This was a really cool experience! The staff was extremely attentive and accommodating. I mixed up my dates when booking and they were able to reschedule us seamlessly. The samurai master taught us how to hold, swing and slice bamboo mats with a real katana. Afterwards, they guided us through a sound bath meditation that brought on the zen. Definitely worth checking out when you’re in Kyoto!

Staff super friendly and they let you cut something with and authentic 150 year old katana. What else can I say it was super cool.

This was an amazing experience! Very organized, informative, and interesting! The fact it takes place in a samurai's home was amazing. Everyone is very kind and helpful, and the feeling of sucessfully cutting the bamboo with the samurai sword is so rewarding. The zen meditation was the perfect way to end it! Plus they take high quality photos of you the whole time. You MUST book this experience!

Excellent experience. Fun and informative. My teenage sons loved it. The guides were delightful. You can take lots of photos. Very safety conscious as well.

Friendly, fun, interesting culture, great moments captured in pictures, unique setting in original Samurai home.

A “must do” experience for anyone who has appreciation of, or is interested in, samurai and budo culture. The class starts inside a historic samurai-owned home and instruction provided in the garden. For us, the best part was the unexpected brief Zen mediation at the end with the Tibetan Singing Bowls. My sons and I also train Japanese martial arts back in the US and have a passionate love of old and modern Japanese culture and history. Add this to your bucket list of things to do. Also right down the street from Nijo Castle, so perfect to knock out both. Oss!

Great experience professionally run by great people in great surroundings. Excellent photos produced afterwards for free. Definitely recommend it

They were able to go beyond our expectations with live demonstrations, flute demonstrations and meditation. Actual katana experience was amazing! Definitely recommend

We were given a demonstration of swordsmanship before having a chance to cut tatami mats in half with a real Japanese sword. Thrilling and fun too. Its not cheap but well worth it IMO. Its also hosted in an old Samurai house in Kyoto so it feels very authentic.

Very passionate staff with impressive demonstrations of sword skills before letting customers try their hand at cutting tatami matts themselves. Great feeling when you get it right! If you have any interest in samurai history and culture give them a look!

Having an English speaking translator, Elle made all the difference! The experience was truly amazing, with a brief history of the samurai, demonstration with the katana and the drums before training with wooden swords then the real thing, finished off with a meditation to calm you down before sending you back out to the streets of Kyoto. The staff were very attentive and patient. They let you take your own photos as well as taking a lot for you which they shared on the day. Worth every yen!! We loved it.

What a privilege to have been inside the house of a real samurai with deep connections to the history of Kyoto. A very authentic experience from beginning to end. Staff were excellent - and the masters with the swords and instruments were wonderful. A truly memorable and unique experience. A Kyoto must do!

If you visit Kyoto you must try to do this. The experience takes place in a genuine samurai mansion and is hosted by a wonderful roster of staff who are friendly and knowledgable. The first event, after donning the appropriate gear, is an introduction to the venue and the way of samurai themselves, with a demonstration of an Iaido sword technique. After this you practise with bokken and are then unleashed with the katana itself. Finally you wind down with a zen meditation session and shakuhachi flute performance that complements the building perfectly. The staff take photos throughout the practical part of the activity and can also take photos with your own devices if you wish. All in all a truly great time.

This was so much fun! I don’t want to say too much and ruin the experience for others. But suffice it to say that it was really well organized, the guides were all so kind, and I highly recommend it. This is suitable for families, folks traveling alone and everyone in between. Elle the translator was great! She was kind, knowledgeable, encouraging and made everyone feel welcomed.

Thank you to all the team, we had a wonderful experience with you, we recommend this activity above anything else in Kyoto! Everything was well explained and we enjoyed every part of it! :D