Celebrating Our 2026 Shinrin-Yoku Immersive Training Graduates in Japan

International connections, shared experiences, and eight years of friendship with Toyouke no Mori, Nara, Japan

As our 2026 Shinrin-Yoku Guide Training immersions in Japan come to a close, we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the participants who completed this important stage of their professional learning journey.

This year has been especially meaningful for The Mindful Tourist®. We welcomed participants from across the world, including India, Malaysia, Germany, the Czech Republic, Canada, the United States, China, Latvia, Sweden, Singapore, Spain, and Thailand.

Although we arrived from different countries, cultures, professional backgrounds, and personal circumstances, we came together through a shared curiosity about nature, human well-being, and the practice of Shinrin-Yoku.

For many participants, the journey began long before arriving in Japan, through online learning, personal forest practice, scientific inquiry, and reflection. The immersive training offered an opportunity to bring these different dimensions together in a living environment, surrounded by the people and places that have helped shape our work over the years.

Eight Years of Friendship with Toyouke no Mori

One of the most meaningful aspects of this year’s training was celebrating eight years of friendship and collaboration with Toyouke no Mori (とようけのもり), our cherished training home in Nara, Japan.

What began as a professional connection has grown into a long-standing friendship built on mutual respect, shared values, hospitality, and a love of the natural world.

Throughout these years, Toyouke no Mori has become a place of relationships, learning, conversations, laughter, shared meals, and countless small moments that remain with us long after we leave Japan.

We are deeply grateful to Chie and Hiro for their friendship, generosity, and continued support, and for welcoming our international participants into this special place.

The people who care for Toyouke no Mori, its surrounding natural environments, and its traditions are an essential part of what makes our immersive training meaningful.

Welcoming The Datai Langkawi for the Third Time

Another special highlight of 2026 was welcoming, for the third time, our long-term collaborators from The Datai Langkawi, Malaysia.

Over the years, our collaboration has created opportunities for exchanging knowledge and exploring the relationship between professional nature-based experiences, hospitality, environmental awareness, and human well-being.

We are delighted that this connection continues to grow and that we can share our educational journey with people committed to developing meaningful and responsible experiences in nature.

Professional collaborations are important to us, but it is often the friendships and human relationships that develop through them that become the most enduring part of the journey.

Pathway 3: Learning Online, Experiencing the Forest in Japan

Our Shinrin-Yoku Guide Training — Pathway 3 combines ten weeks of online learning with a five-day practical immersion in Japan.

The online component introduces participants to many aspects theoretically and practically. It also explores nature connectedness, mindfulness, professional ethics, participant well-being, physical and emotional safety, and the responsibilities of a professional guide.

During the five-day immersion at Toyouke no Mori, participants move beyond theoretical discussions into direct experience. They practise guiding, explore sensory invitations, undertake practical assessments, observe one another’s facilitation, and develop their understanding through shared reflection and constructive feedback.

Importantly, the immersion is not simply about learning how to conduct a guided session. It encourages participants to question assumptions, understand their responsibilities, recognize the individuality of each participant, and cultivate their own relationship with the forest.

The journey toward professional certification continues through the required practical sessions, documentation, reflection, and final assessment.

A Community Across Borders

As we look at the photographs of our 2026 cohorts, we see more than people holding certificates or celebrating the completion of their immersion. We see individuals who arrived with their own questions, experiences, and motivations. We see new friendships, moments of uncertainty and discovery, shared learning, and the willingness to explore different perspectives. Each person brings something unique to the learning environment. Their backgrounds, values, and relationships with nature enrich the experience for everyone involved. And perhaps this is one of the most important aspects of international education: discovering that although we may come from different places, we can learn to listen, observe, and grow together.

To everyone who joined us in Japan this year: congratulations, and thank you.

Thank you for your trust, dedication, questions, reflections, and willingness to engage with the learning process.

We hope you carry not only new professional knowledge and practical skills into your future work, but also memories of the people you met, the places you experienced, and the relationships you developed along the way.

Wherever your journey takes you next, may your relationship with the natural world continue to deepen, and may you guide others with curiosity, compassion, humility, and care.

To our friends and collaborators at Toyouke no Mori and The Datai Langkawi, thank you for continuing this journey with us.

We look forward to the friendships, learning, and forest encounters still to come.

Milena A. Guziak
Founder, The Mindful Tourist®
Founder, Shinrin-Yoku Association