What a kendo session involves
Kendo is practised in bogu, a set of protective armour made up of a mask with a metal grille (men), padded gloves (kote), a chest guard (do) and a waist guard (tare). The sword is the shinai, four bamboo staves bound together. Points are scored with clean strikes to the head, wrists or torso, or a thrust to the throat. Putting on bogu and moving in it is part of the experience, and it is heavy and warm.
A session without bogu cannot include sparring, because the armour is what makes full strikes safe. That one detail tells you which kind of session you are looking at.
Park for us at JR Hanazono
The Kendo Samurai Experience Tour by Park for us is the session where you wear full bogu and train with a shinai. It runs in a dojo with a teacher who holds 7th dan, finishes with a sparring bout and often takes place as a private session. You meet at the north exit of JR Hanazono station on the JR Sagano line, northwest of the city centre.
Reviewers note that the teacher's English is limited at times. Park for us excludes pregnant women and people with existing health conditions, and asks for the size and gender of every participant so the armour fits. The product page states no minimum age, so ask through the booking page before you book for a child.
Kendo Experience in Shugakuin, a sword class under the kendo name
The “Kendo and Samurai Experience with Uniform and Equipment” by Kendo Experience is the most reviewed session in this field. You change into training wear and practise strikes, blocks and footwork with training swords in an old house with a large gate in Shugakuin, about 15 minutes on foot from Shugakuin station. Photos and video close the session. There is no bogu, no sparring, and the product page lists no cutting. Children can join from 7.
One guest wrote that they never wore the masks shown in the photos. In kendo the mask is part of the bogu, which this session does not include. If the mask and armour are what you are after, the Park for us session is the one that has them.
Watching kendo at the Kyoto Taikai
The Kyoto Taikai is a budo tournament held at the Butokuden hall in Okazaki, next to Heian Shrine, and kendo is part of it. It traditionally runs from 2 to 5 May, and spectators can watch. The dates for 2027 had not been announced when this page was written. Golden Week falls in the same days, so book a session for that week early.
Bogu in the Kyoto summer
In July and August Kyoto is hot and humid, and bogu traps the heat. Drink before you start, bring water, and plan the kendo session for the morning if you can choose a time slot.
