that it’s ready—we are slightly nervous about how it’d appeal to you! It’s not your usual yoga retreat; we’ll be living this retreat like a Japanese local, rather than attending, if you know what I mean? (:
Please feel a full-hearted yes! before signing up. And no offence taken if it’s a no. This retreat is birthed and will be co-created through the pure kindness of kindred souls (that includes you, if you’re joining us!) to share a slice of simple slow days together.
My retreat intention is to create a cosy gathering of kind women who are ready to slow down ゆっくり, feel safe together, and are open to see contentment in simple, everyday ordinary things. We don’t need a lot to be happy, really 💛
To be sure that everyone feels welcome and at ease, here are a few things that you must be comfortable with, if you’re joining us:
- We’re a small retreat size of 5 to 6 women only.
- We’ll be living together in one house—a home away from home concept.
- We may be in the company of 1-2 toddlers, children of my friends who will host us for events and join some activities and some meals.
- We may be visiting locals’ homes and temples. Personally, it’s a privilege and honour to be invited to anyone’s home or to see them at their work. May we be agreeable on this.
- There are workshops and local activities well-planned out, but please be open to go with the flow (say if my friend’s child needs her attention, then we may have to move her event from Day 1 to Day 3, for example). There will be an itinerary released to participants, but it is fluid.
- We are staying at a traditional Japanese house. The house is 90+ years old—the owners rebuilt the house by hand and rent it out to travellers. The review rating is high! It is very Japanese and traditional, but super functional (with heaters in each room and a proper toilet).
- We will be sleeping in futon on tatami mats in proper bedrooms.
- The whole house is ours to share, with a spacious living room, kitchen, our own private garden and patio. The rooms can sleep 5-6 pax, but we must all be okay with sharing just one toilet & bathroom.
- I may or may not stay in the same house as you. If the retreat fills up with 6 pax, I will stay at Shiori’s house, a 5 mins’ drive from you.
- I will be your designated driver. I will rent a car.
- 💗 This retreat mirrors how my life was, living with both of them during summer last year, and some weeks of winter and spring earlier this year. We will be living this retreat, rather than just attending—if that makes sense! 💗
Meet my Japanese sisters
🌼 Shiori! 🌼 I met Shiori in New Zealand, 2017. She was working on an AirBnb in Takaka, Golden Bay in the South, and I was a backpacker who booked a bunk bed. We became friends over our shared love for drinking plain warm water, practising yoga in the lodge’s garden, and cycling to the full moon! In 2018, she visited Singapore. In 2019, we hosted a yoga retreat for mums & kids to Chiang Mai together, with Shiori as our arts & craft teacher.
We are in each other’s lives a lot, despite the distance. We often spoke on the phone when Shiori was preggy with Maholo-chan. I’ve loved Maho-chan before even meeting her 💝 Last and this year, I’m so honoured to be invited to live with them in Shiori’s in-laws’ home, her parents’ home, and finally her own~ She will be hosting us a handicraft workshop at her place! She will also be cooking for us, what she calls a “mom’s meal” as our welcome dinner at our accommodation.
💐Sumie-chan! 💐 Sumie is Shiori’s friend, and I was introduced to work at her vegan cafe Aima, in Shizuoka. This is when I fell in love with Shizuoka! During summer, we shuttled between living in Fujieda (the village we will be living in and exploring!) and Yaizu (if we have time, let’s go there too).
Sumie-chan was in her first trimester when I was working for her, and now Mitsuki-chan goes wherever Sumie-chan mama goes.
Sumie-chan will be hosting a vegan cooking workshop for us. Together we will be bustling around in the kitchen, cooking a vegan meal—Japanese style!
All of us together! Mitsuki-chan was in Sumie-chan’s belly~ This was in an AirBnB in Shizuoka city center. The basic Singaporean in this photo (hihi it’s me) booked an airbnb while I was visiting last year, and invited them over for staycation.
We would chat endlessly, have fun, get yummy takeaways, be childlike, and not worry about household chores for once.
Where will we stay
Traditional Japanese house accommodation
A 90-year-old house in Tamatori, a charming village in Shizuoka prefecture. The owners renovated the house with their own hands, honouring the original structure and vibe.
“So you can feel time going back to the old Japanese period,” Daisuke shared.
There are 2 big living rooms for lounging in, 3 bedrooms (twin-share), kitchen, 1 toilet, 1 bathroom and an outdoor patio. And free wifi. The house also has a small charming garden. The floor is all tatami. Beside the house is a small fresh water river which sounds lovely.
As this house is in the countryside, we are very close with nature. There may be insects such as huntsman spiders in the house, they are harmless. Please be certain that you are okay with this.
Kitchen space
Wash basin
The kitchen has a fridge, stove, rice cooker, microwave, simple oven and coffee maker.
One shared bathroom with shower and hot bath. Shampoo, conditioner, body soap and towels are provided. Hot bath with natural spring water is encouraged.
House note: When using the shower you can’t use the kitchen water!
Since this is a traditional house, there is no insulated wall like hotels do, so the nights may be chilly. Our visit is during the sakura season, so temperature is around 15-20 degree celsius. There are 4 heaters, one for each room (:
Workshops, daily yoga and local activities
Homecooked Japanese meals 
Tea ceremony 
Attend a local market 
Shiori! She was baking us scones 
Homecooked miso soup 
Bamboo forest walk 
Tea house 
Bamboo basket weaving 
Bamboo weaving workshop 
Plate painting at ceramic workshop 
Pottery workshop 
We’ll be there during sakura season 
Yoga in the park 
Park view 
Onsen outing
Workshop by Sumie-chan:
Vegan-cooking workshop
Sumie-chan was the owner and chef of a vegan cafe Aima and she will be imparting to us hands-on skills on how to prepare a vegan meal! We will purchase fresh organic local produce and chopping veggies, bustling in the kitchen together, quite like how the Japanese women do it for their gatherings at home. I’ve attended a few before and it was fun and so wholesome.
Workshop by Shiori:
Handicraft workshop
Shiori is an arts & craft teacher in Japan and has travelled New Zealand to deepen her studies. She is currently exploring fabric dye with natural food colourings, and has created a darling range of beeswax products such as lip balm (the only lip balm that works for me during winter), food beeswax covers, candles. She will teach us one of these local crafts!
Home-cooked meal by Shiori:
Welcome local dinner
On Day 1, upon arrival, you’re welcome to rest and relax in our traditional Japanese house. Shiori will be in our kitchen preparing a welcome dinner for us. There will be simple and yasashi (kind to the belly) dishes, similar to the ordinary meals she prepares for her family.
Local event to attend:
Pop-up marche at a local temple
This is a monthly pop-up on the 3rd of each month, how serendipitous that we’ll be there too! The locals will be selling their farm produce such as aubergines, rice, and their cooking and crafts. Sumie-chan is the event organiser and she has extended the invite to us to consider a little Singapore stall, if you’re up for it! I may guide a yoga session in English in the temple for us and the locals to join too~ We’re still discussing! It is from 10am to 3pm.
Yoga everyday in nature:
Sakura season 🌸
“Shena-chan, it is sakura season in Shizuoka when you visit,” said the Japanese house owners during our video call. This is such a pleasant surprise! They have helped plan out different locations for yoga, including a grass field with a view of Mount Fuji, yoga in a sakura park, yoga in their local community centre.
Our group activities:
- Tea Ceremony with lunch included
- Pottery Workshop (wheel throwing or painting)
- Bamboo Weaving Workshop (optional, the only activity that you’ll have to fork out money for, priced at 2-5,000 yen per pax)
- Long nature walks (possibly a hike)
- Onsen session at my favourite spot
- Possibly- a BBQ & yoga session!
- Paid dinners and lunches (aside the 2 home-cooked meals) are at charming and rather fancy diners, which we’ll be arranging reservations for in advance
It looks like a lot planned, so we wish to offer you breathing spaces. Please feel free to opt out and relax at home instead 🙂 Closer to date I’ll check in with you again on which you’d like to attend.
Bedroom 2
Per pax: 1,800 SGD
Single: 2,500 SGD
First come first served basis
Bedroom 3
Per pax: 1,800 SGD
Single: 2,500 SGD
First come first served basis
Included:
- 6D5N Accommodation
- Daily breakfast
- Daily dinner except 1 at an onsen
- Daily lunch except 2 cafe outings
- Daily yoga practices: in nature, sakura park, in a temple, and we’ll book a local community centre too!
- Vegan cooking workshop
- Local handicraft workshop (beeswax product or fabric dye)
- Invitation to a local marche on temple ground
- Green tea ceremony session
- Ceramic workshop at the local art centre: wheel throwing or painting
- A visit to my favourite onsen ♨️
- 2-way private car pick-up and drop-off at Fujieda station
- Rental of car for the group
Not included:
- Flight to and fro tickets to Japan, Narita Airport
- Trains to and fro Fujieda station
- Optional activities: Bamboo weaving workshop, shiatsu session by a local
- Others: Tea time drinks and snacks, souvenirs
- Compulsory travel insurance: I’ll need to receive documents with all relevant details of your insurance policy and contact person
Write to me if you’re interested!
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SHENAYOGA 