About Us

I’m just a weekend Zen sitter living in Sapporo. Not a monk, nor a scholar. As for my sitting experience, I only started in January 2025—no long history. A man in his forties, working at a company, paying a mortgage loan and property tax. Do you find anything special about me? I bet not.

Still, from my first sitting at a temple, I immediately got hooked. It’s a bit hard to explain how I felt then. It was like landing on a strange planet—no past, no future, only the present. Let everything go, never cling to anything. If a squirrel shows up in front of me, I just see it and think, “Ah, a squirrel.” Then maybe it looks at me and thinks something too. That’s all. What a strange planet, isn’t it?

Anyway, I’d like to take you to that strange planet. In Zen meditation, you can leave behind everything you’ve been carrying—the dinner menu, a sudden order from your boss, a Christmas present, an unpaid bill on the table... just let them go. “Neutral” is the word for that. Sometimes, having nothing is the best thing we have.

But actually, it’s still not easy for foreign visitors to experience Zen practice in Japan. Information is scattered, not updated, and rarely available in English. Even if you find a place you want to go to, there are other hurdles: language, manners, access, preparations... And on top of that, very few people have done Zen practice in Japan, especially in regional cities like Sapporo.

So I launched this portal site. I truly hope visitors can access Zen information more easily through this site. And if you think it’s not enough, I’d be happy to help you further. I’m still practicing Zen myself. So let’s get going together!