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Regenerating the Communityand Self Regeneration.Yukiguni Retreat

About Yukiguni Retreat

Yukiguni Retreat Programs

Yukiguni Retreat Counselors

Yukiguni Retreat Lodges

Program Information

Reports

The Yukiguni Retreat is one of the few retreats in Japan where retreat counselors, who have learned their coaching skills through our training, always participate in the program. During the program retreat counselors play an important role of listening to participants. The counselors create a safe space allowing participants to face themselves, while giving them support.

1

We Value the Safety of Our Participants

We ensure the safety of the participants on the retreat by warning them about dangerous places, keeping a check on time, and checking weather conditions, etc.

2

We Value the Peace of Mind of Our Participants

We create a sense of psychological security for participants by laying down ground rules about confidentiality, how participants are addressed, not making evaluative judgments, and self-disclosure.

3

We Attach Importance to the Voice of Our Participants

We listen to the participants, encourage them, and engage in reflection on what they have said. We keep open-ended questions in mind. We are also pay attention to, and help the participants with, any physical and mental changes which occur.

4

Encouraging the Participants to Open Up Their Five Senses

Through meditation, focusing on breathing, getting them to touch snow and soil, and serving meals made from local ingredients, participants are encouraged to open up their senses naturally.

5

Treasuring the Present Moment

We give participants time to enjoy the changes in the weather. And to value the periods of silence in a conversation.

6

Valuing Local Resources Such as the People and Nature

Through the program experience you can share a feeling of respect for nature. We create opportunities for the participants’ interaction and for fostering connections with local people.

7

Taking Good Care of Yourself

Using introspection to return to your true selves. On these retreats in Snow Country, we will continue to help you explore what this means.

The Yukiguni Retreat is a journey of inner exploration woven together by our own Yukiguni Retreat Counselors and Yukiguni Local Guides.

The retreat counselors learn skills in coaching and how to create the right environment through Yukiguni Retreat's own training program. They know how to listen to the inner voice of the participants. They also help participants to understand themselves more deeply and to reclaim their true selves.

On the other hand, the local guides conduct participants through the external world. They provide the background to the rich culture and nature of Snow Country, and share the essence and the stories of this area with the participants. The presence of these local guides helps participants to feel that they are part of the region and its nature, giving them an experience of feeling a part of a whole.

On a Yukiguni Retreat, retreat counselors and local guides work together to connect the participants' inner and outer worlds, enhancing their self-awareness*1 and system awareness*2. Through this experience, participants can recognize what they really are and that, at the same time, they are part of the larger world. This gives them a renewed vitality.

  • *1Self-awareness: this is self-understanding through observation and awareness of yourself. It is the process of becoming aware of your everyday feelings and thoughts, accepting them, and recognizing your own inner energy and connection to others and the world.
  • *2System Awareness: this is awareness of the systems that surround us (family, friends, organizations, the natural environment, etc.). It means the ability to be aware of the diverse relationships and invisible connections in a system, and to sense a whole rather than parts.

References: “Regenerative Leadership: The DNA of life-affirming 21st century organizations”

Yukiguni Retreat Counselors

Hideaki Morimoto (guide name: Leo)

Yukiguni Retreat Counselor

A versatile and passionate outdoor guide with a deep connection to nature. He has worked as a shepherd. Morimoto spends his days exploring ways to live a careful life in harmony with nature and how to use his time well, applying his unique perspective in the promotion of nature experience activities. Through outdoor sports such as canyoning, canoeing, rafting, backcountry skiing, trekking, nature observation eco-tours, and other varied activities, he teaches the appeal of experiencing nature to people. His hobbies are handicrafts and mushroom spotting. Using his abundant experience and deep knowledge, he can teach you the true meaning of living with nature.

Mika Umezawa

Yukiguni Retreat Counselor

Umezawa was born in Minamiuonuma City and grew up in its natural surroundings.
As a child, she enjoyed playing in the mountains and rivers.
Currently, she works at a hotel, and values the connections she has with people and the local community, and uses her energies to build on these. She looks forward to welcoming you and introducing you to the attractions of Minamiuonuma and Yuzawa. She’s hoping that you’ll come to see Minamiuonuma and Yuzawa as your second hometown and want to make a return trip there.

Keisuke Hayama

Yukiguni Retreat Counselor

From Shizuoka City, Japan. Outdoor guide & apprentice farmer
In his 20s, he worked as a river guide in Minakami for more than 15 years.
Hayama works as a guide, and together with his family of three, runs a small natural chicken farm with about 80 chickens. After the Great East Japan Earthquake and the birth of his first child, he started to study natural poultry farming, self-supporting forestry, farm stay management, hunting, and other life skills, with the aim of becoming a farmer. He is planning to start an "Egg Farming and Canoe Tour" so guests can enjoy eggs produced naturally and humanely and the great outdoors.

Kazunori Okaniwa (Echigo Adventurer Okany)

Yukiguni Retreat Counselor

Echigo adventurer. Moved to Minamiuonuma in search of snow.
Currently, Okani works as a leisure concierge throughout all four seasons!
He has explored much of the land around here on foot, including areas of mountains and rivers where there are no roads.
He uses his knowledge of the area to help visitors scout for locations for movies and TV dramas. In winter he offers snow experiences such as backcountry and snowshoeing. In the summer, he organizes canyoning and nature guided river trips etc. Minamiuonuma is a rice-producing region, and Okani offers unique rice cooking and other rice-related experiences, as well as other activities that combine learning with fun!

Asami Terui

Yukiguni Retreat Counselor

Terui grew up in Chiba Prefecture and after graduating from a science-focused university, she started working for a wholesaler of scientific chemicals and laboratory equipment. During her time working as a sales representative in Tokyo for 9 years, she began to think about the style of work and life that she wanted, and started looking for a place to settle down, thinking: "I want to live in a place where I can see the stars of the Milky Way at night.”
While searching for a place to settle in Japan, she came across Tsunan Town, and was impressed the resilience of the people there, coexisting with the heavy snow in such a harsh environment. Terui moved to this area of heavy snowfalls in 2019, to work as a Community Reactivating Cooperator.
Terui is currently working as a coordinator helping people move into the Tsunan area, and helping to promote the attractions of the area, where local ties are still important, and people still live a sustainable lifestyle handed down from ancient times.

Misato Nakajima

Yukiguni Retreat Counselor

A yoga teacher from Tokamachi City, Nakajima spent her childhood in Tokamachi, a rich natural area, until she graduated from high school. After this she began a career as a local public servant in a big city. While she found her work rewarding, she began to feel a disconnect between the hustle and bustle of city life and herself, and experienced firsthand the feeling that nothing is possible without a healthy mind and body. She had left for the city because she did not want to live in the countryside, but she was attracted by Hawaii’s great outdoors and joined a yoga retreat where she could experience "living yoga”. Nakajima spent three weeks at a retreat center attached to an organic farm. She learned the ancient teachings of yoga, ate fresh produce from the farm every day, and experienced a time of joy in mind and body.
This experience was a turning point for Nakajima, and she became passionate about the profound teachings and practice of yoga. After working for a time as a yoga instructor in Tokyo, and because of the situation during the Corona pandemic, she decided to return to her hometown. Together with her sister, who had also decided to return there at the same time, they opened an establishment called "ever.doichi" in Tokamachi. Her sister runs a café here and Nakajima runs a yoga studio. Her aim is to create a studio with a warm atmosphere that feels like a second home. Here, amid these beautiful and dynamic natural surroundings, she teaches students how to live better through the teachings of yoga. This is her way of contributing to the health and happiness of local residents. Her yoga teaching has inspired many people to strive for the harmony of mind and body and to try to live healthily for longer.

庭野真弓（にわのまゆみ）

Yukiguni Retreat Counselor

She is a Tokamachi native, born in the city in Niigata Prefecture.
After graduating from high school, Niwano stayed in the area, and started working at a local kimono store. After being crowned as the Miss Tokamachi Snow Festival, she started working in the tourist association so she could help to promote the area she loves so much. She believes that the most attractive thing about Tokamachi is the people living in the area, who have been nurtured by their snowbound environment. Among her hobbies are dancing Yosakoi, a dance form born of traditional dancing and incorporating local folk songs, and carrying mikoshi (portable shrines) at festivals.

Yoshitaka Ohtaki (Takki)

Yukiguni Retreat Counselor

Ohtaki is an acupuncturist born in Niigata City. He spent his high school years in Niigata and his university years in the Kanto area. At the age of 36, while he was spending his days treating patients, he wondered, "Am I actually living a healthy life myself?" When he started thinking about returning to his birthplace, he came across Uonuma City. While spending periods of time there over a year and a half, and getting to know the local people, he fell in love with the relaxed rhythm of life there, and the people’s coexistence with and respect for nature. Therefore, Ohtaki decided to move there permanently. Currently, while working as a Community Reactivating Cooperator, he is also involved in natural rice cultivation and forest activities at a local facility called the Ehon-no-ie Yukiboshi.

Tomoyuki Yamada (Yamasan)

Yukiguni Retreat Counselor

After experience working for a travel agency in Niigata City, Yamada returned to his hometown of Uonuma City about 10 years ago. Currently, while working for the Uonuma City Tourism Association, he continues to explore what is good about his area.
His motto is: "To discover the hidden charms of Uonuma, and introduce them to others”. Yamada wants to offer not just simply a sightseeing experience, but something deeper that allows visitors to touch the heart and soul of Uonuma. One of the best things about the area is that you can experience so much variety here. Cherry blossom in the snow, waterfall clouds, lily fields, beech forests, and melting snow streams are among the local attractions. Yamada is passionate about conveying the colorful colors of Uonuma's four seasons through his hobby of photography and hopes to thereby inspire people who have not yet visited his area. He continues in his work as a retreat counselor because he is so happy to be able to convey his emotions to the participants, and to be able to share theirs.

Tomoko Hosoya (Tomosan)

Yukiguni Retreat Counselor

Born and raised in Minamiuonuma City, Hosoya gained experience working for a travel agency before joining the Echigo-Yuzawa Onsen Tourism Association and the Secretariat of the Snow Country Tourism Zone 15 years ago while raising two sons. She oversees the coordination with various stakeholders under the philosophy of "To keep the legacy of Snow Country alive 100 years from now”. Through her work, Hosoya has come to feel an attachment to the snow season. Her hobbies are appreciating seasonal flowers and enjoying various genres of music. Hosoya is happy if she can convey the warmth of the people and the richness of nature in this snowy area, through the Yukiguni retreats.