Learn Reflexology & Shiatsu in Tokyo

Honest level: Beginner -> Licensed Therapist — ask the school exactly how far that goes in the time you have.

Intensive Course for Foreigners (Zen Shiatsu)

Founded by Shizuto Masunaga, originator of Zen Shiatsu, Iokai runs a dedicated intensive for international students that teaches a complete shiatsu treatment from the Zen Shiatsu method, including the 'sasae-atsu' (supporting pressure) technique and work along the meridians to free the flow of ki. Classes run as consecutive full days in their Tokyo center, taught in Japanese with a shared interpreter. It is hands-on, partner-based practice rather than lecture.

Next sessions: Jul 2026 · Aug 2026 · Dec 2026

Hands-on small-group training in Zen Shiatsu at its source school in Tokyo, with a course built specifically for visiting international students.

Interpreter fee approx ¥40,000-80,000 shared among the group (course fee additional)

Masters & lineage

• Tokujiro Namikoshi (founder of Shiatsu, est. Japan Shiatsu College 1940)
• Shizuto Masunaga (founder, Zen Shiatsu)

Why Iokai Shiatsu Center

Founded in 1968 by Shizuto Masunaga, the originator of Zen / Keiraku (Meridian) Shiatsu, and now directed by his son Haruhiko Masunaga, the center teaches Masunaga's own meridian-based method directly from the founding lineage.

Schools in Tokyo

Checked by hand against each school's own course pages. No school paid to be listed.

• Iokai Shiatsu Center
  Intensive Course for Foreigners (Zen Shiatsu)
  Founded by Shizuto Masunaga, originator of Zen Shiatsu, Iokai runs a dedicated intensive for international students that teaches a complete shiatsu treatment from the Zen Shiatsu method, including the
  https://www.iokai.co.jp/kousyu_e.htm
• Japan Shiatsu College (Nippon Shiatsu Senmon Gakko)
  Three-Year Shiatsu Practitioner Course
  Founded in 1940 by Namikoshi-shiatsu originator Tokujiro Namikoshi and still run by the Namikoshi family in central Tokyo, this is the only college in Japan training shiatsu therapists exclusively, with a multi-year course that qualifies graduates to sit the national licensing exam.
  https://e.shiatsu.ac.jp/
• Iokai Shiatsu Center (Zen Shiatsu)
  Iokai Zen Shiatsu Intensive Group Course
  Established in 1968 by Zen Shiatsu founder Shizuto Masunaga in Tokyo, the center teaches meridian-based Zen Shiatsu through multi-day intensive group courses (1-5 days) covering full treatment, ki-sensitive supporting pressure, and Masunaga meridian exercises.
  https://www.iokai.co.jp/top_e.htm

The credential

Certified Reflexologist (Original Ingham Method) / Licensed Shiatsu Therapist (Namikoshi, Japan national license) · Certifying body: International Institute of Reflexology (Ingham Method) for reflexology; Japan Shiatsu College / national licensure for shiatsu

A recognised qualification an outside body stands behind is not the same as a certificate a school prints itself. We name which it is — you should ask the school the same.

Also for Reflexology & Shiatsu

What I check before I send you anywhere

I'm Arnaud. I cook for a living, and I've spent fifteen years on the water — so I know the difference between a real school and a good-looking website. I built the Atlas because I got tired of the second kind. Here is what a place has to clear before it goes on here, and what I'll tell you straight when it doesn't.

• The craft is actually alive there. A working scene, with people who do this every day — not a demo put on for visitors.
• There's a real teacher behind it. Named, still practising, and certified where the craft has certificates.
• The credential is what it claims to be. A state diploma and a certificate a school prints itself are not the same thing. I check which, and I say which.
• I tell you how sure I am. Most pages here are verified by hand. A few say "still checking" — I'd rather admit that than pretend.
• Nobody pays to be here. No commission, no selling the trip. The order on this map is the strength of the community, never the size of the wallet.
• If I wouldn't send a friend, it isn't on the map.