I just came back from an amazing trip to Japan which was mostly business and, also, all pleasure. The first four days were a retreat during which we visited various sites in Japan to learn about the cultural foundations of the KonMari® Method. We then had two days of seminar in Tokyo, during which we met Marie Kondo. I followed that up with two days on my own, to visit Kamakura and Tokyo.

Would it sound trite to say this trip was life-changing? I mean, not only were we immersed in Japan, learning about history, culture, religion, and food, but we also formed new friendships with other consultants from all over the world! We had such good camaraderie that when a monk asked us how often we get together like this, he was blown away to learn that we had only met 24 hours prior! Then we talked shop, but also got to meet Marie Kondo herself on a few occasions, which was very exciting.

I’ve decided I will break up the retelling of this trip into a few posts, and within each, I will highlight certain themes that are relevant to the KonMari® Method. I hate the word “bespoke” but that is really what this trip was! I mean, how often do you have a tour guide thank you for allowing her to visit places to which even she had never been allowed access before? And monks thank you for being so open and attentive by letting you touch a Buddha statue that is hundreds of years old and which most people can’t even approach? This was a trip that had 2 or 3 highlights each DAY, as opposed to 2 or 3 over the whole trip!

Thanks to the team at KonMari, especially Takumi Kawahara (Marie Kondo’s husband and cofounder of KonMari Media, along with Kazuma Yamauchi and Marie herself), who seemed to be friends with all the monks and very well connected in general – many of the special access we got was thanks to him.

As I mentioned, we were about 20 consultants who have now bonded over these new experiences. These are genuinely good people, and if you want recommendations for KonMari® Consultants in, say, Boise or Seattle or the Bay Area, or in Japan, I now have solid referrals for you!

The posts are divided into Kyoto, Ise-Shima, the seminar in Tokyo, and a short conclusion. The reason I am going into such detail is simply that I have both colleagues and clients who have expressed a lot of interest in this trip, so this seems like the most efficient way to regale them with details! Where it was relevant, I highlighted passages that are applicable to our mindset as we organize. Let me also quote Eigen Onishi, one of the monks we met: “I have no intention whatsoever of preaching any doctrines during this special tour. I only wish to share with my guests some things that I have personally learned or realized. And if it could lift their spirits a little, or if it could quell an irritable mood that they were in, then that would be more than enough. So, I don’t have any kinds of guests whom I wish to invite, but I want many kinds of people to come and think that it is worth visiting.”

If you want to find out which are the truths and which is the lie, read on: Part 1 – Kyoto; Part 2 – Ise-Shima; Part 3 – Seminar; Conclusion.