Yamabushido — For Partners

For Travel & Experience Partners

"The mountains give you answers, even without questions."

— Jill Holmgren  ·  Alaska  ·  Masters Yamabushi Training, July 2023

For your clients at a turning point — a sabbatical, a company exit, the end of a chapter — this is not a retreat. It is the reset they have been looking for.

Offer your most discerning travelers something the world cannot replicate: a living initiation into Japan's sacred mountain tradition, led by practicing mountain ascetics at Dewa Sanzan.

Why Now

Yamagata Was Just Named One of the 26 Places to Go in 2026 — by National Geographic.

For the first time, Yamagata Prefecture's Dewa Sanzan — the sacred mountains at the heart of Yamabushido — has been recognized by National Geographic as one of the 26 must-visit destinations in the world for 2026. The selection site, dewasanzan.com, was produced by our team.

But here is what National Geographic confirmed — not created.

71%
of our participants had already chosen to travel to Japan specifically to join Yamabushido — not as part of a Japan itinerary, but as the reason for the journey itself.

The world is catching up to what our participants already knew.

Masters Yamabushi Training runs only twice in 2026 — June 30–July 6 and September 11–17 — with a maximum of 15 participants. Basic Yamabushi Training: June 15–19 and October 13–17.

Once these dates close, the next opportunity is 2027.

For Your Clients

Three reasons this program earns a place in your most considered recommendations.

01

It creates the story clients carry for a lifetime.

Yamabushido is not a retreat. It is a structured encounter with a faith tradition that has shaped human beings for over 1,400 years — practiced at Dewa Sanzan, one of Japan's most significant sacred sites. Participants don't just visit this place. They enter it, on its terms.

The transformation often arrives quietly — days or weeks after they return home. That's when they call you.

02

It is impossible to replicate anywhere else.

Dewa Sanzan is not a stage. The mountain ascetics leading each program are ordained practitioners of an unbroken living tradition — not guides performing spirituality for tourists. The pilgrim lodges at the foot of the mountain have served pilgrims for centuries.

Every participant leaves knowing one word they will carry for years: Uketamo — a Yamabushi philosophy of radical acceptance. It sounds simple. Participants tell us it changes everything.

03

It is designed to work for your clients — whatever brought them here.

We screen every participant in a personal video consultation before confirming their place. The clients you introduce arrive prepared, self-selected, and motivated — and leave transformed.

"Some of our strongest partners began as participants themselves. If you feel called to walk the mountains, we'd be honored to welcome you first."

Client Archetypes

Your clients who are ready for this have usually already looked elsewhere.

A retreat in Bali. A program in the US. Meditation apps. Yoga in Costa Rica. Something about all of them felt incomplete. That's the person who is ready for Yamabushido.

Archetype 01

The Professional at a Crossroads

An entrepreneur, executive, or independent practitioner at a genuine turning point. A company exit. A milestone birthday. The cognitive exhaustion that comes from years of building. They don't need a holiday. They need a week that stops the loop.

Recommended: Basic · Private Reset · Customized Private

Archetype 02

The Conscious Leader

A coach, HR executive, therapist, or organizational leader who lives and breathes mindfulness — and wants to go deeper than any Western framework has taken them. Someone for whom Yamabushido is not a retreat, but a source.

Recommended: Masters · Customized Private

Archetype 03

The Practitioner

Already has a serious practice — martial arts, meditation, bodywork. Understands discipline from the inside. Has visited Japan before. Looking not for introduction, but for the deeper source beneath their own tradition.

Recommended: Masters

Archetype 04

The Pilgrim

For whom Japan's sacred tradition is not a backdrop, but the destination. Ancestor veneration, mountain faith, the silence of Dewa Sanzan — these are not exotic. They feel like coming home.

Recommended: Masters · Customized Private

71% of our participants travel to Japan specifically to join our program — not the other way around.
Your referral is not adding to an itinerary. It is the itinerary.

2026 Programs

Four programs. One sacred mountain tradition.

Signature · High Intensity

Masters Yamabushi Training

7 Days · Max 15 participants
June 30 – July 6
September 11 – 17
JPY 970,000 ≈ USD 6,200

The complete Yamabushi cycle across all three Dewa Sanzan mountains. Zen practice, immersive training under 13th-generation Master Fumihiro Hoshino, waterfall meditation, night walks, intentional silence.

Introduction · Medium Intensity

Basic Yamabushi Training

5 Days · Max 15 participants
June 15 – 19
October 13 – 17
JPY 690,000 ≈ USD 4,500

Zen practice, immersive training on Mt. Haguro and Mt. Kinbo, waterfall meditation. No prior experience required.

Private · Year-round

Customized Private Training

7 Days · Your group only
Available year-round on request
JPY 1,440,000 ≈ USD 9,200

Fully private, tailored to personal goals, schedule, and physical condition. For individuals, couples, or small closed groups.

Reset · Lower Intensity

Private Reset Training

3 Days · Your group only
Available year-round on request
JPY 620,000 ≈ USD 4,000

A lower-intensity, fully private program on Mt. Haguro. Zen practice, guided mountain walks, and structured reflection.

In Their Own Words

What your clients will say — months after they return.

"I participated for my 40th birthday — to mark the halfway point of life. These lessons and realizations will trickle in for a long time to come."

Marcel Votlucka  ·  USA  ·  Masters Yamabushi Training, September 2023

"Master Hoshino will teach you one concept you will probably use for the rest of your life — Uketamo. That alone is worth the entire program."

Alicio  ·  Masters Yamabushi Training, September 2023

"For three months after the program, my own clients kept asking me why my energy had changed. I find myself thanking Yamabushido every time."

Karen Karam  ·  Reiki Practitioner  ·  Masters Yamabushi Training, September 2023

"India — not for me. Peru — not for me. When I read everything you're doing, it just aligned. There's just this, right? It's very different."

Startup founder, 30s  ·  Dallas

"The idea of doing something that could stop the programming in my head going in a loop, and kind of make me pause — felt like it would be great."

Tech professional, 30s  ·  Seattle

Partner Commission

A partnership built on shared values — not margin games.

1. A team paid fairly.Bilingual mountain ascetics fluent in a living faith tradition are genuinely rare. They have committed their lives to this work. Our pricing is designed to allow them to be net contributors to Japan's social system — not recipients of it.

2. A regional economy sustained.Every program fee flows into the local economy of Toge: the pilgrim lodges, Dewa Sanzan Shrine, local transport and food providers. Your clients' fees are a direct investment in the people who keep this tradition alive.

3. An organization that stands on its own.We do not receive government subsidies. Our pricing discipline is what makes the mission sustainable — and that is why you can offer Yamabushido to your clients with complete confidence.

This is why we do not discount. And why you can offer Yamabushido to your clients with complete confidence.

ProgramPrice / personYour commission
Masters Yamabushi TrainingJPY 970,000JPY 97,000 ~USD 620
Basic Yamabushi TrainingJPY 690,000JPY 69,000 ~USD 450
Customized Private TrainingJPY 1,440,000JPY 144,000 ~USD 920
Private Reset TrainingJPY 620,000JPY 62,000 ~USD 400

Two Masters participants: approximately JPY 194,000 in commission — referred with confidence, not pressure.

Working Together

How we work with partners.

We've learned how to be a good partner. Here is what working with us looks like today.

01 · ReferralYou introduce a prospective participant and share a little context on their background and motivation.
02 · Video ConsultationWe meet your client for a short call — to confirm fit, answer questions, and prepare them. You're welcome to join.
03 · ProposalWithin 48 business hours, we send a custom proposal and invoice directly to the participant.
04 · Deposit & ConfirmationBooking is confirmed on receipt of deposit. We notify you immediately.
05 · CommissionYour client joins the program. Commission (10% of total fee) is issued within 30 days of full payment.
We respond to all partner inquiries within 24 business hours — including when the answer is no.If we can't accommodate a request, we'll tell you clearly and promptly, so you can plan accordingly. We believe a partner's time is as valuable as our own.

🌍 30+ countries represented since 2019

🤝 B2B partnerships across South America, Europe & North America

📈 Average 5+ day stay — traveling specifically for Yamabushido

🔄 Multiple participants have returned for a second program

Yamagata Prefecture Travel Agency License No. 地域-282  ·  Green Destination Top 100 Stories 2024
We are not a new experiment. We are a maturing organization — and we intend to be here for a long time.

Get in Touch

Let's see if we're a fit.

We work with a small number of aligned travel partners. If the clients you serve are looking for something more than the next destination — we'd like to hear from you.

Book a call

A 30-minute conversation with Tak. We'll explore whether Yamabushido is a good fit for the clients you work with — no preparation needed, just come as you are.

Book a Call →

Or send us a note first

Prefer to start by email? Tell us a little about who you work with. We respond to all partner inquiries within 24 business hours.

team@yamabushido.jp
Yamagata Prefecture Travel Agency License No. 地域-282  ·  Participants from over 30 countries since 2019  ·  Green Destination Top 100 Stories 2024

Yamabushido is produced by

 
 

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Yamabushido is produced by Megurun Inc.

Contact: team@yamabushido.jp

Toge-55 Haguromachi Toge, Tsuruoka, Yamagata 997-0211, Japan