Actually, this place is not located in Sapporo, and it’s not a temple. If I wanted the Sapporo Zen Map to be completely coherent and consistent, it might have been better to leave this spot out. All temples, all in Sapporo—it would have looked nice. But I couldn’t resist. I decided to break the uniformity on my portal site. So, what exactly is this place?

It has roots in the Rinzai sect. Instead of a statue of Buddha or altars, they have a kakejiku—a hanging scroll. There’s less of a religious atmosphere, more of a cultural feeling. The dojo is very spacious, with minimal decoration aside from the kakejiku and a few flowers. Outside the shoji windows, a countryside landscape of farms and bushes stretches out. During Zen meditation, you can hear birds chirping, tractors moving, and rain softly hitting the rooftop. It feels like sneaking into a rustic retreat from old times. Calmness? Absolutely.

Beyond the weekly meditation sessions, they offer several Zen programs. The Zen retreat session is a major training experience that I hope to join someday. They also host a real Urasenke-style tea party. Have you ever tried one? I attended here and was deeply impressed. The core of Japanese Zen-style culture, especially the tea ceremony, traces back to Sen no Rikyū. You can experience this foundational value here in the Zen dojo.

But what impressed me most might be a man who plays the shakuhachi. He is a regular participant in the Zen sessions and sometimes plays the shakuhachi after meditation. One day, after chatting with the administrator and about to leave, I heard the faint sound of shakuhachi from the dojo. Zazen, kakejiku, tea ceremony, shakuhachi… where had I slipped into?